The new statutory RSHE guidance emphasises the value of working with external visitors and organisations, but also the challenges of doing so.
It is clear that schools hold the responsibility for selecting visitors, checking their expertise and materials, and making surethat sessions are relevant and appropriate.
Our teacher guide will help both the school and visitor plan for a high-quality and safe session.
Visitors and speakers should never replace a planned PSHE education programme.
But they can enhance it by complementing what you cover in your lessons if well-chosen and used selectively, through:
bringing a level of expertise in a particular issue or topic that a teacher may not have.
using resources and personnel capacity which schools may otherwise lack.
acting as an expert witness, recounting events in their lives from a personal or professional perspective. For example, a mother with a new baby, or a doctor explaining their career pathway.
establishing first contact to a helping agency — it may be hard for a young person to approach sources of support ‘cold’. Establishing a relationship in a classroom setting can help to overcome this. For example, with a school nurse, a police officer or a representative from a sexual health clinic.
providing a unique and memorable learning experience.
However, we need to be selective when making decisions about contributions, so that the benefits are realised and pitfalls avoided.
Our teacher guide (Updated for 2026 RSHE statutory guidance) will help both the school and visitor plan for a high quality and safe session that embeds learning in the wider curriculum while avoiding common pitfalls — e.g. causing shock, fear and shame, or inadvertently glamourising, inspiring or instructing in harmful behaviours.
