NEOby Nudge Education

Nudge Education Policy Library

NEO — Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) Policy

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Date14 October 2026
Review DateDecember 2026, then annually, or sooner if practice or legislation changes
OwnerRSHE Lead (the Nudge Education National Designated Safeguarding Lead during the initial period), with the SENCo and the Director, NEO & Head of School
Approved byApproved by the Director, NEO & Head of School on 14 October 2026 under authority delegated by the Proprietor (CEO of Nudge Education Ltd) on 13 October 2026; for noting at the NEO board on 3 December 2026
Versionv10.26

A fully online alternative provision for learners aged 11–18

1. Purpose and basis

This policy sets out what NEO teaches in relationships, sex and health education, how it is taught online, how parents and carers are consulted, and how the right to request withdrawal from sex education works. NEO follows the DfE’s statutory guidance Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education (revised 2025 edition, which schools must follow from 1 September 2026) as its own standard. The guidance is statutory for schools including independent schools; NEO is not a registered school, and adopts it because the online education standards require “personal, social, health and economic education which reflects the service’s aim and ethos and encourages respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics” (OEAS 1.6), and because its learners need it at least as much as their peers in school.

2. Aims

RSHE at NEO helps learners understand and build healthy relationships, stay safe and well online and offline, understand their own bodies, emotions and mental health, make informed decisions, and treat others with respect. Many NEO learners arrive having experienced school as unsafe, having been bullied or excluded, or having spent long periods isolated online. RSHE is taught in that light: trauma-informed, neurodivergent-affirming, honest and without shame.

3. What is taught

NEO’s secondary RSHE curriculum covers the content the statutory guidance sets out for secondary schools, organised under the themes of the guidance: families; respectful relationships including friendships; online and media; being safe; intimate and sexual relationships including sexual health; mental wellbeing; internet safety and harms; physical health and fitness; healthy eating; drugs, alcohol and tobacco; health and prevention; basic first aid; and the changing adolescent body. Content is sequenced by stage (Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced), not by year group, and adapted to each learner’s starting point with the SENCo.

Particular weight is given at NEO to online relationships and online harms (including pornography, sexual image sharing, grooming, misogyny and extremist content, in age-appropriate terms), consent, mental wellbeing and help-seeking, and recognising unhealthy and controlling relationships. Prevent and online radicalisation are covered within the online safety strand (see the NEO — Prevent Duty Risk Assessment).

4. How it is taught

RSHE is delivered on the Friday Cornerstones Day within the Relational Intelligence and RSHE strands, led by the Practitioner-Mentor with the RSHE Lead, with Qualified Educators contributing subject content. Lessons are live, in deliberately small groups, with a second adult present as in every NEO session; learners are never asked to share personal experiences and may step into a breakout room with their mentor at any point. NEO licenses the Peerscroller RSHE resource for structured content; all third-party material is reviewed by the RSHE Lead and the DSL before use, and no learner-facing AI tool is used in RSHE without review under the NEO — Artificial Intelligence Policy. Lessons are not recorded; transcripts may be reviewed for safeguarding under the NEO — Privacy Notice for Learners.

Disclosures made in or after an RSHE session follow the Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy.

5. Consultation with parents and carers

NEO consults parents and carers on this policy and the RSHE curriculum each autumn term through the parent coffee morning, the weekly newsletter and a short survey, and before any substantive change. The curriculum overview and the materials used are available to parents and carers on request through the Practitioner-Mentor. Parents and carers are told at induction what will be taught and when.

6. Right to request withdrawal

NEO adopts the withdrawal arrangements set out in the DfE’s statutory RSHE guidance as its own standard, given that it is not a registered school.

Parents and carers may request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of the sex education delivered as part of RSE. This does not extend to relationships education, health education or relevant content taught as part of the science curriculum.

Requests should be made in writing to the Head of School, who will discuss the request with the parent or carer and, where appropriate, the learner. This discussion will consider the reasons for the request, the benefits of sex education and any potential impact of withdrawal. Requests will normally be granted, although the Head of School may decline a request in exceptional circumstances, including where there are safeguarding concerns or particular vulnerabilities. Discussions and decisions will be recorded.

From three terms before a learner turns 16, they may choose to receive sex education even where a parent or carer has previously requested withdrawal. NEO will ensure learners are aware of this option and make appropriate arrangements for them to access the education.

Where withdrawal is agreed, NEO will provide appropriate, purposeful alternative learning during the relevant sessions.

7. Equality, SEND and inclusion

RSHE is taught in a way that is accessible to every learner, including learners with SEND, with adaptations agreed with the SENCo. Teaching complies with the Equality Act 2010 and reflects the protected characteristics, including sexual orientation and gender reassignment, in a factual and age-appropriate way; NEO does not teach contested theories as fact.

8. Monitoring and review

The RSHE Lead keeps the scheme of work and records coverage by stage. Learner voice on RSHE is gathered each term. The Head of School reports coverage and any withdrawal requests (as counts) to the NEO board annually. This policy is reviewed annually after the parent consultation and whenever the statutory guidance changes.

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