Statutory for all secondary-age learners in England (Children and Social Work Act 2017; 2026 statutory guidance, effective 1 September 2026). No parental opt-out — Relationships Education applies to every learner.
For NEO’s EBSNA / SEMH cohort, the 2026 guidance is unusually relevant: many of the statutory topics are exactly the relational territory the cohort is navigating in their own lives. “Specific thought should be given to the particular needs and vulnerabilities of the pupils and what adjustments might be needed.”
Statutory topics
The 2026 guidance organises Relationships Education at secondary level around:
- Caring friendships — what makes a friendship; recognising and challenging unhealthy friendship patterns; managing conflict; self-respect within friendships
- Respectful relationships — kindness, courtesy, mutual respect; assertiveness vs aggression vs passivity; recognising and managing power imbalance; consent in everyday relationships
- Families and parenting — diverse family forms; mutual respect within families; healthy parenting; the responsibilities of partners
- Online relationships — how online and offline relationships compare; pressure to share; managing digital intimacy; the permanence of digital traces (see also Online Safety)
- Being Safe — recognising abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, coercive control, online); recognising and naming sexual harassment; awareness of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG); the role of consent
Care note — heightened safeguarding obligations
For NEO’s cohort, many of whom have safeguarding histories that make these topics particularly live, the PSHE Mapping v0.1 §7 applies in full:
“All Nudge practitioners delivering any RSHE content (including Cornerstone-based sessions that touch on relationships, body, health or safety themes) must be: (a) trained in safe RSHE delivery and safe messaging guidelines, (b) aware of the young person’s safeguarding status before the session, and (c) clear on how to escalate disclosures in line with the Nudge Safeguarding Policy and KCSIE 2025.”
Cornerstone fits
Drawing from the PSHE Mapping v0.1:
- Connection (●●●) — direct alignment; every Nudge session is built around relational safety, and Caring Friendships / Respectful Relationships / Families map straight onto Connection work
- Reflection (●●●) — for Being Safe, recognising abuse, and assertiveness work
- Rest (●●) — for the regulation work that underpins healthy boundaries
Cross-curriculum links
- Relating Intelligently — Module 5: Ethics of Relating Across Boundaries (power, memory, consent in relational interactions — the curriculum-level expression of Verse-ality applied to relationships)
- Life and Work — Workplace skills and conduct (workplace versions of consent, conflict, kindness)
- Life and Work — Citizenship (the legal protections — Equality Act, harassment law)
Suggested evidence types
- Conversation logs (with consent for documentation, anonymised where appropriate)
- Reflective journal entries on relational learning (the learner’s own writing, kept private if needed)
- Scenario-based responses (case study work — what would the learner do; what would they want a friend to do)
- Practitioner observations recorded in NOOMA against RSHE strand codes (when those NOOMA fields exist — see Cornerstones Mapping v0.1 §10 follow-up actions)
Owner
Per the existing Nudge governance: Emily Baty leads on RSHE curriculum design as part of the SAR workstream. Curriculum Lead (when filled) co-owns the day-to-day delivery materials.