At Joseph Turner, we take a proactive and preventative approach to delivering a curriculum which teaches children about Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSE) through our RSHE curriculum (Jigsaw) and through our planned school nurse week, which usually takes place around March and delivers the NSPCC PANTS lesson to our children in Year 2. 

Less frequently, we also take a reactive approach, as and when incidents arise, and deliver specific lessons, such as NSPCC’s PANTS, to either groups or individual children as appropriate in order to educate and build responsible citizens.

How is HSB content covered in the Jigsaw RSHE curriculum?

First and foremost, the Jigsaw RSHE curriculum, which teaches the statutory RSHE requirements, enables us to teach our pupils about:

• what healthy and respectful relationships look like
• consent
• coercion
• sexual harassment and sexual violence
• online sexual risks (e.g. image sharing)

These topics, which are core to Jigsaw, overlap strongly with the recognised domains of HSB as described in national guidance. Jigsaw’s content on healthy relationships, consent, power, boundaries, respect and online safety indirectly contributes to preventing HSB.

How is the content of HSB covered across the primary phase?

The below table outlines a summary of the main coverage in each year group.  See the next section further below for a more detailed breakdown in each year group.

Year Group	Lessons Explicitly/Partially Covering HSB Prevention
Nursery & Reception	Bodies, Respecting my body, Being gentle, Safety, Standing up for yourself
Y1	Physical contact preferences, Body differences, People who help us, Bullying
Y2	Physical contact boundaries, Secrets, Trust, Body differences, Assertiveness
Y3	Keeping safe online/offline, Media influence, Friendship/negotiation, Outside body changes
Y4	Peer pressure, Assertiveness, Staying safe with friends, Early relationships, Puberty
Y5	Safer online communities, Online grooming risks, Body image, Internet safety rules
Y6	Respect and consent, Power and control, Assertiveness, Technology safety, Sexting, Healthy relationships

What elements of HSB are covered in each year group?

The information below shows which lessons from the whole school knowledge organiser contains explicit teaching of HSB objectives (in Bold), whilst the information following provides a summary of this lesson.

Ages 3–5 (EYFS)

• Being gentle – early introduction to appropriate touch
• Rights and responsibilities – foundation for autonomy
• Families – recognising safe adults
• Making friends / Standing up for yourself – early assertiveness
• Keeping clean / Safety – bodily care and safeguarding
• Bodies / Respecting my body – early body autonomy
• Growing up / Growth and change – normal development awareness

Overall: Strong pre‑HSB groundwork, focusing on autonomy, respect, safety and knowing what feels “right” or “wrong”.

Ages 5–6 (Year 1)

• Understanding bullying and knowing how to deal with it – recognising harmful interpersonal behaviour
• Physical contact preferences – directly relevant to HSB prevention
• People who help us – identifying trusted adults
• Differences between female and male bodies (correct terminology) – supports safeguarding and informed disclosure
• Coping with change / Transition – emotional literacy

Overall: Year 1 contains direct HSB‑related content, especially around physical contact and naming body parts safely.

Ages 6–7 (Year 2)

• Assumptions and stereotypes about gender – challenges harmful gendered expectations linked to HSB
• Understanding bullying / Standing up for self and others
• Physical contact boundaries – explicit HSB prevention
• Secrets / Trust – crucial for recognising grooming patterns
• Differences in female and male bodies (correct terminology)
• Assertiveness – resisting pressure, reporting unsafe behaviours

Overall: Year 2 strongly reinforces physical boundaries, unsafe secrets, and assertion, all key to HSB prevention.

Ages 7–8 (Year 3)

• Witnessing bullying and how to solve it – recognising harmful behaviour
• Exercise / Attitudes towards drugs – includes risk awareness
• Keeping safe online and offline – essential HSB prevention (e.g., image sharing, grooming concepts)
• Friendship and negotiation / Media influence – recognising power imbalance
• Family roles and responsibilities – understanding healthy/unhealthy dynamics
• Outside body changes / Personal hygiene – puberty beginnings

Overall: Year 3 moves into online safety, a major HSB risk area.

Ages 8–9 (Year 4)

• Understanding influences / Understanding bullying
• Healthier friendships / Peer influences – resisting coercion
• Staying safe with friends – recognising unsafe situations
• Assertiveness / Peer pressure
• Jealousy / Love and loss / Girlfriends and boyfriends – early relational pressures
• Girls and puberty – understanding bodily autonomy

Overall: Year 4 focuses on peer pressure, influence, and emerging relational dynamics, strongly tied to HSB risk reduction.

Ages 9–10 (Year 5)

• Racism / Rumours / Name-calling – includes sexualised bullying patterns
• Emergency aid / Body image / Healthy choices – bodily confidence reduces vulnerability
• Safer online communities / Rights and responsibilities online – major HSB prevention, including:
  • online gaming risks
  • reducing screen time
  • dangers of online grooming
• Internet safety rules – directly supportive
• Influence of online/media body image – distorted body narratives tied to HSB vulnerabilities
• Conception (including IVF) – factual, demystifying knowledge

Overall: Year 5 gives explicit HSB‑related digital safeguarding content (grooming, online risk, image safety).

Ages 10–11 (Year 6)

• Power and control – directly relevant to coercion and abusive dynamics
• Assertiveness – resisting unsafe or sexual pressure
• Technology safety / Taking responsibility with technology use
• Self‑image / Body‑image – key to resisting manipulation
• Puberty and feelings – normalising change, reducing secrecy
• Respect and consent – core HSB prevention
• Boyfriends/girlfriends – safe relationships
• Sexting – explicit HSB risk education
• Anti-social behaviour / Exploitation (incl. county lines) – grooming awareness strengthening safeguarding

Overall: Year 6 contains the clearest, most explicit HSB content, including sexting, consent, power dynamics, online safety and exploitation.