Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education
Intent
At Newbold Church School (NCS) our pupil's personal, social, health and economic education is an important and necessary part of their learning journey through school. PSHE and relationships education at our school enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of a society. It aims to help pupils understand how they are developing personally, socially and emotionally and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up in today's society. We provide our children with opportunities to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be part of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.
We aim to provide the children with the knowledge, skills and understanding of mental health; what is means, how it can be recognised and tools to empower them with on how to cope with mental health and related issues. It is important each individual child has the confidence to recognise when mental health may affect their potential to succeed to the best of their ability; seeking help from school staff, including the two mental health first aiders we have at NCS. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. We want to ensure each pupil is aware that Mental Health is important at every stage of life; from childhood, adolescence to adulthood. We will equip pupils with skills and knowledge to take into the wider world beyond our school.
Implementation
By using the JIGSAW programme , we follow a sequentially planned curriculum through which we aim to deliver activities which engage and challenge pupil’s knowledge understanding. We want pupils to know how important healthy friendships are and, how by sharing experiences, we can support each other during difficult times. Our pupils will be aware that friendships have ups and downs but will know that exclusion and violence is never right; friendships are based on trust and loyalty. Pupils will be taught how to manage conflict and seek help from others, knowing that this is not a weakness.
Having respect for others is a very important value we share at NCS. Through modelled behaviour, the pupils are shown that respect for others and their own self respect cuts through all aspects of their lives and all areas of the curriculum. We encourage children to have an opinion and to know that they can share this in a safe and loving environment. We proactively encourage children to talk about and share experiences of bullying behaviour and include any opportunities to discuss and learn about cyber bullying.
We aim to help all pupil to stay safe in a range of contexts. As well as learning about online safety, we aim to help all children to understand that they are the masters of themselves and their bodies. Within an appropriate structure, the pupils are helped to understand inappropriate and harmful relationships.
At NCS we promote the pupils’ SMSC through :
- developing their ability to reflect on their own lives.
- having a knowledge of, and respect for, different people’s values and feelings.
- developing a sense of fascination in learning about themselves.
- understanding the consequences of their behaviour and actions.
- investigating views about ethical issues and appreciate the viewpoints of others.
- be willing to cooperate with others and resolve conflicts.
- demonstrating skills and attitudes which will help them to fully participate in their lives in modern Britain.
- appreciating the wide range of cultural influences that shape their heritage.
- recognising shared values across a range of communities.
- understanding how democracy has shaped, and continues to impact on, Britain.
- exploring and celebrate diversity (religious, ethnic and socio-economic) in the local, national and global communities.
Our Relationship and Health Education curriculum encompasses the aims of the National Curriculum. Follow the link below for further information.
At Newbold Church School we cover aspects of PSHE during dedicated weekly lessons, and also incidentally throughout the course of the academic week. We use the 'Jigsaw' scheme to help support our teaching, which includes units based on-
* Being me in my world
* Celebrating differences
* Dreams and goals
* Healthy me
* Relationships
* Changing me
Jigsaw PSHE perfectly connects the pieces of Personal, Social and Health Education, emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development into a weekly programme. Designed as a whole-school approach, Jigsaw provides a detailed and comprehensive scheme of learning. Jigsaw teaches children to become aware of their thoughts and feelings, as they happen, helping them to concentrate, focus and regulate their emotional states.
The Calm Me time at the beginning of each Piece (lesson)develops mindfulness using breathing techniques, awareness exercises and visualisations.
Jigsaw consists of six Puzzles (half-term units of work) containing six Pieces (lessons) for each academic year. Every Piece has two Learning Intentions, one specific to PSHE outcomes and the other designed to develop emotional literacy and social skills.
Jigsaw equips children to thrive in today’s world, building resilience and self-esteem and helping them understand real issues e.g. body image, cyber and homophobic bullying, and online safety.
Every Puzzle is launched with a whole-school assembly. Each year group studies the same Puzzle at the same time, at their own level, (sequentially building through the school year), facilitating whole-school learning themes.
The teaching and learning activities are varied and mindful of different learning styles and the need for differentiation.
The Early Years (EYFS) planning is aligned to the National Early Years Framework (England).
To see more information about Jigsaw and it's mindful approach to PSHE, click here.
To see more information about how Jigsaw deals with relationship education, click here.
To see NCS PSHE policy, click here.
To see Newbold Church School's own progression map for all areas of RSHE, including Relationship education, health education, staying safe, Bullying and peer on peer abuse, Global citizenship and Safeguarding opportunities (including associated Key Vocabulary) click here
Impact
We use a range of strategies to assess what skills and knowledge the children have attained each term including the following:
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Book looks
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Pupil Voice
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Pre and post assessment
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Regular feedback each lesson
RSE Curriculum and Supporting Resources
At Newbold Church School, we are committed to helping all our pupils to grow up healthy, happy and safe, and to be able to navigate life in modern Britain. Relationships and health education has been incorporated into our curriculum to equip pupils with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their health, safety, and relationships with others, now and in the future.
We aim to deliver relationships and health education which is current, evolving, age- and developmentally-appropriate, and respectful of each pupil’s cultural and religious background.
What is Relationship and Sex Education?
Relationships education will give pupils the foundation to build safe, positive relationships with those around them, including online. Your child will be taught what friendships and relationships are, and what family means.
We are committed to teaching relationships education in a positive, age-appropriate way, encouraging all pupils to treat others with kindness, consideration and respect.
The Government’s definition is this: “It is lifelong learning about physical, moral and emotional development. It is about the understanding of the importance of marriage for family life, stable and loving relationships, respect, love and care. It is also about the teaching of sex, sexuality, and sexual health. It is not about the promotion of sexual activity – this would be inappropriate teaching.” (Department for Education and Employment, SRE Guidance, 2000)
Currently, PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) remains a non-statutory subject, and section 2.5 of the National Curriculum framework document states that: ‘All schools should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), drawing on good practice.’
However, from September 2019 Relationships Education became statutory in Primary schools in England, with government guidance being offered during 2018 as to the expected content of this curriculum.
Why is RSE needed?
- More than ever before, children are exposed to representations of sex and sexuality through the media/ social media and the social culture around them, so we need to present a balanced view of RSE and help them to be discerning and stay safe.
- Rates of sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and teenage pregnancy in the UK are relatively high – as is the regret felt by young people after early sexual experiences.
- Research shows that most parents say they want the support of schools in providing RSE for their children.
- Research consistently shows that effective RSE delays first sexual experience and reduces risk- taking.
- Surveys of children and young people, as well as Ofsted, have repeatedly told us that RSE tends to be “too little, too late and too biological”
Throughout their time with us, pupils will be taught about the following:
- Families and the people who care for them
- Caring friendships
- Respectful relationships
- Online relationships
- Keeping safe
What are the aims of RSE?
There are four main aims for teaching RSE within the context of Primary School PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education): To enable young people to understand and respect their bodies, and be able to cope with the changes puberty brings, without fear or confusion
To help young people develop positive and healthy relationships appropriate to their age, development etc. (respect for self and others)
To support young people to have positive self-esteem and body image, and to understand the influences and pressures around them
To empower them to be safe and safeguarded
Won’t telling my child about human reproduction take away their innocence?
No. The evidence suggests that high quality RSE does the opposite: it actually delays young people’s first sexual experience, and it helps them become much more confident and comfortable about making informed choices. Good and appropriate RSE takes away children’s ignorance, not their innocence.
Teaching about safety and relationships as part of PSHE contributes to how schools approach the safeguarding of pupils. It helps them to recognise when they and others are at risk and equips them with the skills, strategies and language they need to take appropriate action.
This is crucial to fulfilling statutory duties in relation to safeguarding pupils as well as to meeting Ofsted expectations. Ofsted expressed concern in its 2013 PSHE report that a lack of high-quality, age-appropriate RSE in over a third of schools left young people vulnerable to inappropriate sexual behaviours and exploitation. It is clear, therefore, that PSHE plays a vital part in helping to meet school’s responsibilities to safeguard their pupils, your children.
What is health education?
We aim for health education to provide your child with the knowledge they need to make positive decisions about their own health and wellbeing. Health education will also help equip your child to recognise when they are experiencing issues, when others are experiencing issues, and when to seek support.
Throughout their time with us, pupils will be taught about the following:
- Mental wellbeing
- Internet safety and harms
- Physical health and fitness
- Healthy eating
- The risks associated with drugs, tobacco and alcohol
- Health and the prevention of ill health
- Basic first aid
- The changing adolescent body
When will relationships and health education be taught?
Relationships and Health education is taught throughout the academic year. At Newbold Church School we cover aspects of PSHE during dedicated weekly lessons, and also incidentally throughout the course of the academic week. We use the 'Jigsaw' scheme to help support our teaching, which includes units based on-
* Being me in my world
* Celebrating differences
* Dreams and goals
* Healthy me
* Relationships
* Changing me
What will my child actually be taught in Sex Education?
The ‘Changing Me’ unit is taught over a period of 6 weeks in the second half of the summer term. Each year group will be taught appropriate to their age and developmental stage. Please note: at no point will a child be taught something that is inappropriate; and if a question from a child arises and the teacher feels it would be inappropriate to answer, (for example, because of its mature or explicit nature), the child will be encouraged to ask his/her parents or carers at home, and the question will not be answered to the child or class if it is outside the remit of that year group’s programme.
Reception Growing up: how we have changed since we were babies
Year 1 Boys’ and girls’ bodies; naming body parts
Year 2 Boys’ and girls’ bodies; body parts and respecting privacy (which parts of the body are private and why this is)
Year 3 How babies grow and how boys’ and girls’ bodies change as they grow older
Year 4 Internal and external reproductive body parts, body changes in girls and menstruation
Year 5 Puberty for boys and girls, and conception
Year 6 Puberty for boys and girls and understanding conception to birth of a baby
All lessons are taught using simple, child-friendly language and pictures, which help children understand changes more effectively.
The key concepts that children learn in Jigsaw are inner strength, self-esteem and resilience. These are really important as they help keep children safe and it helps them make healthy decisions later in life.
Accurate information is important but only part of the picture: help them now by building their inner resilience, so they become mindful children, mindful teenagers, and mindful adults.
Our Relationship and Health Education curriculum encompasses the aims of the National Curriculum. Follow the link below for further information.
NCS / Jigsaw RSE progression grid
How can I talk to my child about relationships, puberty and human reproduction?
What children learn at school is part of the puzzle, and children can continue to learn from you at home. For some parents/carers, it can feel totally natural to discuss relationships, puberty and human reproduction with their child, while for others it can seem awkward and difficult. Either way, it is important to remember these key points:
• We all want children to feel safe and to be happy and healthy
• We need to consider their needs
• We need to normalise talking about relationships, puberty and human reproduction so taboos don’t need to exist
• We might need to challenge our own ways of thinking
• We have choices: we can avoid it or we can communicate openly and honestly with children – they need us!
Here are some tips for talking to your child:
*Be honest: if you don’t know the answer to a question, be honest and say so. Tell your child that you will need to find out and that you will get back to them with more soon.
*Remember that children are curious and want to know and understand. We tend to place our adult perspective on children’s questions and comments, allowing our brains to fill up with all the possible horrors that an innocent question could be about, when actually a child just wants (and needs) a very simple, matter-of-fact answer. This answer will not involve an ‘adult’ understanding of a topic – it needs
to be at a child’s level, with opportunity given for the child to be able to ask further questions if needed. Give yourself time to respond by asking something like, “What do you think that means?” or “Why do you ask?”
*Keep lines of communication open: having an open and honest relationship with your child can really help make conversations easier, so make sure that you are always willing to talk when your child needs you; if you can’t, explain why and find another time when it is more mutually convenient.
*Use correct terminology: it helps that children aren’t confused by hints, euphemisms and innuendo; use correct terminology whenever you can, especially for body parts. This is hugely important for safeguarding too.
*Respond to what children say they need: bear in mind that children’s lives today are very different from even five years ago. Therefore, the education they receive needs to reflect this. Research shows us time and time again that children want and need RSE that is age- and stage-appropriate, that teaches them about relationships and emotions, and that is returned to consistently throughout their education. We may feel that they know too much, when actually ignorance is the enemy of innocence: we believe effective RSE delays sexual activity, ensures children are safer and empowers them to make their own healthy choices.
* Answer questions and don’t be afraid to say: ‘I really don’t know – let’s work it out or look it up together’. Have a phrase for awkward moments, such as: ‘That’s a good question, and let’s talk about it once we get home’ (then make sure you do!).
*Always respond: if you don’t, she or he may think it is wrong to talk to you about relationships, puberty or human reproduction and as a result you may find your child clams up when you raise the subject.
*If it all feels too personal, try talking about people in books, films and favourite television programmes.
* Listen rather than judge. Try asking them what they think.
* Enjoy it. Laugh with each other.
* Work in partnership with the school.
* Most parents/carers want their children to be healthy and happy. Schools do too… and high quality RSE is part of this.
See how we incorporate the RHSE programme into our Collective Worship and Courageous Advocates Assemblies by clicking here
Year 4 do the Spireite Thing
‘Do the Spireite Thing’ is a 6-week targeted intervention based around behaviour. Using assessments at the beginning and the end of the 6 weeks to see what the pupils know about behaving responsibly and the positive impact this has on others. Pupils explore the importance of rules and why they are needed in different situations. They discuss times when behaving responsibly can be more challenging and how to manage their feelings and actions in these moments. ‘Do the Spireite Thing’ inspires children to adopt positive attitudes and behaviours in school.
