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

At Springcroft Primary School, we value working in partnership with you to support your child's personal development and wellbeing. The information below provides information about the PSHE content we will be teaching this term, particularly the statutory Relationships and Health Education elements.

Our approach to PSHE

At Springcroft, we use Jigsaw as our comprehensive scheme of work. The programme consists of six half-term units of work, which we call 'Puzzles': Being Me in My World, Celebrating Difference, Dreams and Goals, Healthy Me, Relationships and Changing Me. Each Puzzle contains six lessons that build progressively through the school.

Our PSHE policy, which outlines our whole-school approach, how we make adaptations to the Jigsaw content and ensure that lessons meet the needs of all pupils, is available on our school website. We welcome your feedback and engagement with this important area of learning.

Statutory requirements

Relationships Education and Health Education became statutory in all primary schools in September 2020, as outlined in the DfE's statutory guidance for Relationships, Sex and Health Education. Updated guidance was published in 2025 and will be implemented from September 2026.

These subjects are a statutory entitlement for all children. This means that whilst we highly value parental views and take these into account when planning and reviewing our curriculum, parents cannot withdraw children from Relationships or Health Education content. However, parents do retain the right to request withdrawal from specific non-statutory Sex Education lessons, which we explain further below.

This term's content

First half of Summer Term: Relationships

Positive relationships are woven throughout our PSHE curriculum all year, but the Relationships Puzzle provides focused teaching on the different relationships children have with friends, family and wider communities. Children learn about the characteristics of healthy relationships, how relationships change as we grow, and how to keep themselves safe in all contexts, including online.

Second half of Summer Term: Changing Me

The Changing Me Puzzle helps children understand and cope positively with change. As in all the Jigsaw PSHE Puzzle units, content is carefully matched to children's age and developmental stage:

Early Years and Key Stage 1: Children learn about life cycles, how we all grow and change, and develop vocabulary for body parts including correct anatomical terms for genitalia. Children also learn about privacy; understanding which parts of the body are private, what privacy means, and who they can talk to if they have questions or concerns. This vocabulary and understanding supports safeguarding and lays important foundations for later learning.
Key Stage 2: Children learn about puberty as part of their statutory Health Education, in line with statutory expectations that all pupils are prepared before puberty begins. Puberty can start any time between the ages of 8 and 11, so this teaching ensures children understand the changes ahead and feel informed rather than anxious. This includes learning about physical and emotional changes, menstruation, personal hygiene during puberty, and strategies for managing these changes positively. Teaching is designed to help children feel prepared and to encourage them to talk to trusted adults at home or school if they have questions.

The DfE recommends that all primary schools include age-appropriate Sex Education, and at Springcroft Primary School, we follow this guidance by teaching one Sex Education lesson in Year 5 and one in Year 6.

Understanding Sex Education and the right to withdraw

At Springcroft, we define Sex Education as learning about human reproduction. It is defined as those lessons covering sexual intercourse, conception, the stages of pregnancy and birth. These specific lessons focus on human reproduction within our PSHE curriculum and are clearly identified in the table below.

While Relationships and Health Education (including all puberty content) are statutory and form part of your child's entitlement, you do have the right to request withdrawal from the non-statutory Sex Education lessons on human reproduction that are taught within PSHE. These lessons are highlighted in the table below.

If you are considering withdrawal, we ask that you 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. We find that when parents understand the age-appropriate, scientific nature of the content, most feel reassured about their child's participation.

Please note that there is no right to withdraw from teaching about human reproduction when taught as part of our Year 5/Year 6 Science curriculum on animal life cycles, as this is statutory Science curriculum content.

What will my child learn?

Below, we provide specific detail about the Changing Me Puzzle, particularly the lessons relating to puberty and human reproduction.

The content shown reflects our PSHE curriculum, which has been developed in line with statutory requirements and our school's values and context.

All content is taught by class teachers and is carefully matched to each year group's developmental stage. We do not teach beyond the remit of each year group. If children ask questions that go beyond the planned content, teachers will acknowledge the question positively and either suggest the child discusses this at home or explain that we'll explore that topic at a later stage in their learning.

The table below only covers the lessons (pieces) that relate to life cycles, the human body in puberty and human reproduction.

Year group	Piece (lesson) number and name	Learning Intentions relating to body changes in puberty and human reproduction

Ages 4-5 Reception	Piece 1- My Body	I can name parts of the body.
	Piece 3 – Growing Up	I understand that we all grow from babies to adults.
Ages 5-6 Year 1	Piece 1 Life Cycles	I am starting to understand the life cycles of animals and humans I understand that changes happen as we grow and that this is OK
	Piece 2 Changing Me	I can tell you some things about me that have changed and some things about me that have stayed the same I know that changes are OK and that sometimes they happen whether I want them to or not
	Piece 3 My Changing Body	I can tell you how my body has changed since I was a baby I understand that growing up is natural and that everybody grows at different rates
	Piece 4 Boys’ and Girls’ Bodies	I can identify the parts of the body that make boys different to girls and can use the correct names for these: penis, testicles, vulva, anus I respect my body and understand which parts are private
Ages 6-7 Year 2	Piece 1 Life Cycles in Nature	I can recognise cycles of life in nature I understand there are some changes that are outside my control and can recognise how I feel about this
	Piece 2 Growing from Young to Old	I can tell you about the natural process of growing from young to old and understand that this is not in my control I can identify people I respect who are older than me
	Piece 3 The Changing Me	I can recognise how my body has changed since I was a baby and where I am on the continuum from young to old I feel proud about becoming more independent
	Piece 4 Boys’ and Girls’ Bodies	I can recognise the physical differences between boys and girls, use the correct names for parts of the body (penis, testicles, vulva, anus) and appreciate that some parts of the body are private I can describe what I enjoy about being a boy or girl whilst understanding we are all different
Ages 7-8 Year 3	Piece 1 How Babies Grow	I understand that in animals and humans lots of changes happen from birth to fully grown, and that in mammals it is the female who has the baby I can express how I feel when they see babies or baby animals
	Piece 2 Outside Body Changes	I understand that boys’ and girls’ bodies need to change so that when they grow up their bodies can make babies I can identify how boys’ and girls’ bodies change on the outside during this growing up process I recognise how I feel about these changes happening to me and know how to cope with those feelings
	Piece 3 Inside Body Changes	I can identify how boys’ and girls’ bodies change on the inside during the growing up process and can tell you why these changes are necessary so that their bodies can make babies when they grow up (introduce vocab sperm, ovaries, egg, Ovum/ Ova, womb/uterus, vagina and period) I recognise how I feel about these changes happening to me and know how to cope with these feelings
	Piece 4 Keeping Ourselves Clean	I understand that as boys’ and girls’ bodies change at puberty, they need to think more about keeping clean and healthy I know some simple ways of keeping clean which can keep me healthy and protect me from some infections I have started to think about the ways to keep my body clean as I grow up and how I feel about this
Ages 8-9 Year 4	Piece 2 Puberty and Menstruation	I can describe how a girl’s body changes in order for her to be able to have babies when she is an adult, and that menstruation (having periods) is a natural part of this I have strategies to help me cope with the physical and emotional changes I will experience during puberty Note – teachers will also recap the puberty learning for both girls and boys from year 3 and revisit some of the content if required.
	3. Being Part of a Family	I know there are many types of family and that often our family members form part of our inner circle I know there are trusted people I can turn to if I need help and support as I grow up and go through puberty I recognise that sometimes I may feel anxious about growing up and this is natural, and can identify people who can support me with this
Age 9-10 Year 5	Piece 2 Puberty for Girls	I can explain how girls’ bodies change during puberty and understand the importance of looking after ourselves physically and emotionally I understand that puberty is a natural process that happens to everybody and that it will be OK for me
	Piece 3 Puberty for Boys	I can describe how boys’ and girls’ bodies change during puberty I can express how I feel about the changes that will happen to me during puberty
	Piece 4 Conception	I understand that sexual intercourse can lead to conception and that is how babies are usually made. I also understand that sometimes people need IVF to help them have a baby I appreciate how amazing it is that human bodies can reproduce in these ways Parents have the right to withdraw children from this session as it is classed as human reproduction.
	Piece 5 Looking Ahead 1	I can identify what I am looking forward to about becoming a teenager and understand this brings growing responsibilities (includes clarification on standing up for self, how age restrictions are there to help you, the pressures of misleading media messages around romantic/physical relationships) I am confident that I can cope with the changes that growing up will bring
Age 10-11 Year 6	Piece 2 Puberty	I can explain how girls’ and boys’ bodies change during puberty and understand the importance of looking after yourself physically and emotionally I can express how I feel about the changes that will happen to me during puberty
	Piece 3 Babies – Conception to Birth	I can describe how a baby develops from conception through the nine months of pregnancy, and how it is born I recognise how I feel when I reflect on the development and birth of a baby Parents have the right to withdraw children from this session as it is classed as human reproduction.
	Piece 4 Boyfriends and Girlfriends	I understand how being physically attracted to someone changes the nature of the relationship and what that might mean about having a girlfriend/ boyfriend I understand that respect for one another is essential in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, and that I should not feel pressured into doing something I don’t want to
Ages 11-12 – Scotland Only	Piece 1 – My changing body	I understand how my body changes in puberty I can express how I feel about the changes that happen during puberty

Working in partnership with you

We recognise that you know your child best, and that learning about growing up, relationships and change is most effective when schools and families work together. Your child may well ask you questions about what they're learning - this is a positive sign of engagement!

If you have any questions about this term's PSHE content, or would like to discuss any aspect of our approach, please contact your child's class teacher or me via the school office. We're always happy to talk through the curriculum with you.

Statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams and teachers can be found here: Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education