St Catherine's School
RELATIONSHIPS AND SEX EDUCATION (RSE) POLICY
(Senior)

Reviewed by:	Deputy Head Pastoral
Last Reviewed:	September 2026
Next Review:	September 2027

SCHOOL MISSION We are inspired by St Catherine of Siena, who said ‘Be who God wants you to be, and you will set the world on fire’, to form young women of confidence and compassion, ready for service and leadership in the world. We fulfil our mission through these values:   Community: a place of cheerfulness, dignity and tolerance, where all are welcome Faith: a Christ-centred school with time for reflection; a culture of gratitude and friendship Courage: with self-knowledge, resilience and integrity, and a readiness for challenge Scholarship: where gifts are developed through curiosity, imagination and ambition Service: commitment to others, to stewardship, and to justice and hope for all

1. Introduction and statement of intent

The St Catherine's RSHE Policy has been designed to fulfil our regulatory obligations to provide Relationships, Sex and Health Education, our obligations as a Roman Catholic school, and our moral duty to safeguard our pupils and prepare them for adult life in the twenty-first century. It reflects our conviction that the education of the whole person - mind, body, and spirit - is central to our mission as a Catholic school. RSHE is not a peripheral compliance exercise but an expression of our commitment to the integral human development of every pupil: her relationships, her understanding of her own dignity, her capacity for love and responsible freedom, and her readiness to take her place as a person of faith and conscience in the world.

This policy reflects the updated statutory guidance for Relationships, Sex and Health Education effective from September 2026, including strengthened expectations around safeguarding, consent, online safety and the delivery of accurate, evidence-based and age-appropriate content. 

We take as our guide the teachings of the Church and its ideals about love:

Loving another person involves the joy of contemplating and appreciating their innate beauty and sacredness, which is greater than my needs. This enables me to seek their good even when they cannot belong to me, or when they are no longer physically appealing but intrusive and annoying. For “the love by which one person is pleasing to another depends on his or her giving something freely.

Pope Francis, Amoris laetitia, 2016

As a Catholic School, the RSHE Policy at St Catherine’s has its basis in the following core principles:

• We want our pupils to understand that each life has a purpose, and is a gift, and to value themselves because they are made in the image and likeness of God; as part of this, our pupils must learn to value themselves in the formation of good personal relationships and friendships.

• Our pupils should know how to protect themselves from emotional and physical harm, including in their relationships with others.

• We wish for our pupils to respect and love each other, as children of God, and to seek the virtues of forgiveness, honesty, kindness and mutual respect.

• We seek to foster in our pupils an understanding of the Catholic Church's teaching on the human person - that our sexuality is a gift which finds its meaning in love, self-gift, and commitment. Drawing on the tradition of Catholic moral theology, including the Church's teaching on marriage and family life, our RSHE programme presents human sexuality not as a problem to be managed but as an aspect of our God-given dignity, ordered toward authentic relationships and the flourishing of the whole person.

• We are created to live as part of a community - local, national and global - and our pupils should understand how to respect those with different beliefs, lifestyles and preferences to their own.

• Our RSHE programme is developed in accordance with the guidance of the Catholic Education Service and the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, recognising that parents are the primary educators of their children in matters of faith and relationships, and that the school's role is to support and complement that formation.

All RSHE teaching at St Catherine's will be age-appropriate, developmentally sequenced, factually accurate and evidence-based, in full compliance with the statutory guidance effective from September 2026. It is the conviction of this school that these requirements - including strengthened expectations around safeguarding, consent, online safety and the prevention of harm - are not in tension with our Catholic identity, but are given their deepest foundation by it. The Catholic understanding of the human person, created in love and for love, provides the richest possible basis for education which respects the dignity of every pupil and prepares them for the complexity of adult life.

Within our teaching of RSHE, we are highly mindful in our policies and practice, of the context in which our pupils are growing up. As such, our lessons and PSHE scheme of work are informed by the following statements:

• Our pupils are encouraged to understand diversity in family structures, including  same-sex relationships, and to be respectful of all those with whom they interact.

• We have pupils from a wide range of ethnicities and cultural backgrounds.

• In addition to teaching pupils about the ideals of marriage and of loving and committed sexual relationships, we also seek to provide them with the knowledge and mindset needed to ensure safety in any  physical or emotional choices they may make.

• Pupils should receive teaching that clearly distinguishes between biological sex and gender identity in line with safeguarding guidance"

• Adolescence is a challenging time; it is important that pupils feel St Catherine’s is a safe, respectful and compassionate space where they can share worries, receive support and be open in asking questions.

• With our emphasis on respecting the dignity of all individuals, we will inform our pupils about equality law and protected characteristics. 

• We wish pupils to have the knowledge and understanding needed to face questions and make decisions about relationships, sex and sexuality, with confidence and good judgement; this includes the understanding and recognition of celibacy and chastity as fulfilling choices.

• Our pupils should be fully prepared for 21st-century adult life.

In addition, pupils will:

• Be explicitly taught about healthy and unhealthy relationships, including coercive control and abuse

• Understand the legal definition of consent and its application in relationships 

• Develop the ability to critically evaluate online content, including pornography and harmful sexualised material

• Be taught about online safety, including risks such as grooming, exploitation and image sharing 

• Understand the influence of social media, misogyny and digital culture on relationships and expectations. They should be able to:

  • Recognise misogynistic language and attitudes

  • Understand how online misogyny can influence attitudes and behaviours

  • Challenge stereotypes

  • Understand the relationship between misogyny, harassment and violence

  • Know how to report harmful online and offline behaviour. 

• Receive teaching that clearly distinguishes between biological sex and gender identity in line with safeguarding guidance 

• Engage with content relating to gender identity in a factual, age-appropriate and non-directive manner

It is also recognised that high-quality RSHE has significant relevance for ensuring the safeguarding of the pupils in our care.

In delivering the above, we will be providing pupils with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to make informed and ethical decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships. We believe that high quality teaching of RSHE can help prepare pupils for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life, and can promote their moral, social, mental and physical development. Effective teaching will support young people to cultivate positive characteristics including resilience, self-worth, self-respect, honest, integrity, courage, kindness and trustworthiness. It will also support prevention of harms by helping pupils understand and identify when things are not right. 

2. Definitions

For the purposes of this policy, the School uses the term Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) to describe the planned programme of education through which pupils develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and values needed to build healthy relationships, understand their physical and emotional health, and make informed and responsible decisions as they grow towards adulthood.

Within RSHE, Relationships Education addresses friendships, family relationships, respectful and committed relationships, consent, boundaries and safeguarding. Sex Education addresses human reproduction, sexual health and other age-appropriate aspects of human sexuality and sexual behaviour.Health Education addresses physical and mental health, wellbeing, healthy lifestyles and the prevention of harm. 

These areas are interconnected and are taught in a developmentally appropriate and progressive manner, within the School's Catholic ethos and in accordance with statutory requirements. The School will make clear to parents which elements of the programme constitute sex education and are therefore subject to the statutory right of withdrawal.

RSHE also includes explicit teaching about:

• Consent as defined by UK law

• Sexual harassment and sexual violence

• Online relationships and digital sexual behaviours

• The impact of pornography and media on relationships 

This policy is closely linked to the Personal Development Policy, including the PSHE Scheme of Work, particularly in terms of health (both mental and physical).  

This policy is also linked to:

• Anti-bullying Policy

• Safeguarding Policy

3. Parents’ rights

We also recognise that parents are the first teachers of their children, and so place a high value on the School’s partnership with parents in this aspect of education. Pope John Paul II reaffirmed the role of the family and this supportive relationship with schools, in Familiaris Consortio:

... any educative activity, related to education for love and carried out by persons outside the family, must be subject to the parents’ acceptance of it and must be seen not as a substitute but as a support for their work. In fact, sex education, which is a basic right and duty of parents, must always be carried out under their attentive guidance whether at home or in educational centres chosen and controlled by them...

Parents are encouraged to contact the school if they have any questions regarding the teaching of RSHE.

Parents have the right to request that a child be withdrawn from some or all sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE up to three terms before her 16th birthday. Parents should request the withdrawal of their daughter by contacting the Deputy Head Pastoral in writing, outlining the reasons for their request. The parents are likely then to be invited in for a discussion. In exceptional circumstances the Head can refuse a withdrawal request, for example where safeguarding concerns or a pupil's specific vulnerability make withdrawal inappropriate. Pupils within three terms of their 16th birthday may choose not to be withdrawn. Should a pupil be withdrawn, we recognise that we are responsible for providing appropriate, purposeful education during the withdrawal period.

In line with statutory changes from September 2026, we will ensure that:

• Parents are fully aware of what is being taught in the RSHE curriculum

• Parents are informed in advance of when sex education content is delivered 

• Safeguarding-critical content that forms part of Relationships Education, Health Education, science or other non-withdrawable provision will be taught to all pupils. 

• Parents may view all curriculum materials used to teach RSHE on request

• We proactively engage and consult parents when developing/reviewing the policy. 

4: Gender Questioning

Where a pupil questions their gender or seeks support in relation to gender identity, the School will respond sensitively and in accordance with its safeguarding responsibilities, the statutory guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026, and the School's Gender Questioning Policy. Any concerns relating to a pupil's welfare or safety will be considered in accordance with the School's Safeguarding Policy. Staff will provide pupils with a respectful and supportive environment in which they can raise questions or concerns, while recognising that individual circumstances require careful consideration on a case-by-case basis.

5. The creation of this policy and ongoing review

This policy was created using the findings and discussions of a staff working party, drawing on:

• an awareness of the kind of questions St Catherine’s pupils tend to put forward;

• a range of CPD courses, including both faith and non-faith perspectives;

• policy review and discussion with School Governors;

• their experience of delivering RSE at St Catherine’s and in other settings.

This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis by the Deputy Head Pastoral. Delivery and effectiveness will be monitored via methods such as:

• Curriculum audits

• Lesson observations

• Pupil voice

• Parent feedback 

• safeguarding/disclosure trends

• Review of external provider sessions

• Evaluation of resources

• Curriculum updates following emerging safeguarding issues

Where necessary, revisions will be carried out between annual reviews in order to ensure this policy remains fully relevant and effective. This policy will also be reviewed in response to any future updates to statutory RSHE guidance from the Department for Education. 

6. RSE content to be covered in lessons

Our Scheme of Work is based on two key strands:

• Me and my relationships with others;

• My rights in relationships and how I can keep myself safe.

Statutory content across all year groups

All pupils will be taught:

• The legal definition and importance of consent

• Recognition and prevention of child-on-child abuse including sexual harassment and sexual violence.

• Online safety, including pornography, exploitation risks and AI-generated sexual imagery and deepfakes. Pupils should know that creating, possessing or distributing sexual images involving children can have serious safeguarding and legal consequences. 

• Healthy vs unhealthy relationships, including coercion and control 

• How to seek help and report concerns 

The table below gives an overview of what will be taught to each year group. Sessions will be delivered throughout the year, taking into account the development of pupils’ maturity and readiness to encounter more complex topics. A flexible approach will be taken to allow topics to be brought forward or delayed in order to best serve the pupils and their needs; such adjustments will be discussed and agreed by the Pastoral Team, and the Deputy Head Pastoral will maintain oversight.  

Delivery of the RSHE Curriculum

Staff delivering RSHE will receive updated training to ensure compliance with statutory guidance, particularly in:

• Safeguarding and handling disclosures

• Teaching sensitive topics appropriately

• Online harms and digital safety

• Teaching about biological sex, gender identity and related issues in line with current statutory guidance

• The legal definition of consent and the prevention of sexual harassment and sexual violence

The majority of the RSHE Scheme of Work will be delivered through regular timetabled PSHE lessons. A team of appropriately trained staff will deliver the more sensitive or complex elements of the Scheme of Work. Other sections may be delivered by Form Tutors.

Occasionally, specific topics may be delivered by a trusted external provider. Any such sessions will be carefully planned and quality assured by the School to ensure that the content is age-appropriate, factually accurate, evidence-based and fully aligned with the School’s Catholic ethos and statutory requirements.

At all times, staff should model tolerance and respect for the dignity of every individual, both in relation to the pupils with whom they are working and members of the wider society who may hold different beliefs or views. Staff should remain mindful of the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, particularly the provisions relating to protected characteristics.

Pupils will be given regular opportunities to raise questions and share any worries they may have, either during lessons or by speaking privately with a member of staff. Teachers will answer questions in a manner that is appropriate to the age and maturity of the pupils and consistent with the aims of this policy. Teachers do not have to answer every question immediately, ensure their responses are age-appropriate, should not disclose personal experiences, pass on questions which indicate possible safeguarding concerns the DSL and not promise confidentiality. 

Should a pupil ask a question that appears inappropriate for her age group, or that suggests she may be at risk of harm, the member of staff concerned should consult the Deputy Head Pastoral and/or the Designated Safeguarding Lead. The welfare of the pupil will always take precedence over any expectation of confidentiality, and staff will act in accordance with the School’s Safeguarding Policy and Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE 2026).

7. Accessibility

Where a pupil has SEND, a safeguarding vulnerability or a particular pastoral need, reasonable adjustments and individual arrangements may be appropriate and we will consider this on a case-by-case basis. In such a case, an individualised plan will be devised by the key teachers around the pupil (most likely Form Tutor, SENDCO, Head of Section and DSL). Any such decision will be made in consultation with her parents, as appropriate.