Relationship, Sex and Health Education is a component of the school’s Personal, Social and Health Education.

 

The aim of the programme of study is to provide effective sex and relationships education to all pupils before they become sexually active or put themselves at risk in other ways, to enable them to make informed choices and to understand what constitutes a healthy relationship. In both KS2  and KS3, the physical and emotional changes in puberty are covered as part of our Health and Wellbeing. In KS3, compulsory aspects of the Sex Education are also taught. The areas we we cover in all year groups can be found on our curriculum overview (under review).

Details of the new statutory curriculum, around which our RSHE curriculum has been based, can be found on this link.

 

At KS2 RSHE education contributes to personal development by helping pupils to build their personal identity, confidence and self-esteem.

Pupils are taught to recognise how their bodies will change as they approach move through puberty and how this can impact on them physically and mentally.  This is not gender-specific and pupils learn about physical and mental changes in boys and girls.

Pupils have an opportunity to recognise what constitutes a positive, healthy relationship and are given the skills to judge what kind of physical contact is acceptable or unacceptable and how to respond.

 

At KS3 pupils build on the work of KS2, managing growth and change as normal parts of growing up, particularly the physical and emotional changes of adolescence.

There is a particular renewed focus, based on the objectives in the new statutory curriculum, to consider different levels of intimacy and their consequences and to recognise that consent is freely given and being pressurised, persuaded or coerced to agree to something is not ‘consent.’ Year 8 are also introduced to contraception methods as part of our scheme of work

All pupils are taught about the emotional aspects of relationships, influences, choices and risks.

Our Relationship, Sex and Health Education Policy, which includes an outline of our PSHE curriculum, can be found here.

 

Science and PSHE

The themes of parenting, relationships and ethical and moral issues of sex and relationship education are part of the PSHE programme. The Science Department will deal only with the biological aspects of human sexual behaviour in timetabled lessons. Teachers who are known and trusted by the pupils teach sex education.

 

Equal opportunities and special needs

The nature of the work covered in Relationship, Sex and Health education must be appropriate to the age of the children. Children with special needs will require more help than others in coping with the physical and emotional aspects of growing up.

 

Monitoring and evaluating RSHE

The PSHE lead will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of this programme. This will be done through pupil feedback, staff feedback, parental feedback and governor feedback.  Pupil, parental and staff consultation will be utilised in curriculum design and the outcomes will analysed and, where necessary, acted on