The Department for Education has now released the updated Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) Guidance 2025, offering schools a refined and strengthened framework for teaching children about safety, wellbeing, and personal development.
In our previous blog, we explored what these changes mean for communicating with parents and carers - how schools can approach sensitive topics with transparency, consistency, and confidence.
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at what the updated guidance means for teaching expectations across primary schools. While the revisions don’t represent a full overhaul, they provide greater clarity and focus on key areas that reflect the realities of children’s lives today.
Building on a Strong Foundation
The RSHE framework continues to provide the foundation for how schools help pupils understand relationships, health, and safety - both online and offline. The 2025 update enhances this foundation rather than replacing it, ensuring content remains relevant and effective.
For primary schools, the updates are thoughtful, practical, and achievable. They underline the importance of teaching real-world safety, emotional resilience, and online wellbeing - themes that have long been central to PSHE and RSHE provision.
At 1decision, we’ve carefully reviewed the guidance and identified the most significant teaching content updates that will influence classroom practice.
A Stronger Focus on Everyday Safety
One of the most noticeable shifts in the new guidance is the expanded expectation for teaching safety beyond traditional topics like online risks or stranger danger.
Primary schools are now expected to include road, rail, and water safety within their RSHE teaching. These areas help children understand the real-world environments they interact with daily and how to navigate them safely.
From crossing a busy road to recognising hazards near open water, the guidance encourages schools to deliver lessons that equip children with practical knowledge and decision-making skills.
At 1decision, these themes have long been integrated into our curriculum resources. It’s encouraging to see the Department for Education now reinforcing these priorities across all schools, ensuring a consistent national approach to safety education.
Emphasising Wellbeing in a Digital World
Another key update in the RSHE Guidance 2025 is the strengthened focus on online wellbeing.
While online safety has always been an essential part of RSHE, the new expectations take this further recognising that children’s emotional health is often shaped by their digital interactions.
The guidance encourages teachers to explore how online activity can affect mood, confidence, and social connections. This includes supporting pupils in understanding screen time balance, handling peer influence online, and knowing when to seek help.
By embedding discussions around digital wellbeing into everyday teaching, schools can help children develop healthier, more reflective online habits. This shift reflects a wider recognition that digital life is inseparable from daily life and that wellbeing online is just as important as wellbeing offline.
Helping Children Understand Grief and Loneliness
The updated guidance also places greater emphasis on helping pupils understand grief and loneliness. Two sensitive yet crucial aspects of emotional development.
These topics, once less prominent in national frameworks, are now recognised as essential to a child’s understanding of themselves and others.
The aim is not to introduce heavy or distressing content, but to help children build empathy, resilience, and coping strategies. Lessons can give pupils the language to talk about loss and isolation in age-appropriate ways, supporting emotional literacy and mutual care across the school community.
At 1decision, these themes have been woven into our interactive videos and lesson plans for several years, helping children navigate emotions safely and confidently. We’re pleased to see the new guidance mirror this approach, ensuring that every child benefits from this crucial learning.
Developing Consistent Teaching and Sequencing
Beyond content, the updated RSHE guidance also provides useful direction for schools when it comes to curriculum sequencing ensuring that knowledge builds logically across year groups.
This helps teachers deliver lessons in a clear, progressive order, enabling pupils to develop a deep, connected understanding of key concepts rather than treating topics in isolation.
The guidance also encourages schools to strengthen pupil voice, allowing children to contribute to how RSHE is delivered. This ensures lessons remain engaging, relevant, and responsive to pupils’ experiences.
To explore all updates in detail, including the recommendations around sequencing and inclusion, schools can access the full document here:
👉 Read the Updated RSHE Guidance
When Do the Changes Come Into Effect?
The government is encouraging early adopter schools to start implementing these updates from September 2025, with the revised RSHE guidance becoming statutory from September 2026.
This gives schools time to review their curriculum, update lesson plans, and prepare staff to deliver the content with confidence. It’s also an opportunity to review how RSHE sits within the wider personal development strategy, ensuring all pupils receive consistent, high-quality teaching.
Funding for RSHE Training in Early 2026
One of the most positive announcements linked to the new guidance is that RSHE training funding will be made available from early 2026.
This initiative aims to support schools in providing high-quality training not just for RSHE subject leads, but for all teachers involved in personal development. The funding will enable schools to strengthen delivery, build teacher confidence, and improve outcomes for pupils across the curriculum.
It’s a welcome move that reflects growing recognition of the importance of RSHE, not just as a statutory subject, but as a foundation for lifelong wellbeing and safety.
Why Schools Should Read the Full Guidance
Even though the updates are not extensive, it’s vital that every school reads the full RSHE Guidance 2025 to fully understand the new teaching expectations.
The document offers valuable insight into how schools can plan, deliver, and review RSHE more effectively. It also provides clarity on how to ensure lessons are inclusive, evidence-based, and responsive to the needs of pupils.
👉 Read the full RSHE Guidance here
Watch the 1decision RSHE Webinar
To further support schools, 1decision has released a free webinar recording exploring the key changes to the RSHE guidance, what they mean for classroom delivery, and how schools can begin preparing ahead of 2025.
The session provides practical examples, advice, and tips for teachers and PSHE leads looking to strengthen RSHE delivery and build confidence in meeting the new expectations.
Looking Ahead Strengthening Teaching for a Safer Future
The RSHE Guidance 2025 reflects the progress schools have already made in creating safe, supportive environments for children to learn about relationships, wellbeing, and personal development.
By expanding the focus on real-world safety, digital wellbeing, and emotional awareness, the updated framework helps ensure that every child gains the skills and understanding they need to make safe and informed choices.
At 1decision, we remain committed to supporting schools through these changes - offering high-quality, ready-to-use resources that align with national expectations and make teaching RSHE both engaging and effective.
Together, we can ensure that every child leaves primary school equipped not just with knowledge, but with the confidence and compassion to use it wisely.
