How To Have Healthy Relationships PSHE lesson
A PSHE lesson for Years 6 to 8 that helps UK teachers introduce healthy relationship skills through a structured, ready-to-teach lesson. Teachers can use the lesson to explore communication, respect and boundaries in everyday relationships, including friendships and family relationships. Pupils learn practical ways to communicate clearly, set and respect boundaries, and work through disagreements calmly, building skills they can use in relationships throughout their lives.
Healthy Relationships & Communication
Snapshot
How To Have Healthy Relationships
This lesson gives teachers a structured way to build pupils' communication, boundary-setting and relationship skills. Feedback: 4.4/5 from 167 teacher ratings
Prep time:
5 to 10 minutes
Lesson length:
45 to 50 minutes
Key Focus
Building practical relationship skills including communication, boundaries and respect
Lesson Format
Teacher-led discussion and structured activities
What pupils will learn
By the end of the lesson, students will be supported to:
Recognise
recognise the qualities that make a relationship feel safe, respectful and supportive
recognise unhelpful patterns such as one person always deciding, ignoring boundaries or dismissing feelings
recognise that healthy relationships can still involve disagreement or difficult moments
Understand
understand why clear communication and mutual respect matter in friendships and family relationships
understand that setting and respecting boundaries is part of caring for themselves and others
understand that relationships can be repaired after a disagreement or misunderstanding
Practise
practise using clear, respectful language to express a need, feeling or boundary
practise listening to another person's point of view during a disagreement
practise identifying who they can talk to if a relationship feels difficult or unsafe
Who this lesson is for?
This lesson is designed for pupils in Years 6 to 8 who are developing more independence in friendships and family relationships and are ready to think more deliberately about communication and respect. Many pupils at this stage are managing more complex peer relationships and can benefit from practical language for boundaries and conflict.
It is suitable for:
PSHE lessons on relationships and communication
relationships education sequences
pastoral care, circle time or form time discussions
respectful relationships or friendship skills units
transition support as peer groups and relationships change
Suitability should be based on more than age alone. Teachers should consider the lesson focus, pupil maturity, cohort needs, classroom culture, existing discussion norms and available support pathways.
Best used when
Use this lesson when students need clear, practical language for recognising unkind behaviour and knowing what to do next.
Introducing healthy relationships Use when pupils are beginning to explore what respect, communication and boundaries look like in everyday relationships.
Building classroom culture Use to reinforce respectful communication and consideration of others as part of everyday class expectations.
Supporting inclusion Use when pupils need practical ways to include others and respond respectfully to different needs and boundaries.
Practising communication skills Use when pupils are learning to express needs, feelings and boundaries clearly and calmly.
Preparing for transition Use when peer groups and friendships are changing and pupils need a shared language for healthy relationships.
Reinforcing respectful relationships work Use to revisit or extend earlier learning on friendships, communication or respect.
The lesson can be used proactively with the whole class. It does not need to follow a specific incident.
Why this lesson matters
Pupils benefit from practical, usable language for building and maintaining healthy relationships well before problems arise. Communication, boundaries and respect are skills that can be practised, not traits some pupils simply have and others do not. Healthy relationships work is not only about resolving conflict. It is also about helping pupils recognise what respect and care look like day to day, and giving them confidence to express their needs, listen to others and repair a relationship after a difficult moment. The lesson gives teachers a proactive way to build this foundation, supporting pupils to approach friendships and family relationships with more confidence and clarity.
How this lesson supports wellbeing
This lesson supports student wellbeing by building practical social and emotional skills students can use in everyday school life. It helps students develop:
Capability How the lesson supports it
Communication Pupils practise expressing needs, feelings and boundaries clearly.
Respect Pupils consider what respectful behaviour looks like in everyday relationships.
Boundaries Pupils learn to set and recognise personal boundaries.
Conflict resolution Pupils practise working through disagreements calmly rather than reacting or withdrawing.
Empathy Pupils consider other people's feelings and points of view during discussion.
Help-seeking Pupils identify who they can talk to if a relationship feels difficult.
For teachers and school leaders, the lesson contributes to broader wellbeing, respectful relationships, child safety and pastoral care goals in Australian primary schools.
Teaching notes & Delivery Considerations
This lesson includes content about unkind behaviour, exclusion and asking adults for help. It should be taught with calm, clear discussion norms.
Before teaching
Remind pupils not to name classmates or share other people's personal stories
Frame discussion around general examples and scenarios rather than pupils' own relationships
Make clear that the lesson is about building skills, not identifying specific people or situations
Identify trusted adults pupils can speak to if a relationship feels difficult
During delivery
Use everyday examples of communication, boundaries and respect that pupils are likely to recognise
Give pupils time to practise phrases for expressing needs or boundaries aloud
Reinforce that healthy relationships can include disagreement and that repair is possible
Allow pupils to respond through discussion, writing or paired reflection depending on confidence
Supporting safe discussion
Keep examples general rather than tied to real relationships in the room
Reinforce that pupils can seek support after the lesson if something feels difficult
Be prepared to follow your school's safeguarding procedures and speak with the designated safeguarding lead if a pupil discloses harm or says they feel unsafe.
Adaptation options
Use paired or small group discussion for confident classes
Use written reflection or sentence starters for quieter pupils
Spend more time on trusted adults and support pathways if pupils need extra reinforcement
