Guidance on the Delivery of Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood Education in Scottish Schools

1. Introduction

Legal status of the guidance

1.1. The updated statutory guidance contained in this document is issued under section 56 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000^[1]. It replaces the earlier guidance, Conduct of Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood Education in Schools, issued in December 2014^[2].

1.2. Local authorities must have regard to this guidance in discharging their statutory functions relating to provision of education about sexual matters in the schools and settings they manage within the curricular framework^[3]. Given ongoing curriculum reform through the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, the Scottish Government will keep this guidance under review as necessary.

Who is this document for?

1.3. This guidance applies to local authorities’ provision of relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education in the schools and settings they manage.

1.4. This guidance refers to teachers and practitioners but may also be relevant to youth workers, residential care staff, nurses including school nurses, health improvement staff, third sector agencies and any other professionals delivering RSHP education to children and young people

1.5. Furthermore, the principles set out in this guidance can be equally relevant for the provision of education for children and young people looked after by local authorities in residential settings or in youth clubs or groups which are funded, in whole or in part, by local authorities, the Scottish Government or other public agencies.

Legal Framework underpinning Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP) Education

1.6. The incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law in Scotland by the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024^[4] aims to create a proactive culture of everyday accountability for children’s rights across public services in Scotland. The delivery of RSHP education should reflect the improved awareness, understanding and realisation of child rights across Scottish public policy, public services and society as a whole. Article 12 of the UNCRC, for example, sets out that children have a right to express their own views freely in all matters affecting them.

1.7. Aspects of the UNCRC’s main provisions in relation to rights to education in Articles 28 and 29 are already reflected in sections 1 and 2 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000^[5]. However, it is important to consider the UNCRC in its entirety and pay special attention to the four General Principles when planning RSHP education, thus ensuring children’s rights are effectively embedded across the curriculum. The four General Principles assist in interpreting all the other articles and play a fundamental role in realising all the rights in the UNCRC for all children and young people. The four General Principles are:

• for rights to be applied without discrimination (Article 2);
• for the best interests of the child to be a primary consideration (Article 3);
• for the right to life, survival and development (Article 6); and,
• for the right to express a view and have that view taken into account (Article 12).

1.8. Article 5 sets out that the rights and responsibilities of parents and carers to provide guidance and direction to their child or young person as they grow up should be respected, so that they fully enjoy their rights. This must be done in a way that recognises the child or young person is presumed capable of forming views and participating in decisions about their health and wellbeing and that they have increasing capacity to make their own choices.

1.9. Article 13 also sets out that under the right to freedom of expression, children and young people have the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds. In addition, all children and young people have a right to privacy, safety, dignity and respect, under Article 16. In line with Article 12 and Getting It Right For Every Child, children and young people should be central to decision making. Chapter 1 of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Technical Guidance for Schools in Scotland^[6] provides an overview of the schools provisions of the Equality Act 2010, including what may be lawful, unlawful and whether exceptions may be available.

1.10. Local authorities, as any public authority, have a duty to act in a way which is compatible with the human rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights. This applies to the rights of parents and carers as well as the rights of children and young people. Parents and carers have the right to have their children educated with regard to their own religious and philosophical convictions. This is why RSHP education should be presented in an objective, balanced and sensitive manner within a framework of sound values and an awareness of the law, and teachers should work closely with parents in its delivery, by discussing proposed lessons and resources with them in advance.

1.11. The Equality Act 2010^[7] protects individuals from unlawful discrimination and harassment and promotes a fair and more equal society. The protected characteristics of disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation apply in relation to schools. The Act also places a legal duty (known as the ‘Public Sector Equality Duty’) on public authorities, including local authorities and the managers of grant-aided schools, to prevent unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation in their schools and settings and advance equal opportunities for all children and young people. This is supplemented by specific duties set out in regulations^[8]. In exercising their functions, local authorities must have due regard to the three needs of the General Equality Duty below:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act;
• advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and
• foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

Why the guidance has been updated

1.12. Since the publication of the 2014 guidance, the Scottish Government announced the national review of Personal and Social Education (PSE), in March 2017, including the role of pastoral care and children and young people counselling services, conducted as part of the Mental Health Strategy 2017 to 2027^[9]. Following the review, the Scottish Government identified 16 recommendations to improve the delivery of Health and Wellbeing and PSE in Scotland. Recommendation 7 outlined the need for updated teaching guidance in respect of Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP) education:

“The Scottish Government, working with key partners in local government and the third sector, will ensure that the forthcoming review to update the existing guidance available to schools ‘Conduct of Relationships Sexual Health and Parenthood Education in Schools (2014)’ includes appropriate guidance to ensure that consent education is age and stage appropriate and reflects the issues that are facing children and young people, especially from online influences.”^[10]

1.13. The LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group’s report^[11] to the Scottish Ministers recommended the Scottish Government develop National Guidance outlining their expectations regarding LGBT inclusive education while signposting teachers to supporting resources. This links directly to this Working Group’s recommendation that “‘Conduct of Relationships, Sexual Health, and Parenthood Education in Schools’ (2014)^[12] is updated. Furthermore, recommendation 8 advises that the updated guidance uses a ‘thematic outcomes’ based approach. These thematic outcomes should cover various themes related but not exclusive to LGBT equality and inclusion, including:

• terminologies and identities;
• the impact of social prejudice and the history of social rights movements;
• the equality of people, families and relationships represented in an inclusive manner; and
• how to recognise and respond to prejudice within school and wider society while respecting individual rights and privacy.”

1.14. This guidance reflects those recommendations. It also reflects changes to society since the last version was published in 2014 and the increasing use of technology that allows us to interact online more easily. This presents new opportunities but also significant challenges for children and young people especially as artificial intelligence develops, bringing with it an increasing number of complex and different issues than those we are currently used to, such as the ability to create fake sexualised imagery using the picture of an individual without their consent or AI companion chatbots that simulate relationships and risk exposure to inappropriate and explicit content.

1.15. The guidance has also been updated in response to the evolving Public Health landscape for children and young people. There have been concerning changes about many aspects of young people’s experiences and behaviours requiring concerted multi-agency responses. Young people today face many new challenges to their wellbeing and early relationships in addition to those experienced by previous generations. Some of these challenges have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

1.16. The changes in young people’s sexual health and relationships in the Scottish context includes:

• An increase in teenage pregnancy after over 25 years of decreasing rates^[13]
• A sharp increase in young people’s uptake of abortion services
• A decrease in young people’s uptake of sexual health services
• A decrease in young people’s use of hormonal contraception, especially long acting methods^[14]
• A decrease in young people’s use of condoms^[15]
• Increases in STI acquisition including a 90% increase of gonorrhoea in young people under 20 year olds between 2018 and 2023^[16]
• An increase in the number and proportion of adolescent presentations at sexual assault referral centres (SARC) services following rape and sexual assault^[17]

1.17. These outcomes take place against a context which includes:

• Reports of attitudes showing normalisation of aggressive acts in young people’s sexual relationships^[18][19]
• Prior to the enactment of the Online Safety Act 2025, easy exposure and access to pornography, whether sought out or not, much of it violent and abusive in content and from a very young age ranging from 10% of 9 year olds, 27% of 11 year olds and 50% of 13 year olds. At the time of writing, it is unclear to what extent the Act has reduced access
• Children and young people are at heightened risks through their daily online activity of sexual harassment, sexual extortion, intimate image abuse, grooming and technology assisted child sexual abuse. The rapid introduction of AI poses ever greater risks of harm^[20]
• Young people and especially girls and young women almost universally experience sexual harassment and increasing misogynistic behaviour in peer groups, schools and further and higher education settings as well as their online experiences
• Young people still find communicating around sexual consent challenging and still experience barriers to enacting their rights in relation to consent

1.18. Adults in children and young people’s lives including parents, carers and staff that work with young people in a range of settings, are often unaware of the difficulty young people experience. Adults can be unsure of how, when and what to say in discussing relationships and sexual health with them.

1.19. The Scottish Government held a public consultation between August and November 2023 on the content of the revised guidance^[21]. Young Scot and the Scottish Youth Parliament were commissioned by the Scottish Government, during the same period, to engage with young people to gather their views. The summary of all the responses which have informed this guidance was published in February 2025.^[22]