Updated RSE guidance expands focus on misogyny, consent and online harms
2025 update introduces deeper, more nuanced content on relationships, online risks, and ethical behaviours in secondary schools.
The UK government’s 2025 Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) guidance for secondary schools builds on the 2019 framework with a sharper focus on emerging social issues, including misogyny, incel culture, and AI-generated deepfakes. The updated curriculum places greater emphasis on ethical relationships, encouraging students to consider kindness, care, and communication alongside basic consent.
Lessons will also address the influence of pornography, the risks associated with choking during sex, and the importance of challenging toxic norms and recognising positive male role models. While gender identity remains a discussable topic following the removal of a proposed ban, schools are now instructed to frame it as a matter of legal rights and public debate rather than established fact.
Discover the updated RSE guidance on the DfE website.
Initiatives that touch on relationships education
Dove
Dove Self-Esteem Project (UK Secondary)
Help build body confidence and raise self-esteem in secondary school students in the UK.
Dove
Dove Self-Esteem Project (UK Primary)
Help build body confidence and raise self-esteem in primary school pupils in the UK.