PSHE stands for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education — the weekly lesson slot in UK secondary schools where students learn the life skills the rest of the curriculum does not cover directly. Topics range from mental health and healthy relationships to managing money and preparing for the world of work.
What does PSHE cover in secondary school?
PSHE is not a single, nationally prescribed syllabus — schools have flexibility in how they design their PSHE curriculum, within guidance from the Department for Education. However, most secondary school PSHE programmes cover three broad areas:
| Area | Key topics covered |
|---|---|
| Health and wellbeing | Mental health, physical health, sleep, alcohol and drugs, online safety |
| Relationships | Friendship, family, romantic relationships, consent, LGBTQ+ topics |
| Living in the wider world | Careers, money and budgeting, rights and responsibilities, the law |
The content is not static across year groups — it deepens and becomes more sophisticated as pupils get older. Year 7 might cover online safety and peer pressure; Year 11 covers consent, financial independence and work experience preparation.
Is PSHE compulsory?
PSHE is not a statutory National Curriculum subject for secondary schools, which means schools technically choose whether to teach it. In practice, the vast majority of secondary schools do offer PSHE, often as a timetabled lesson once a week or once a fortnight. It is sometimes integrated into form tutor time or delivered in themed days or weeks.
What IS compulsory is the subset of PSHE known as Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE), which became mandatory in all state secondary schools in England from September 2020. The statutory elements include:
- Relationships Education — healthy and unhealthy relationships, online relationships, equality
- Sex Education — reproduction, contraception, STIs (secondary only)
- Health Education — mental health, physical health, hygiene, basic first aid
These statutory elements form the core of any school's PSHE provision.
Can parents withdraw their child from PSHE or RSHE?
This depends on which part of PSHE is in question:
- Relationships Education and Health Education — parents do not have the right to withdraw their child. These are statutory requirements.
- Sex Education (specifically the sex education elements beyond the science curriculum) — parents of secondary pupils can request withdrawal until the child is three terms before their sixteenth birthday. After that age, the student can choose to attend themselves.
- Non-statutory PSHE elements — the school's policy will govern this; schools vary in how they handle parental requests.
If you have concerns about specific content, the best approach is to ask the school for their PSHE programme or scheme of work and raise questions with the PSHE lead teacher before requesting withdrawal — most concerns can be addressed through dialogue.
Why does PSHE matter for secondary-age pupils?
The life skills covered in PSHE are ones that teenagers actively use. Research from the Education Endowment Foundation suggests that good social and emotional learning programmes improve academic outcomes as well as wellbeing — because pupils who can manage emotions, build relationships and make good decisions are better placed to engage with their academic work.
More concretely, PSHE addresses topics that matter to teenagers' real lives:
- Understanding consent and healthy relationships reduces risk in dating situations
- Financial literacy lessons reduce the likelihood of debt problems in early adulthood
- Mental health content helps young people recognise distress in themselves and peers
- Careers content demystifies routes into employment and further education
Parents often assume schools are covering these topics but are unsure of the detail. Asking to see the PSHE scheme of work is entirely reasonable and most schools will share it.
How is PSHE assessed and does it appear on the GCSE certificate?
PSHE is not assessed externally and does not appear on a GCSE certificate. Schools may run internal assessments — written reflections, discussions, quizzes — to check understanding, but these do not count towards any qualification.
A small number of pupils choose to take a GCSE or Certificate in Health and Social Care as an option subject, which is a separate, assessed qualification distinct from general PSHE. The majority, however, experience PSHE as a non-examined curriculum area throughout Years 7 to 11.
How can parents reinforce PSHE learning at home?
PSHE works best when the conversations it starts at school continue at home. You do not need to teach the content yourself; simply keeping communication open creates an environment where your child can raise the topics covered:
- After a PSHE lesson on financial literacy, ask your child what they learned about budgeting and share your own approach to managing money.
- After relationships content, let your child know they can talk to you about any friendship or relationship concerns without fear of overreaction.
- After mental health sessions, normalise talking about emotions in your household — your child is more likely to flag struggles early if they have seen you do the same.
Frequently asked questions
Does PSHE include sex education?
Sex education is covered within PSHE in secondary schools, as part of the statutory RSHE framework. The science of reproduction is also covered within Biology. The PSHE element goes beyond biology to cover relationships, consent, contraception, sexual health and LGBTQ+ identities.
How many hours of PSHE does a secondary pupil receive?
There is no national minimum. Most schools timetable around one lesson per week (or equivalent) of PSHE or form-time content. Surveys suggest an average of thirty to forty hours per year in secondary schools, though this varies significantly.
Is PSHE the same as form time?
Some schools deliver PSHE within form time (the daily registration period); others give it a separate curriculum slot. The advantage of separate timetabled PSHE is that it allows trained teachers to deliver structured programmes; form-time delivery is lighter but more frequent. Ask your school which model they use.
What if my child finds PSHE embarrassing?
It is completely normal for teenagers to find some PSHE topics uncomfortable — topics around relationships and health in particular. Schools are trained to create a safe, non-judgemental environment for these discussions. If specific sessions are causing significant distress, speak to the form tutor or PSHE lead rather than withdrawing your child, as distress around these topics can sometimes indicate something worth exploring further.
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