Strengthened guidance on mental health in latest RSHE guidance

Earlier this month, the Department for Education (DfE) updated its guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE). Schools have until September 2026 to roll out these new requirements within their settings.

Below we take you through the importance of RSHE and outline some of the key changes we wanted to see to the 2019 guidance that preceded this update as well as the draft 2024 guidance that was consulted on by the previous government. We responded to the latter via inputs from colleagues, our Young Champions and partners.

Finally, we hear from our Schools Division Director, Jaime Smith, to get her take on what’s new.

An explainer: The importance of RSHE for student wellbeing

As mental health challenges among young people rise (NHS Digital 2023), embedding wellbeing into the curriculum is essential. Social and emotional skills are often undervalued and inconsistently taught, despite strong evidence of their impact on both wellbeing and academic achievement.

RSHE, when taught well, provides a critical space for students to explore mental health, emotional regulation and strategies for help-seeking. The NICE Guidelines (2022) recommend embedding social, emotional and mental wellbeing into all aspects of teaching and learning, supporting students to connect classroom knowledge with lived experience (NICE, 2022).

Five things we wanted to see in the new RSHE Guidance

• The inclusion of suicide prevention information with training and teaching resources to support education staff, enabling conversations with students about early warning signs and where to find support.

• Continued teaching on gender identity so that all students have access to a nuanced education on the issues that affect young LGBTQ+ people (who are two and a half times more likely to have a mental health problem than those who identify as heterosexual).

• Allow school staff to respond flexibly to the needs of the school community and their pupils.

• Highlight the importance of working with parents and carers and all school staff to ensure a whole-school approach, which supports and safeguards young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

• Removal of age restrictions and topic bands that pose a threat to the preventative role of RSHE (including on sexual health, violence against women and girls (VAWG), mental health, safeguarding from sexual abuse and online misogyny).

  

Five notable aspects of the new guidance

The updated guidance now includes a whole section on mental wellbeing, including online. There is also increased focus on resilience with specific mention of areas such as grief, loss and suicide prevention.

• There is greater emphasis on teaching about and tackling online misogyny, violence against women and girls and related factors (e.g. the negative impact of pornography).

• Schools are now encouraged to be sensitive to pupils’ circumstances, recognising that families come in many forms encouraging respect and inclusivity for all.

• There is clear recognition of the importance of teacher expertise and agency with the removal of age limits proposed in the 2024 draft guidance on certain topics, and allowing teachers to make decisions about when and how they teach certain content.

• The importance of clear communications with parents/carers is reiterated. Parents should now be consulted for example when developing and reviewing their RSE policies and schools should respond positively to requests to see the material. 

Jaime Smith, Anna Freud’s Schools Division Director, said:

“There are real improvements to be found in this new guidance. It is encouraging that the government has listened to feedback and input from experts across the sector. We believe the new guidance will support teachers and school leaders to deliver positive and inclusive RSHE lessons. It's great to see a strengthening of content on mental health with clear sections to support the teaching of mental wellbeing and safeguarding recommendations for wellbeing online.

“While there are many positives, there is a lack of information on how the guidance will be implemented and monitored, along with how teachers will be supported to deliver it. The guidance asks secondary schools to consider how they will safely address suicide prevention and asks that schools put in place evidence-based staff training in order to do this. For this to be done well, we would like to see a funding package for schools to support the implementation and delivery of the new guidance. It will also be important to see how this guidance aligns with the recommendations of the upcoming Curriculum and Assessment Review.”

Find out more about the updated RSHE guidance

Find out more information on integrating a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing

5 Steps framework