Relationships and Sex Education Resources

How we choose and use our teaching resources 

We understand that parents and carers want to know not only what their child is learning, but also where the teaching materials come from and how we ensure that they are suitable. 

Our Relationships, Sex and Health Education programme uses resources from three established providers: 

• Life Lessons – a specialist PSHE and RSHE provider widely used by schools in England. 

• Pol-Ed – an education programme developed in partnership with the police, with resources created by subject-matter experts and quality-assured by specialist police officers. 

• EC Publishing – an established provider of PSHE and RSE resources widely used by schools across the UK. 

We do not simply take a provider's programme and deliver it without consideration. 

The school remains responsible for deciding which resources are appropriate for our pupils, when they should be taught and how they should be delivered. 

Our teachers review and prepare lessons before they are taught, considering the age, maturity, needs and context of our pupils, as well as the statutory guidance and our own curriculum and safeguarding requirements. 

 

Our three main resource providers 

Life Lessons 

Life Lessons is a specialist PSHE and RSHE provider supporting schools across the UK. 

Its curriculum is designed as a spiral programme, with learning developing progressively as pupils move through school. It includes teacher guidance to support the delivery of sensitive content and to help schools adapt lessons to the needs of their pupils and their local context. 

Life Lessons provides resources covering areas including: 

• relationships and healthy friendships; 

• mental health and wellbeing; 

• consent and boundaries; 

• online safety; 

• sexual health; 

• risk and harmful behaviours; 

• diversity and inclusion; and 

• preparation for adulthood. 

We use selected Life Lessons materials within our wider curriculum where they support the learning objectives we have identified for our pupils. 

Link to Life Lessons website 

 

Pol-Ed 

Pol-Ed is an education programme developed by West Yorkshire Police to support schools in helping children and young people understand risk, consequences, the law and how to keep themselves safe. 

Pol-Ed is particularly valuable for lessons involving law, safeguarding, criminal exploitation, sexual offences, grooming, consent, harassment, online safety, drugs and other risks. 

The programme states that its lessons are created by subject-matter experts and are quality-assured by police officers in specialist departments to ensure that legalities are correct. Its resources are also reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain up to date and reflect current legislation. 

This gives us an additional level of confidence when teaching pupils about the law and about behaviours which may place young people at risk. 

Pol-Ed resources are also mapped against the PSHE Programme of Study and relevant statutory requirements. 

Link to Pol-Ed website 

 

EC Publishing 

EC Publishing is an established provider of PSHE and RSE resources used by schools across England and the wider UK. 

Its resources cover a wide range of PSHE, relationships, health and sex education topics and provide schools with structured teaching materials to support curriculum delivery. 

We use selected EC Publishing resources where they complement the learning objectives within our own curriculum and provide appropriate material for the particular age group being taught. 

Link to EC Publishing website 

 

Why don't we use resources from just one provider? 

There is no single resource provider that perfectly meets every school's curriculum, context and pupil needs. 

Our curriculum has been designed around what our pupils need to know and understand, rather than around a particular commercial scheme. 

Using resources from different specialist providers allows us to select the strongest material for particular areas. 

For example, Pol-Ed provides valuable resources around law, policing, criminal exploitation and keeping safe, while Life Lessons provides a broad specialist PSHE and RSHE curriculum and EC Publishing provides additional resources which complement particular areas of our programme. 

We then bring these resources together within our own planned curriculum. 

 

How do we quality-assure the resources? 

Although our resources come from established providers, we do not regard a resource as automatically suitable simply because it comes from a recognised organisation. 

Before lessons are delivered, key staff consider: 

1. The statutory requirements 

We check that the lesson supports the relevant requirements of the Department for Education's statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education guidance. 

2. Age and developmental appropriateness 

We consider whether the content, language, examples and level of detail are appropriate for the particular age and maturity of our pupils. 

3. The purpose of the lesson 

We consider exactly what pupils need to know or be able to do as a result of the lesson. 

A sensitive topic is not included simply because it is interesting or topical. It is included where we believe pupils need the knowledge and skills to understand an issue, recognise risk, make informed decisions or keep themselves and others safe. 

4. The context of our pupils 

Teachers consider the needs, experiences and circumstances of our pupils when preparing lessons. 

This includes considering SEND, additional learning needs, safeguarding considerations and the language and examples which will best support understanding. 

5. The wider curriculum 

We consider what pupils have already been taught and what they will learn subsequently. 

This helps us ensure that learning is progressive rather than repetitive, and that more complex issues are introduced when pupils have the necessary foundations. 

6. Safeguarding 

We consider whether a lesson could raise safeguarding concerns or disclosures and ensure that staff are aware of the appropriate procedures for responding to these. 

 

For example, pupils may learn about: 

• sexual harassment; 

• grooming and exploitation; 

• coercive and controlling behaviour; 

• domestic abuse; 

• pornography; 

• sexual violence; 

• sextortion; 

• non-consensual image sharing; 

• deepfakes and AI-generated sexual images; 

• forced marriage; 

• Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) 

• strangulation and suffocation; 

• contraception and STI prevention; 

• pregnancy and pregnancy choices; and 

• fertility and parenthood. 

We understand that some parents and carers may feel that a particular topic is strong, uncomfortable or difficult to discuss with their child. 

This does not necessarily mean that the content is inappropriate. 

In some cases, the fact that a subject is difficult is precisely why pupils need carefully planned, age-appropriate education about it. 

Our responsibility is not to avoid every topic that might make a pupil or parent uncomfortable. It is to ensure that difficult topics are approached carefully, sensitively, accurately and at the appropriate stage of a pupil's development.  

Our commitment 

Our commitment is to provide pupils with accurate, evidence-informed, age-appropriate and carefully sequenced education which helps them to understand themselves, develop healthy relationships and keep themselves and others safe. 

We do not expect every family to have identical views about sensitive subjects. 

We do, however, believe that pupils benefit from being given reliable information and the skills to recognise risk, make informed decisions, respect boundaries and seek help when they need it. 

Our role is to teach these subjects responsibly, sensitively and in accordance with statutory requirements, while working openly and constructively with parents and carers. 

We welcome your questions, and we want parents to feel confident that there is a clear reason behind every aspect of our RSE curriculum.