Engaging Parents in PSHE hero

Parent Engagement in Primary PSHE and RSE

Authored by the Muse Wellbeing Team

First Published on the 31st of July, 2026.

Lead Writer

David is a qualified British teacher and the Muse Wellbeing director and lead curriculum developer. His main passions include education, surfing (badly) and travel.

Editorial Review

With over 15 years of experience teaching in primary schools in northern England, Charlotte has played a key role in shaping many lessons across the Muse Wellbeing curriculum.
Effective engagement with parents and carers in PSHE starts with clear, consistent information. Families should know what pupils will learn, why it matters, how the content is adapted for the age group and where to direct questions. Senior leaders and the PSHE lead should agree this position before communication is sent.

The Department for Education’s revised statutory guidance from 1 September 2026 strengthens expectations around working closely with parents, explaining what will be taught and when, providing opportunities to ask questions and giving families access to planned materials.

Relationships Education is compulsory in all primary schools and Health Education is compulsory in state-funded primary schools. Additional primary sex education beyond national curriculum science is not compulsory, so schools must distinguish clearly between statutory content and the content from which parents may withdraw their child.

Throughout this article, “families” includes parents, carers and other adults with day-to-day responsibility for a child. Where statutory guidance or parental rights refer specifically to parents, that term is retained.

Contents

  • What schools need before communicating with families
  • A practical model for family engagement in PSHE and RSE
  • Build a clear communication model before concerns arise
  • Consultation, policy and parental rights
  • Sharing PSHE and RSE materials with families
  • Whole-school roles and trust-wide consistency
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Key takeaways
  • Conclusion
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What schools need before communicating with families

Before contacting families, senior leaders and the PSHE lead should check that the Relationships Education policy, curriculum map, planned materials and family-facing information all describe the same approach.

The curriculum map should show clear progression and distinguish statutory Relationships and Health Education, national curriculum science, additional primary sex education and wider PSHE. This matters because families often want clarity about the purpose, language and age-appropriateness of sensitive content, not simply its topic title.

Agree clear routes for curriculum questions, resource access, withdrawal requests, safeguarding concerns and complaints. Staff should know what they can answer and when to refer a question.

Communication should be accessible as well as accurate. Consider translation, readable formats, timing and alternatives for families who do not use the usual digital channels. Use inclusive wording that reflects diverse family structures and avoids assumptions about who lives at home or which adult holds day-to-day caring responsibility. The wider guide to PSHE can help staff use consistent subject language. The Education Endowment Foundation’s guidance on working with parents also supports a sustained, two-way approach rather than isolated contact.
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A practical model for family engagement in PSHE and RSE

Engaging Parents in PSHE pillars
Use four practical areas to audit the school’s approach. This is not a statutory framework, but it separates activities often grouped together as family engagement. Each area should have an owner, a review point and a record of key decisions.

1. Communication

Communication is the planned information families receive about what is taught, when it is taught and where they can ask questions. Keep it brief, consistent and in plain language. The school website should include the current Relationships Education policy, the approach to primary sex education where taught and a clear curriculum overview.

2. Consultation

Consultation gives parents a genuine opportunity to understand the school’s approach, ask questions and provide feedback before decisions are finalised. It is not a vote on statutory content. Set a clear purpose, accessible information, reasonable time to respond and an explanation of what can and cannot change.

3. Participation

Participation gives families practical ways to engage, such as a short workshop, guided resource viewing, recorded explanation or question-and-answer session before puberty or primary sex education.

4. Partnership

Partnership is the longer-term relationship between school and home. It supports consistent messages about safety, respectful relationships, body boundaries and help-seeking while maintaining clear professional boundaries. Communication should reflect the diversity of family life, including single-parent, blended, adoptive, foster and kinship families, families with same-sex parents and children cared for by grandparents or other relatives.

What this looks like across a school year

A manageable pattern might include:

  • A short curriculum overview at the start of the academic year
  • A policy consultation and website update when the policy is reviewed
  • Focused notice before puberty or additional primary sex education
  • One guided opportunity to view resources or ask questions
  • A short update explaining what the school learned and changed

This rhythm gives families regular opportunities to ask questions before concerns escalate. The PSHE lead should bring recurring questions and any safeguarding, equality or accessibility themes into the annual subject review.
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Build a clear communication model before concerns arise

Start with a year-round plan, not a one-off letter

Do not wait until a few days before a sensitive unit. Map communication across the year, link it to the curriculum sequence and assign responsibility for each message.

The PSHE lead can prepare the annual overview and unit summaries, a senior leader can approve policy and consultation messages, the DSL can review safeguarding implications and class teachers can receive a brief before communication goes home. The headteacher remains responsible for withdrawal decisions and significant complaints.

Use a family communication checklist

A useful family-facing message should answer seven questions:

  • What will pupils learn?
  • Why is the school teaching it, and which part is statutory?
  • How is the content sequenced and adapted for the year group, including pupils with SEND?
  • How can families view the resources the school plans to use?
  • Does any right to withdraw apply?
  • When and how can families ask questions?
  • Where can families find the policy, curriculum overview and further guidance?

Keep the educational rationale close to the topic. Explain, for example, that body-boundary learning supports personal safety or that puberty education prepares pupils for changes they may experience. Avoid vague reassurance without showing what makes the content age-appropriate.

Reuse the checklist for letters, app messages, website pages and meetings. Muse’s information for parents and carers page can also support summaries, FAQs and home discussion.

Use accessible channels, but keep the core information consistent

Use more than one channel where this improves access, but keep the curriculum description, statutory position, dates, parental rights and contact route consistent. Consider translated summaries, readable formats, interpreters and alternatives to evening meetings.

Give staff a shared response and escalation route

Class teachers should understand the lesson rationale, but they should not make policy or withdrawal decisions at the school gate. Give all front-facing staff agreed wording, a named contact and clear guidance on when questions move to the PSHE lead, DSL, senior leader or headteacher. Avoid late notice, unexplained statutory language, treating every question as opposition and relying on one meeting to resolve everything.

For schools within a multi-academy trust, agreed principles for academy trust PSHE can reduce repeated drafting while allowing communication to reflect the local community.
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Consultation, policy and parental rights

Consultation is more than sending information home

Schools must consult parents when developing or reviewing their Relationships Education policy and any policy content covering primary sex education. The Department for Education’s guidance on engaging parents with Relationships Education policy includes practical advice for headteachers, governors and trustees.

Consultation should show that feedback has been considered and what, if anything, changed. It is not a vote and does not give parents a veto over statutory Relationships or Health Education. A focused questionnaire can test understanding and identify practical or accessibility barriers.

Primary schools should also consult parents before the final year of primary school about the detailed content of any sex education they plan to teach and offer support for related conversations at home.

Keep policy, curriculum and communication aligned

The policy should explain curriculum content and sequencing, who teaches it, accessibility, responses to questions or disclosures, consultation, review arrangements and withdrawal from primary sex education beyond national curriculum science. It should match the curriculum map, lesson materials and family-facing communication.
Primary schools must publish their Relationships Education policy online and make it available free of charge. Schools may include Health Education and wider PSHE in the same document. For implementation from September 2026, use the Muse guides to the revised statutory guidance, developing or reviewing an RSE policy and writing a PSHE policy.

Explain parental rights accurately

The distinction should be clear in every policy, letter and staff briefing:

  • Parents cannot withdraw a child from statutory Relationships Education.
  • Parents cannot withdraw a child from statutory Health Education or national curriculum science.
  • In primary schools, the headteacher must comply with a parent’s request to withdraw their child from sex education that goes beyond national curriculum science.

The headteacher should offer to discuss the request, explain the purpose of the content and clarify its scope, but the request must be granted. Record the decision and provide appropriate, purposeful education during the withdrawal.
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Sharing PSHE and RSE materials with families

Engaging Parents in PSHE materials

What to share

A request from a parent or carer to see materials is not automatically a sign of opposition. They often want reassurance about purpose, language, images and age-appropriateness. Respond positively and provide the materials planned for their child with enough context to explain how they will be used. Share:

  • The unit title, learning aims and educational rationale
  • Whether content is statutory Relationships or Health Education, national curriculum science, additional primary sex education or wider PSHE
  • Key vocabulary, progression from earlier learning and the approach to questions
  • Examples during consultation and access to the materials planned for the child when requested
  • The relevant policy section, withdrawal position and named contact

How to share materials with context

Slides or worksheets alone do not show how teachers introduce a topic, establish ground rules or respond to questions. Offer a guided viewing, short presentation or explanatory note, include relevant teacher guidance and remove any pupil names, work, disclosures or identifying information.

Be transparent about access and copyright

Schools should respond positively when parents or carers ask to see planned materials. The Department for Education’s letter on sharing curriculum resources with parents confirms that external copyright does not prevent materials being shown to parents on school premises.

Full resource packs do not need to be published publicly. A secure portal, guided presentation or in-school viewing may be suitable, with another reasonable route where access is difficult. Do not use copyright to refuse access, and avoid providers whose terms prevent reasonable family access. The Muse guide to choosing PSHE resources provides further practical checks.

Record requests and keep the process manageable

Treat resource requests as a normal process. A named member of staff should acknowledge the request, give an expected response time, arrange access and record the date, material version, access route and any agreed action.
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Whole-school roles and trust-wide consistency

Once the policy, curriculum map, family-facing information and response routes are aligned, assign clear responsibility so staff do not have to interpret policy under pressure:

  • PSHE lead: checks coverage, progression, unit information, resources and family FAQs, and brings recurring questions into the subject review
  • Headteacher or senior leader: approves policy and consultation messages, agrees escalation routes and leads significant responses; the headteacher makes withdrawal decisions
  • Class teachers: explain planned learning using agreed wording and direct policy, resource-access and withdrawal questions to the named lead
  • SENCO or inclusion lead: checks accessibility, reasonable adjustments and communication for pupils and families with SEND
  • DSL: ensures staff know how to respond when a question, disclosure or family communication raises a safeguarding concern
  • Governors or trustees: provide strategic oversight, assure themselves that duties are met and avoid directing routine lesson planning or selecting individual resources

Review roles and materials annually, before selected units and after consultation or a significant concern. Record owners, decisions and deadlines through the normal subject-development process.

Trust-wide consistency without losing local engagement

Trusts can standardise statutory wording, minimum policy expectations, safeguarding and equality principles, resource-sharing arrangements, consultation steps and templates. The scheme of delegation should show what the trust board retains and what is delegated locally.

The Department for Education’s Academy trust governance guide confirms the board’s collective accountability, while schools should adapt dates, channels and examples to their community. For trusts exploring a shared curriculum, Muse’s support for MATs and school groups outlines implementation support, curriculum consistency and group pricing across participating schools.

Brief staff and agree escalation routes

Before communication is sent, brief staff likely to receive questions, including teachers, teaching assistants, pastoral staff and the office team. They should know what families have received, what is statutory, where withdrawal applies, who arranges resource access and when issues move to the DSL, senior leader or complaints process. Governors should receive enough information for strategic assurance, and one named person should lead any public response without discussing individual pupils or families. The PSHE Association’s guidance on engaging parents and governors provides further support.
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Frequently Asked Questions

How early should schools communicate with parents and carers about PSHE and RSE?

Give families a broad overview near the start of the academic year and focused notice before puberty or additional primary sex education. The guidance sets no fixed minimum notice period, so allow enough time to read the information, ask questions and view planned materials. Primary schools should consult parents before the final primary year about the detailed content of any sex education they plan to teach.

What is the difference between informing families and consulting parents?

Informing explains what will be taught, when and how. Consulting invites feedback while a policy or approach is being developed or reviewed, then shows how responses were considered. Consultation must be genuine, but it is not a vote and does not give parents a veto over statutory content.

What should a good PSHE parent and carer questionnaire include?

Ask whether families understand the curriculum, statutory distinctions, withdrawal rights, resource-access process and contact route. Identify unanswered questions, language or accessibility barriers and useful practical support. Do not frame the questionnaire as a vote on statutory content.

Should schools share lesson materials with parents and carers?

Schools should respond positively and provide access to the materials planned for the child, with enough classroom context to explain their use. Provide examples during policy consultation. Full packs need not be published publicly: a guided viewing, presentation, secure portal or another reasonable route may be suitable. Copyright does not prevent materials being shown on school premises, and pupil information must be protected.

Can parents withdraw a primary pupil from PSHE or Relationships Education?

There is no general right to withdraw from PSHE, statutory Relationships Education, statutory Health Education or national curriculum science. Parents may withdraw a primary pupil from sex education beyond national curriculum science, and the headteacher must comply. Clarify the scope, record the decision and provide purposeful education during the withdrawal.

What should multi-academy trusts lead centrally?

Trusts can agree minimum policy expectations, statutory wording, safeguarding and equality principles, resource-access arrangements, consultation steps and templates. The scheme of delegation should identify retained and delegated functions. Schools should still adapt dates, accessible communication routes and local examples.

How often should schools review their family engagement approach?

Review the approach at least annually alongside curriculum and policy planning, and sooner after consultation, a significant concern, changes to content or resources or new statutory guidance. Record actions through the normal subject-development process.
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Key takeaways

  • Plan family communication across the year instead of relying on one-off letters.
  • Distinguish statutory Relationships Education, statutory Health Education, national curriculum science, primary sex education and wider PSHE content.
  • Consult parents meaningfully, but do not present statutory content as optional.
  • Explain the right to withdraw from primary sex education clearly and narrowly.
  • Make planned resources available with classroom context and a manageable access process.
  • Give staff shared wording, a named contact and a clear escalation route.
  • Standardise statutory essentials across trusts while allowing sensible local adaptation.
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Conclusion

Effective family engagement in PSHE and RSE depends on accurate information, sensible timing, clear leadership ownership and a process that families and staff can understand.

Under the revised statutory guidance from 1 September 2026, schools should explain what will be taught and when, provide opportunities to ask questions and access planned materials and consult parents before the final primary year about detailed sex education content.

Senior leaders should align the policy, curriculum map, unit messages and staff guidance. The PSHE lead should maintain one reliable route for curriculum questions, while the headteacher retains responsibility for withdrawal decisions and significant complaints.

The aim is not agreement on every detail. It is a professional relationship in which families receive meaningful information and opportunities to be heard, leaders make defensible decisions and teachers deliver sensitive learning with confidence.

Muse Wellbeing provides a structured primary PSHE and RSE curriculum from Reception to Year 6, with fully resourced lessons and teacher guidance. Schools can explore the Muse Wellbeing primary PSHE curriculum or get free whole-school access until September 2028.

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