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Statutory guidance

Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education

Statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Education
Published:
25 June 2019
Last updated:
1 September 2026
Show all updates

  1. This revised statutory guidance came into effect on 1 September 2026. We have removed guidance that no longer applies.

  2. Added a link to an RSE toolkit for FE providers to 'Annex B: resources for Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education'.

  3. Added revised guidance on 'Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education' which will come into force 1 September 2026.

  4. Updates to the page text to make it clear this guidance is now statutory. Updated the drugs and alcohol section of annex B to include a link to the teacher training module on drugs, alcohol and tobacco and to remove the link to the research and briefing papers. We have not made changes to any of the other guidance documents.

  5. Added 'Implementing relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education 2020 to 2021'.

  6. Added a link to the sex and relationship education statutory guidance.

  7. Added link to guides for parents.

  8. First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education

PDF, 616 KB, 47 pages

Details

This revised statutory guidance from the Department for Education (DfE), issued under section 80A of the Education Act 2002 and section 403 of the Education Act 1996, came into effect on 1 September 2026.

Schools must have regard to the guidance and, where they depart from those parts of the guidance which state that they should or should not do something, they will need to have good reasons for doing so.

This statutory guidance applies to all schools, and is for:

  • governing bodies of maintained schools (including schools with a sixth form) and non-maintained special schools
  • trustees or directors of academies and free schools
  • proprietors of independent schools (including academies and free schools)
  • management committees of pupil referral units (PRUs)
  • teachers, other school staff and school nurses
  • headteachers, principals and senior leadership teams
  • diocese and other faith representatives
  • relevant local authority staff, for reference

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