Relationships, Sex and Health Education 

 Living God’s Love:

• Academic provision that recognises the need for excellence in teaching and learning.
• Holistic provision that encourages Christian hope; building spirit and soul through faith orientated pastoral care.
• Inspirational provision through a modern curriculum that celebrates diversity and provides new opportunities.

Relationships, Sex and Health Education Policy (RSE)

What is Relationships, Sex and Health Education?

From September 2020 it is mandatory for all Primary Schools to teach Relationships Education and Health Education.

For Relationships Education:

‘The focus in primary school should be on teaching the fundamental building blocks and characteristics of positive relationships, with particular reference to friendships, family relationships, and relationships with other children and with adults.’ From The Department for Education

For Health Education:

‘The focus in primary school should be on teaching the characteristics of good physical health and mental wellbeing. Teachers should be clear that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health.’ From The Department for Education

Schools are also encouraged to teach Sex Education, however parts of this are not mandatory and parents and carers do have the right to withdraw their child from some of the content. More on this is explained under the subheading ‘Right to Withdraw’.

Countess Anne will deliver Sex Education to its pupils.

Please refer to the appendix of this policy which includes the full curriculum content for Relationships Education, Health Education and Sex Education, as outlined by The Department for Education.

How was this policy developed?  

The children and their families were invited to give their opinions on what they would like to learn, when and how. Their opinions were gathered through the use of questionnaires and discussions. The views of the children and families were then considered by the staff and governing body to develop a policy and curriculum which reflected the community’s opinions and characteristics.

Principles and Values at Countess Anne

Countess Anne Primary School believes that RSE should:

• Be an integral part of the lifelong learning process, beginning in early childhood and continue into adult life and that this is an entitlement for all young people.
• Encourage every pupil to feel able to contribute to discussions in a safe and supportive environment.
• Be set within the wider school context and support family commitment and love, respect and affection, knowledge and openness. Family is a broad concept; not just one model. It includes a variety of types of family structure, and acceptance of different approaches.
• Recognise the legal requirement to be compliant with the Equality Act (2010) and the Malicious Communications Act (1988).
• Encourage pupils and teachers to share and respect each other’s views.
• Allow time to discuss and educate about the impact of technology on student attitudes and knowledge including social media apps. At the same time, we encourage the safe use of technology in line with our e-safety policy.
• Generate an atmosphere where questions and discussion on sexual matters can take place without any stigma or embarrassment.
• Recognise that parents/carers are the key people in teaching their children about sex, relationships and growing up and consult them about the content of programmes.
• Be taught in the context of a Christian ethos.

 A timeline of RSE at Countess Anne: What is taught when?

Below is an outline of when key aspects of the Relationships, Sex and Health Education will be taught.

Year 1: Safe and unsafe touch.

Year 2: Scientific vocabulary for human body parts, including genitalia.

Year 3: Safe and unsafe touch – Who should touch me, where and when?

Year 4: The safe and unsafe use of drugs and recognising legal and illegal drugs.

Year 5: Puberty and recognising different types of families.

Year 6: Sexual reproduction.

It should be noted that your child will have a weekly PSHE lesson throughout the school year which will cover a broad range of objectives. The content of this lesson will be planned by your child’s class teacher and will come from the curriculum on the appendix.

How the content will be taught and Inclusion

We intend our policy to be sensitive to the needs of different children and their beliefs and backgrounds. We also intend our teaching of RSE to cater for the needs of children with a special educational need or disability. This will be done through differentiation by the teacher facilitating the session, which will usually be the class teacher. For some children, it may be appropriate that an adult will support them on a one-to-one basis. We will respond to parental requests and concerns. We will refer children to specialist support where we deem it appropriate and this will be discussed by the Pastoral Care Team. Although certain aspects of the curriculum will be taught during a year group, if a child is identified as having a need for an aspect of RSE sooner, this will be provided, following a discussion with the child’s parent/carer and consent if necessary.

We aim to deal sensitively and honesty with issues of gender identity and sexual orientation. We aim to answer appropriate questions and offer support. The children, whatever their background and developing identity, need to feel that relationships, sex and health education is relevant to them.

Year 1: Safe and unsafe touch

This will be taught using the teacher’s judgement. It may include role-play, art or a whole class and/or group discussion.

Year 2: Scientific vocabulary for human body parts, including genitalia.

This will be taught using the teacher’s judgement. It may include role-play, art or a whole class and/or group discussion. The children may be shown a video and may be asked to label body parts.

Year 3: Safe and unsafe touch – Who should touch me, where and when?

This will be taught using the teacher’s judgement. It may include role-play, art or a whole class and/or group discussion.

Year 4: The safe and unsafe use of drugs and recognising legal and illegal drugs.

This will be taught using the teacher’s judgement. It may include role-play, art or a whole class and/or group discussion. The children may be shown a video and may be asked to produce a piece of writing linked with their activity. A visitor such as a policeman/woman may come to lead a discussion with the class.

Year 5: Puberty and recognising different types of families.

This will be taught using the teacher’s judgement. It may include role-play, art or a whole class and/or group discussion. The children will be shown a powerpoint and a video and may be asked to produce a piece of writing linked with their activity. The children will be given opportunity to ask questions anonymously.

Year 6: Sexual reproduction

This will be taught using the teacher’s judgement. It may include role-play, art or a whole class and/or group discussion. The children will be shown a powerpoint and a video and may be asked to produce a piece of writing linked with their activity. The children will be given opportunity to ask questions anonymously.

The school is aware that children may ask questions and they are encouraged to do so. The teacher(s) facilitating the session will answer questions that are relevant to the curriculum content that is being covered. If a child asks a question which goes beyond that content they will be encouraged to speak to their adults who care for them at home. The teacher(s) may feel it will be appropriate to speak with the child’s parents/carers about their child after a session has taken place.

Right of Withdrawal of Pupils from Sex and Relationship Education

 The school is aware that the primary role in young people’s relationships, sex and health education lies with parents and carers. We wish to build a positive and supporting relationship with the parents and carers of the children at our school.   Parents have the right to withdraw their child from part of the relationships, sex and health education, but not any part covered in the statutory Science curriculum.  If a parent wishes their child to be withdrawn from any aspect of relationships, sex and health education, they should discuss this with the Head Teacher, and make it clear which aspects of the programme they do not wish their child to participate in. The school always complies with the wishes of parents in this regard and will provide appropriate sources of information for parents who wish to withdraw their children.

Date of policy review by Governors: November 2022           

Date of next review: November 2024