Relationships

Families

Overview

Our teaching on families starts from a simple truth: there is no single model of what a family looks like. We explore the full range of family structures — single parents, step-families, same-sex parents, kinship care, fostering, adoption, and everything in between. But we go deeper than just naming them. We explore what families are for. What love looks like inside them. What happens when they're difficult. How roles change as children grow. And what it means to feel safe — or unsafe — at home.

For younger children, a session might focus on understanding that all families are valid and that difference is normal. For older students, the conversation might turn to family conflict, changing relationships with parents and carers, or the challenges of home life that nobody at school sees.

Key learning outcomes

By the end of lessons on this topic, students will:

Understand that families come in many forms, and all are equally valid
Recognise the roles that different family members play in providing love, stability, and care
Explore how family relationships change over time, especially during adolescence
Develop empathy for peers whose family situations differ from their own
Identify what a safe and supportive home environment looks like
Learn where to get help when family life is difficult, unstable, or unsafe
Understand how their own family experiences shape their expectations of relationships

Why teaching about families matters

Every child in your classroom has a family, and for some of them it's the hardest part of their life. This isn't just about celebrating diversity — though that matters. It's about making sure no child feels invisible because their home life doesn't match the default.

When we normalise the full range of family structures and talk honestly about what happens when families struggle, we create space for children to speak up. For the child in foster care, the child whose parents are separating, the child being raised by grandparents — seeing their reality reflected in a session can be the first time they feel seen at school.

Curriculum alignment

This topic addresses 21 requirements from the DfE statutory RSE guidance and 5 learning outcomes from the PSHE Association Programme of Study , across KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4.

View all curriculum references

DfE RSE Statutory Guidance 2026

"How families and relationships change over time, including through birth, death, separation and new relationships" Secondary RSE: Families, 6 · KS3, KS4
"How these relationships might contribute to wellbeing, and their importance for bringing up children" Secondary RSE: Families, 2 · KS3, KS4
"How to ask for advice or help for themselves or others, and to keep trying until they are heard. Where to get advice e.g. family, school and/or other sources" Relationships Education: Being Safe, 7 · KS1, KS2
"How to communicate effectively and manage conflict with kindness and respect; how to be assertive and express needs and boundaries; how to manage feelings, including disappointment and frustration" Relationships Education: Respectful kind relationships, 3 · KS1, KS2
"How to judge whether what they are feeling and how they are behaving is appropriate and proportionate" Health Education: General wellbeing, 5 · KS1, KS2
"How to recognise feelings and use varied vocabulary to talk about their own and others' feelings" Health Education: General wellbeing, 4 · KS1, KS2
"How to recognise if family relationships are making them feel unhappy or unsafe, and how to seek help or advice from others if needed" Relationships Education: Families and people who care for me, 6 · KS1, KS2
"How to seek help when needed, including when they are concerned about violence, harm, or when they are unsure who to trust" Relationships Education: Respectful kind relationships, 11 · KS1, KS2
"How to talk about their emotions accurately and sensitively, using appropriate vocabulary" Secondary Health: Mental wellbeing, 1 · KS3, KS4
"That families are important for children growing up safe and happy because they can provide love, security and stability" Relationships Education: Families and people who care for me, 1 · KS1, KS2
"That marriage and civil partnerships represent a formal and legally recognised commitment of two people to each other which is intended to be lifelong" Relationships Education: Families and people who care for me, 5 · KS1, KS2
"That stable, caring relationships are at the heart of safe and happy families and are important for children's security as they grow up" Relationships Education: Families and people who care for me, 4 · KS1, KS2
"That the families of other children sometimes look different from their family, but that they should respect those differences and know that other children's families are also characterised by love and care" Relationships Education: Families and people who care for me, 3 · KS1, KS2
"That there are different types of committed, stable relationships" Secondary RSE: Families, 1 · KS3, KS4
"That worrying and feeling down are normal, can affect everyone at different times and are not in themselves a sign of a mental health condition" Secondary Health: Mental wellbeing, 4 · KS3, KS4
"The characteristics of safe and happy family life, such as commitment to each other, including in times of difficulty, protection and care for children and other family members, the importance of spending time together and sharing each other's lives" Relationships Education: Families and people who care for me, 2 · KS1, KS2
"The range and scale of emotions (e.g. happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, nervousness) that they might experience in different situations. That worrying and feeling down are normal, affect everyone at different times, and are not in themselves a sign of a mental health condition" Health Education: General wellbeing, 3 · KS1, KS2
"The roles and responsibilities of parents with respect to raising children, including the characteristics of successful parenting and the importance of the early years of a child's life for brain development" Secondary RSE: Families, 7 · KS3, KS4
"Understanding which trusted adults they can talk to if pupils are worried about violence and/or knife crime" Secondary Health: Personal safety, 4 · KS3, KS4
"Where and how to seek support (including recognising the triggers for seeking support), including who in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else's mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions" Health Education: General wellbeing, 9 · KS1, KS2
"Why marriage or civil partnership is an important relationship choice for many couples. The legal status of marriage and civil partnership, including legal rights, benefits and protections not available to cohabiting couples" Secondary RSE: Families, 3 · KS3, KS4

PSHE Association Programme of Study 2020

"About different types of relationships, including those within families, friendships, romantic or intimate relationships and the factors that can affect them" KS3 Core Theme 2: Relationships, R1 · KS3
"Different things they can do to manage big feelings, to help calm themselves down and/or change their mood when they don't feel good" KS1 Core Theme 1: Health and Wellbeing, H18 · KS1, KS2
"The nature and importance of stable, long-term relationships (including marriage and civil partnerships) for family life and bringing up children" KS3 Core Theme 2: Relationships, R36 · KS3
"The roles and responsibilities of parents, carers and children in families" KS3 Core Theme 2: Relationships, R35 · KS3
"To recognise that feelings can change over time and range in intensity" KS1-2 Core Theme 1: Health and Wellbeing, H17 · KS1, KS2