Relationship and Sex Education (RSE)
"Pupils speak confidently about respecting others and recognise everyone as equal. Pupils feel safe at school and attend regularly. They describe their school as 'brilliant, kind and understanding'."
Ofsted, November 2022
The statutory framework
Relationships Education and Health Education have been statutory in all primary schools since September 2020, and was updated in July 2025. This has now become statutory from September 2026.
Relationships and Health Education are a statutory entitlement, so parents cannot withdraw children from this content. Parents do retain the right to request withdrawal from specific non-statutory Sex Education lessons, explained below.
Our approach
We use Jigsaw as our comprehensive scheme of work, made up of six half-termly units, or "Puzzles". Each Puzzle contains six lessons that build progressively through the school:
Summer term content
First half: Relationships
Children learn about the characteristics of healthy relationships with friends, family and the wider community, how relationships change as we grow, and how to stay safe in all contexts, including online.
Second half: Changing Me
Children learn to understand and cope positively with change, with content carefully matched to their age and developmental stage.
Early Years and Key Stage 1
Children learn about life cycles and how we all grow and change, developing vocabulary for body parts including correct anatomical terms. They also learn about privacy and who to talk to if they have questions — supporting safeguarding and laying important foundations for later learning.
Key Stage 2
Children learn about puberty as part of statutory Health Education, ensuring they're prepared before puberty begins (which can start any time between ages 8 and 11), including physical and emotional changes, menstruation, personal hygiene, and talking to trusted adults.
The DfE recommends that all primary schools include age-appropriate Sex Education. At Springcroft, we follow this guidance by teaching one Sex Education lesson in Year 5 and one in Year 6, covering human reproduction: sexual intercourse, conception, and the stages of pregnancy and birth.
Your right to request withdrawal
The table below sets out what each year group learns about body changes, puberty and human reproduction. The two lessons marked † are non-statutory Sex Education, from which you may request withdrawal.
| Year group | Focus | What children learn |
|---|---|---|
| Reception | My body · Growing up | Naming parts of the body; understanding that we all grow from babies to adults. |
| Year 1 | My changing body · Boys' and girls' bodies | How my body has changed since I was a baby; correct names for body parts (penis, testicles, vulva, anus) and understanding which parts are private. |
| Year 2 | The changing me · Boys' and girls' bodies | Recognising how my body has changed from baby to now; correct body part names, and that some parts of the body are private. |
| Year 3 | How babies grow · Outside and inside body changes | How animals and humans grow from birth to fully grown; how bodies change outside and inside at puberty, so they can make babies as adults (introducing the words sperm, ovaries, egg, womb, vagina, period). |
| Year 4 | Puberty and menstruation | How a girl's body changes so she can have babies as an adult, and that menstruation is a natural part of this. Puberty learning for boys and girls from Year 3 is also revisited. |
| Year 5 | Puberty for girls and boys · Conception † | How girls' and boys' bodies change during puberty. † That sexual intercourse can lead to conception, and that some people need IVF to help them have a baby. |
| Year 6 | Puberty · Babies: conception to birth † | Recap of puberty changes in girls and boys. † How a baby develops from conception through nine months of pregnancy, and how it is born. |
† Non-statutory Sex Education — parents may request withdrawal from these two lessons only.
If you're considering withdrawal, please contact your child's class teacher so we can discuss your concerns, explain what your child will learn and miss, and talk through any implications. Most parents feel reassured once they understand the age-appropriate, scientific nature of the content.
Please note there is no right to withdraw from human reproduction taught as part of the Year 5/6 Science curriculum on animal life cycles, as this is statutory Science content.
Working in partnership with you
We recognise you know your child best, and that learning about growing up, relationships and change works best when schools and families work together. Your child may well come home with questions — this is a positive sign of engagement. We're always happy to talk through the curriculum with you.
For any RSE questions or concerns, your child's class teacher is your first point of contact.
Further information
DfE statutory guidance
Relationships Education, RSE and Health Education (2025, statutory from September 2026) · Visit gov.uk →