England's curriculum suggests teaching about menstruation from the age of eight.
Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education guidance
"Statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams, and teachers July 2025
Developing bodies Curriculum content:
- About growth and other ways the body can change and develop, particularly during adolescence. This topic should include the human lifecycle, and puberty should be discussed as a stage in this process.
- The correct names of body parts, including the penis, vulva, vagina, testicles, scrotum, nipples. Pupils should understand that all of these parts of the body are private and have skills to understand and express their own boundaries around these body parts.
- The facts about the menstrual cycle, including physical and emotional changes, whilst the average age of the onset of menstruation is twelve, periods can start at eight, so covering this topic before girls’ periods start will help them understand what to expect and avoid distress.
"Introduction
"1. Children and young people need knowledge and skills that will enable them to make informed and ethical decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships. High quality, evidence-based teaching of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) can help prepare pupils for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life, and can promote their moral, social, mental and physical development. Effective teaching will support young people to cultivate positive characteristics including resilience, self-worth, self-respect, honesty, integrity, courage, kindness, and trustworthiness. Effective teaching will support prevention of harms by helping young people understand and identify when things are not right.
"2. The duties on schools in this area are set out in legislation. The Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (England) Regulations 2019, made under sections 34 and 35 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, make relationships education compulsory for all pupils receiving primary education and relationships and sex education (RSE) compulsory for all pupils receiving secondary education. They also make health education compulsory in all schools except independent schools. Personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) continues to be compulsory in independent schools. Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE.
"3. The subjects are part of the basic school curriculum, which allows schools flexibility in developing their planned programme, integrated within a broad and balanced curriculum. Key aspects of RSHE are in scope for Ofsted inspection, for example, through inspectors’ consideration of pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare, and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
"11. Pupil referral units (PRUs), alternative provision (AP) academies and free schools, and independent schools that provide AP, are required to make provision for relationships education, RSE and health education in the same way as mainstream schools; and they must have regard to this guidance in delivering their programme.
"All schools must have an up-to-date written policy for relationships education or, where they teach sex education, for RSE. Schools must proactively engage and consult parents when they develop and review their policy, ensuring parents understand that effective Listening and responding to the views of pupils and parents helps to ensure that RSHE meets pupils’ needs and that topics are taught at the right time to support children to build positive relationships and avoid harms before they occur. Schools must provide a copy of their policy free of charge to anyone who asks for one and publish the policy on the school website. Schools may need to include new content in RSHE to respond to emerging needs or issues in the school but should be careful to inform parents of any shifts away from the policy and continue to share relevant materials on request."
HIFA profile: Richard Fitton is a retired family doctor - GP. Professional interests: Health literacy, patient partnership of trust and implementation of healthcare with professionals, family and public involvement in the prevention of modern lifestyle diseases, patients using access to professional records to overcome confidentiality barriers to care, patients as part of the policing of the use of their patient data Email address: richardpeterfitton7 AT gmail.com