RSE

What exactly is Sex and Relationship Education?

“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)

Today’s children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also challenges and risks. In this environment, children and young people need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way. We teach RSE sensitively and inclusively, with respect to the backgrounds and beliefs of pupils and parents while always with the aim of providing pupils with the knowledge they need of the law. We ensure the subjects put in place the key building blocks of healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships, in all contexts, including online. This sits alongside the essential understanding of how to be healthy. All of this content is supported by the wider work of Danesfield in helping to foster pupil wellbeing and develop resilience and character that we know are fundamental to pupils being happy, successful and productive members of society.

This work is in the context of the whole PSHE curriculum and underpinned by the values system of Danesfield, that is, valuing loving, stable relationships and respect for each other. The emphasis is on changes that children will experience as they grow up: what those changes look and feel like, and why they happen. We aim, by the end of Year 6, to have helped children understand puberty and human reproduction

Sex education is not compulsory in primary schools, beyond what is laid out in the National Curriculum for Science:

● Year 1: Identify, name, draw and label the basic parts of the human body and say which part of the body is associated with each sense.

● Year 2: Notice that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults

● Year 5: Describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals; describe the changes as humans develop to old age [They should learn about the changes experienced in puberty.]

The RSE statutory guidance states that a maintained primary school can choose to teach aspects of sex education (which go beyond the national curriculum for science), and that this must be set out in their policy and all schools should consult with parents on what is to be covered. This consultation took place in September 2022 and the subsequent decision was to include sex education within the PSHE curriculum.

Danesfield’s newly updated PSHE scheme of work is delivered via five separate units:

Family and Relationships
Health and Wellbeing
Safety and the Changing Body
Citizenship
Economic Wellbeing
Year 6 have an additional unit - Identity

Our RSE content is delivered mainly within the first three of these units. The Safety and the Changing Body unit of work for Year 6 includes two lessons which parents have the opportunity to withdraw their children from (whether all or part of the lesson). These are studied in the last half of the summer term:

Lesson 5: Conception

Lesson 6: Pregnancy and birth

Below is a Parent’s Guide to the RSE curriculum:

RSE Guidance for Parents And Carers A Guide for Parents and Carers on Relationships, Sex and Health Education