Puberty Education and the New RSHE Guidance

Puberty Education and the New RSHE Guidance: Are you Up to Date for your Work with you Upper Primary Pupils for this Summer?

The new RSHE guidance was announced last year. Primary schools can implement it now and have to follow the new guidance by September 2026. There are some new details around puberty education and some of these are very different from the previous government's draft guidance. To help you make sure you on track we have put together a quick guide to the new guidance and how it relates to any puberty education you have planned for your Years 5 and 6 this summer.

For many pupils, upper primary is when the changes of puberty begin. Alongside physical changes, pupils may also be navigating shifting friendships, early romantic feelings and growing independence. These experiences can raise questions that pupils may not always feel comfortable asking in a classroom setting.

This is why Years 5 and 6 are often seen as the key moment for puberty and relationships education.

The aim is not simply to deliver information, but to help pupils:

• understand that the changes they are experiencing are natural
• develop a positive understanding of growing up
• recognise respectful behaviour in friendships and relationships
• know who to speak to if they feel worried or unsure

Meeting the New RSHE Guidance

1. Teaching about the physical and emotional changes of puberty

The new guidance states:

“Pupils should know about the main external body parts, the changes that happen to human bodies as they grow from birth to old age, including puberty.” This is one of the core statutory expectations in primary health education.

Schools must ensure pupils understand:

• the physical changes of puberty
• that development happens at different times for different people
• that these changes are normal.

2. Helping pupils understand healthy friendships and relationships

The new guidance states:

“Pupils should know how important friendships are in making us feel happy and secure, and how people choose and make friends.”

Primary schools must help pupils understand:

• how friendships develop and change
• how to treat others with kindness and respect
• how to recognise when relationships feel uncomfortable or unhealthy.

3. Helping pupils know where to get help and support

The new guidance states:

Pupils should know “how to recognise who to trust and who not to trust, how to judge when a friendship is making them feel unhappy or uncomfortable, managing conflict and how to seek help or advice from others.”

Before leaving primary school, pupils should be able to:

• recognise when something feels wrong
• understand personal boundaries
• know who to speak to for help.

This is a key safeguarding element of RSHE.

Simple summary for schools

Taken together, the RSHE guidance expects primary schools to ensure pupils leave Year 6 with:

• knowledge about puberty and body changes
• understanding of friendships and early relationships
• confidence to seek help and talk to trusted adults.

How Loudmouth can Support

Loudmouth have been delivering puberty education to primary schools for over 30 years. Our My Mate Fancies You programme has been updated to ensure that it meets the new guidance. We provide support materials and training for teachers to help them understand the new guidance and offer affordable and effective theatre in education sessions, lesson plans and resources.

My Mate Fancies You is a gentle and fun programme that weaves in all the guidance into a programme that children will remember. The story explores changing friendships and early romantic feelings, helping pupils reflect on respect, kindness and boundaries. It explores the physical and emotional changes of puberty through characters experiencing these changes, helping pupils understand them in a reassuring and relatable way. The programme encourages pupils to think about trusted adults and how to talk about worries related to growing up, relationships or friendships.

To find out more about how we can help you with the new guidance for teaching about puberty contact us on 0121 446 4880 or email us at enquiry@loudmouth.co.uk