Relationships

Age focus: 11–18 Most schools say Relationships and Sex Education matters. But how they choose to deliver it often tells a different story. Tick-box sessions. Generic slides. A reluctant staff member handed the topic because “someone has to do it.” Fear of parental complaints shaping what can and cannot be said. Programmes chosen because they are well-known rather than because they are effective. Teenagers notice all of it. If a school genuinely wants RSE to land, bringing in

Age focus: 11–18 Relationships and Sex Education is one of the few subjects where disengagement is often blamed on the students. “They just giggle.” “They’re immature.” “They won’t take it seriously.” In reality, teenagers are highly attuned to quality. When RSE is done well, they lean in. When it isn’t, they switch off quickly. Great RSE teaching is not about charisma or shock value. It is about credibility, timing, and method. And the gap between compliance-based delivery a

Age focus: 13–18 Ghosting has become so common that adults often minimise it. “It’s just how people communicate now.” “They’ll get over it.” “It wasn’t that serious anyway.” For teenagers, it often was serious. And even when it wasn’t, ghosting can still hit hard. What makes ghosting so painful is not just the loss of the relationship. It’s the silence. The unanswered questions. The sudden feeling that something meaningful disappeared without explanation. For many young peop

Age focus: 12–18 Many parents tell me the same thing, often with genuine confusion. “My teen wants friends, but they don’t seem to know how to keep them.”“They spend hours talking online, but barely say anything in person.”“They care deeply about connection, yet avoid social situations altogether.” What’s important to say early is this. Your teen is probably not antisocial, broken, or uninterested in relationships. In most cases, they are dealing with a skills gap and a conf