Respectful relationships: what November’s clarification means for schools

What the November answer clarifies

On 4 November, the Department for Education told Parliament that its whole-school resources on misogyny, respect and belonging are optional and their use will not be a specific Ofsted inspection expectation. The answer distinguished those resources from RSHE teaching and the continuing assessment of safeguarding and pupil welfare.^[1]

The clarification helps leaders decide where to put staff time. An optional framework can support a review of practice without becoming a purchasing requirement or prescribed programme. The school still needs to exercise professional judgement, starting with pupils’ experience and the consistency of its response.

Our 19 October analysis of misogyny beyond the RSHE lesson examined curriculum, leadership, reporting and culture. The November answer clarifies the resources’ status and their relationship to inspection. Leaders can use that distinction when explaining what they want to improve and which approaches will help.

What schools reported in the June survey

DfE’s School and College Voice report was published on 29 October, following fieldwork from 30 June to 13 July. Among the 477 secondary leaders who consented to answer the relevant questions, 70% said their school had actively dealt with child-on-child sexual violence or harassment since September 2025.^[2]

This describes what schools reported handling. It does not measure how many pupils experienced harm, and it is not a sixth-form-only finding.

The implication for leadership is about the connection between teaching and response. A student may be able to identify disrespectful behaviour in a lesson while remaining unsure what will happen if they challenge it among friends. Staff may teach clear boundaries while applying inconsistent language elsewhere. A curriculum review needs to look beyond whether the right topic appears in a plan.

Our full RSHE implementation feature explains the wider questions around materials, sequencing, staff preparation and safe teaching. This continuation concentrates on the everyday moment when a young person needs to use that learning. The legal scope still matters: school sixth forms and sixth-form colleges, FE colleges and 16 to 19 academies have different statutory arrangements.^[3]

Belonging, boundaries and the adult response

In his supplied founder Q&A, Will Phillips describes friendships as a source of confidence and also, at times, pressure to hide parts of yourself. He also asks adults to consider the effect of their own language and expectations. His experience of growing up gay in Northern Ireland informs that emphasis on acceptance and self-worth.^[4]

His account draws attention to how a young person interprets the people around them. Respectful communication becomes harder when belonging seems to depend on agreement. Students may need to practise expressing a boundary while trusting that an adult will take a concern seriously. The school’s response remains an adult responsibility.

The Reset gives healthy relationships and communication a place in its four-session sequence. Students consider respectful behaviour, boundaries and communication under teacher supervision. A clear learning question follows: after the teaching, what would a student be better able to recognise, explain or try?

Follow one situation through teaching, practice and response

Consider an illustrative School Connection example. A group chat becomes personal and a student feels pressure to share something private. They know the language of boundaries but worry that declining will make them the next target. This is a fictional teaching scenario, not a reported incident or a supplied Reset activity.

A staff discussion could first consider what the student needs to recognise: the pressure, the choices, the possible consequences and the point at which adult help is needed. It could then examine how students practise explaining a boundary without being asked to describe their own private experiences. Finally, staff can follow what happens if the student approaches a teacher after the session.

That last step often exposes the practical gaps. Does the student know whom to approach? Does the teacher know what can and cannot remain confidential? If another colleague needs to act, is the handover clear? The same school message should be recognisable in the lesson, in ordinary interactions and when a concern is raised.

Agree the response students should receive

The next step is a short review shared by the personal development lead and the relevant pastoral and safeguarding colleagues. Select one realistic situation, identify the teaching already in place and agree the response students should meet. Include accessible ways to participate and a private route to support. Avoid using personal disclosures as evidence that a lesson has succeeded.

Leaders have discretion over optional resources and responsibility for the quality of provision. A review should help them identify the teaching, staff preparation or support that needs attention, then agree who will act.

The next feature on support in sixth forms follows what happens when a student recognises a concern and wants to approach an adult. Respectful relationships teaching needs that dependable route into help.