1
Acknowledged
We welcome the changes to the statutory guidance on relationships and sex education and health...
Conclusion
We welcome the changes to the statutory guidance on relationships and sex education and health education (RSHE). They are the crucial first step towards ensuring all girls have an adequate understanding of their menstrual cycle and know when and how to seek help for period problems. The challenge now is to prepare schools and teachers to deliver that education effectively. We are not entirely reassured that the Government is taking all the necessary steps to meet that challenge. (Conclusion, Paragraph 29)
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the committee's comments on RSHE guidance, highlighting past training funding and a recently announced £2m for 2024/25 RSHE teacher training (focused on online harms/mental health, with menstrual health also considered). It states DfE will work with DHSC and stakeholders on training and resources, and notes the RSHE guidance is currently under review.
Government Response
Acknowledged
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government welcomes the Committee’s comments regarding the updated Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance and agrees that effective delivery is crucial to ensuring girls have an adequate understanding of their menstrual cycle. The updated guidance, which came into effect in September 2020, helps schools to develop and deliver an effective RSHE curriculum, ensuring that girls are taught about key menstrual health matters, including information on common menstrual disorders. The Department for Education (DfE) launched an initial £6m universal training programme for primary and secondary schools in the academic year 2019/20 to support the introduction of RSHE. Training was offered via a network of RSHE Lead Schools and also provided free online training resources. The training and resources included support on how to teach the menstrual wellbeing aspects of the curriculum. This was followed up by a further £3.3m of funding in the academic year 2020/21, enabling the RSHE Lead Schools to continue supporting their networks. DfE has also commissioned free online RSHE teacher training modules for primary and secondary teachers via their Teach Computing platform. These modules are specifically tailored to the statutory RSHE curriculum and include a module on menstrual wellbeing. The Government agrees that it is important that teachers are properly trained to deliver the curriculum effectively, including the menstrual health elements. The DfE has recently announced £2m to fund training for teachers of RSHE in 2024/25, with a particular focus on addressing topics where the latest data shows children and young people need more support, for example, on new online harms and mental health. DfE will work with DHSC to ensure that menstrual health is also considered in the further development of RSHE teacher training and resources. The Government acknowledges that schools may already be using their RSHE grant funding to support teacher training, and this will continue to be an option. DfE will work with stakeholders to promote effective training and resources to schools. It should be noted that the RSHE statutory guidance is currently being reviewed for suitability as part of wider plans to improve the quality of education on these important subjects. Once the review is complete, the Government will publish further detail on how it will be consulting to further update the guidance to provide greater clarity for schools and parents.
Source
Committee
Women and Equalities Committee
Report
12th Report – Menstrual health of girls and young women
04 Mar 2026
HC 1265
Addressee Bodies
Government Equalities Office
Timeline
Recommendation age
0.4 yrs
Report published
04 Mar 2026