At Thornden, Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is a central part of our wider safeguarding and Personal Development curriculum. It is built around our values of Belong, Care, Aspire and Succeed and reflects our belief that students thrive when they feel safe, informed, respected and supported.

We see RSHE as far more than a statutory requirement. It is part of how we prepare students for life beyond school — helping them develop healthy relationships, emotional resilience, safeguarding awareness and the confidence to make safe and informed decisions in an increasingly complex world.

Our approach is deliberately proactive and preventative. Rather than teaching RSHE as isolated lessons or one-off events, themes are revisited throughout secondary school with increasing maturity, depth and realism. Students encounter the same safeguarding concepts in different contexts across curriculum subjects, assemblies, tutor time and wider school culture so that learning becomes embedded over time.

A Carefully Sequenced Spiral Curriculum

RSHE at Thornden is delivered through a carefully planned spiral curriculum from Year 7 to Year 11. This allows students to revisit important themes regularly while developing greater understanding, independence and safeguarding judgement as they mature.

In the early years of secondary school, there is a strong focus on belonging, respectful friendships, emotional literacy, online safety and recognising trusted adults. As students move through the school, the curriculum develops into deeper exploration of consent, coercion, exploitation, healthy intimate relationships, online harms and preparation for adulthood and post-16 life.

The curriculum deliberately moves students from:

• foundational understanding
  → applied understanding
  → critical thinking
  → independent safeguarding judgement.

This sequencing ensures that difficult or sensitive topics are introduced in an age-appropriate way and revisited later with greater maturity and context.

A Layered Whole-School Approach

A particular strength of RSHE at Thornden is that it does not sit within one lesson or department alone. Instead, it is reinforced through multiple layers of school life so that safeguarding messages remain visible, consistent and normalised.

Curriculum Layer	What this looks like at Thornden
Tutor Programme	Delivers the core spiral RSHE curriculum across Years 7–11 through regular safeguarding, wellbeing and relationship education themes.
KS4 Personal Development lessons	Dedicated curriculum time allows older students to explore more complex safeguarding themes through realistic scenarios, legal frameworks and discussion.
Assemblies	Whole-school and year-group assemblies reinforce themes such as consent, online safety, respectful relationships, harmful sexual behaviour and reporting concerns.
Cross-curricular teaching	Subjects including English, Science, Computing, PE, Humanities and Drama reinforce RSHE themes in different academic and practical contexts.
Pastoral and safeguarding systems	Students see RSHE reflected in wider school systems including Report a Concern, CPOMS, safeguarding support and pastoral intervention.

This layered model means students hear consistent safeguarding messages from multiple trusted adults across different areas of school life. As a result, RSHE becomes part of the wider culture of the school rather than something confined to isolated lessons.

 

Relationships Education

Relationships Education is carefully sequenced so students develop increasingly mature understanding of healthy relationships, boundaries, respect and responsibility.

In Year 7, learning focuses heavily on friendship, kindness, empathy and belonging. As students move through KS3 and KS4, they begin to explore more complex themes including consent, peer pressure, coercion, manipulation, exploitation and unhealthy relationship behaviours.

Students are encouraged to think critically about how relationships function in real life, both online and offline, and to understand the importance of respect, communication and accountability.

Theme	How learning develops
Healthy relationships	Students explore trust, kindness, communication and recognising unhealthy behaviours.
Consent and boundaries	Teaching develops from body autonomy and respectful communication to consent in law and complex safeguarding scenarios.
Online relationships	Students learn about grooming, online pressure, sextortion, image-sharing and digital exploitation.
Peer pressure and coercion	Students learn how to recognise manipulation, emotional pressure and unhealthy influence.
Sexual harassment and harmful behaviour	Explicit teaching helps students recognise unacceptable behaviour and understand reporting routes.
Equality and inclusion	Students discuss identity, protected characteristics, respectful disagreement and inclusion.
Exploitation and abuse	Older students explore coercive control, gaslighting, exploitation and safeguarding law.

The curriculum is deliberately designed to help students recognise risk early, understand how to seek help and develop the confidence to challenge harmful behaviour.

 

Sex Education

Sex Education at Thornden combines factual understanding with safeguarding, emotional wellbeing and personal responsibility. Lessons are designed not simply to provide information, but to help students understand relationships, respect and decision-making in a mature and thoughtful way.

Students explore physical development, sexual health, consent and online safety alongside wider discussion around pressure, influence and safeguarding risk.

Area	Examples of learning
Puberty and body development	Physical and emotional changes, body confidence and hygiene.
Sexual health	Contraception, STIs, safer choices and informed decision-making.
Pregnancy and fertility	Pregnancy, fertility, parenting and ethical discussion.
Consent and sexual pressure	Respectful communication, managing pressure and legal understanding.
Pornography and online influence	Unrealistic online content, misogyny and harmful online messaging.
Image-based abuse and sextortion	Online coercion, digital exploitation and reporting routes.
Healthy intimate relationships	Emotional readiness, mutual respect and personal responsibility.

As students move into KS4, lessons become increasingly discussion-based and reflective, allowing students to explore realistic safeguarding situations and the complexities of adult relationships in a safe and supported environment.

 

Health Education and Emotional Wellbeing

Health Education is closely linked to Thornden’s wider wellbeing and safeguarding culture. The curriculum recognises that emotional wellbeing, belonging and healthy relationships are fundamental to students feeling safe, confident and ready to learn.

Students revisit themes linked to resilience, emotional regulation and healthy lifestyles throughout all year groups.

Theme	Focus
Mental wellbeing	Emotional literacy, recognising emotions and coping strategies.
Stress and anxiety	Managing pressure, exam stress and emotional regulation.
Self-esteem and identity	Confidence, belonging and the impact of social media.
Online wellbeing	Healthy online habits, misinformation and digital resilience.
Physical health	Sleep, routines, exercise and healthy lifestyles.
Drugs, alcohol and vaping	Risk awareness, addiction and safeguarding concerns.
Healthy eating and body image	Nutrition, body confidence and social pressures.
First aid and safety	Basic first aid and emergency response awareness.

The curriculum is continually reviewed so that it remains relevant to the experiences and pressures young people face today, including emerging online risks and wider contextual safeguarding concerns.

 

Dedicated KS4 Personal Development Lessons

In Years 10 and 11, students also receive dedicated Personal Development lessons which allow safeguarding themes to be revisited in greater depth and with greater realism.

These lessons intentionally explore difficult and complex themes through discussion, legal frameworks, ethical debate and realistic scenarios.

KS4 Lesson	Main Focus
Managing Sexual Pressure	Consent, coercion and healthy relationships
Rape on Trial	Sexual violence, victim blaming and consent in law
Pornography and Online Influence	Misogyny, online influence and harmful sexual norms
Gaslighting and Coercive Control	Abuse within relationships
Sextortion and Image-Based Abuse	Online exploitation and digital safeguarding
AI, Deepfakes and Consent	Emerging online risks and image-based abuse
Mental Health and Exam Stress	Emotional wellbeing and resilience
Addiction and Vaping	Risk, addiction and safeguarding awareness

These lessons are designed to prepare students for post-16 life and help them develop mature safeguarding judgement, critical thinking and emotional awareness.

 

Assemblies and Wider Reinforcement

Assemblies play an important role in reinforcing RSHE and safeguarding messages across the school year. Themes such as consent, online safety, respectful relationships, harmful sexual behaviour, misogyny, inclusion and reporting concerns are revisited regularly through both whole-school and year-group assemblies.

This consistent reinforcement helps students understand that safeguarding and respectful behaviour are part of the wider expectations and culture of Thornden, not simply topics covered in lessons.

 

RSHE Across the Curriculum

Another important strength of the RSHE curriculum is the way safeguarding themes are reinforced across academic subjects. This helps students revisit key ideas in different contexts and from different perspectives.

Subject	Example Contribution
Science	Puberty, reproduction, contraception, addiction, physical and mental health.
English	Consent, coercion, abuse, identity, empathy and power imbalance explored through literature.
Computing	Online safety, sexting, digital footprints, AI/deepfake risks and online exploitation.
Humanities	Equality, diversity, rights, law and protected characteristics.
PE	Respect, teamwork, routines, resilience and healthy lifestyles.
Drama	Peer pressure, emotional literacy, relationships and social interaction.

This repeated exposure strengthens safeguarding literacy and helps students apply their understanding more confidently to real-life situations.

 

Listening, Reviewing and Responding to Student Need

A key feature of RSHE at Thornden is that the curriculum is not static. It is regularly reviewed and adapted so that it remains responsive to the experiences, concerns and safeguarding needs of our students.

Each half term, leaders review a range of information to help shape the curriculum and wider safeguarding response.

Evidence Source	How it informs curriculum and support
CPOMS trends	Helps identify emerging safeguarding themes, patterns and concerns across year groups.
Report a Concern data	Highlights areas where students may need further education, reassurance or support.
Student voice	Surveys, discussions and focus groups help us understand how safe, informed and supported students feel.
Attendance and pastoral data	Helps identify wider wellbeing themes, anxiety trends and contextual pressures.
Behaviour and relational trends	Used to review issues linked to harmful language, peer conflict and respectful relationships.
National safeguarding updates	Ensures curriculum content reflects emerging online risks and statutory guidance.

This information is then used to adapt tutor programme content, shape assemblies, develop KS4 lessons and target support where needed.

For example, curriculum content has been updated in response to:

• misogyny and harmful influencer culture
• AI and deepfake risks
• sextortion and image-based abuse
• peer-on-peer abuse concerns
• online exploitation trends
• student questions and feedback around relationships and consent.

Student voice is particularly important in helping us understand students’ lived experiences and how confident they feel in areas such as consent, online safety, healthy relationships and knowing where to seek help.

This ongoing review process helps ensure the curriculum remains relevant, supportive and genuinely preventative.

 

Staff Training and Professional Development

At Thornden, safeguarding and RSHE are everyone’s responsibility.

Staff receive regular training and updates so that they feel confident recognising concerns, responding appropriately and reinforcing safeguarding messages consistently across school life. This training is not limited to the safeguarding team. Tutors, teachers, pastoral staff and wider support staff all contribute to the delivery and reinforcement of RSHE themes.

Training is regularly updated in response to safeguarding trends, student need, CPOMS analysis, national updates and emerging risks so that staff understanding remains current and responsive.

 

How We Know It Is Making a Difference

We regularly review the impact of RSHE through student voice, safeguarding data, entry and exit assessments, pastoral information and reporting trends.

The strongest areas of impact have included:

• improved understanding of consent and boundaries
• greater confidence recognising coercion and manipulation
• stronger online safety awareness
• increased confidence seeking help and reporting concerns
• improved safeguarding literacy and earlier disclosures.

Area	Evidence of Impact
Knowing where to get help	Year 7 students showed a +1.56 improvement in confidence accessing support.
Recognising coercion and manipulation	Year 9 students showed a +1.47 improvement.
Online safety awareness	Significant gains across Years 8–10.
Safeguarding confidence	Earlier disclosures and increased confidence approaching staff.
Curriculum progression	Clear movement from knowledge → application → critical thinking by KS4.

We have also seen sustained use of safeguarding reporting systems and improved confidence among students in speaking to trusted adults when worried about themselves or others.

At Thornden, RSHE is not viewed as a standalone subject. It is part of a wider safeguarding culture where students are taught how to stay safe, treat others with respect, manage relationships responsibly and seek support when they need it.

Our aim is that every student leaves Thornden not only academically successful, but also respectful, emotionally literate, resilient and prepared for life in modern Britain.