Relationships and Sex Policy - Storth CE Primary School

Relationships, Sex and Health Education Policy

Introduction

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 also how to manage their academic, personal and social lives positively. As a result of this, Relationship Education is now compulsory in all primary schools in England as is Health education.

This policy outlines our school’s commitment to providing effective RSHE for all pupils. It has been written concerning the Department of Education’s RSHE guidance for 2019, and other relevant guidance documents and statutory requirements. The RSHE teaching in this school contributes to our statutory duty to safeguard children and prepare them for the responsibilities and experiences of adult life. RSHE is taught in an age-appropriate manner throughout the school.

What is RHSE?

Relationship, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is lifelong learning about physical, moral and emotional development.

We want to be able to provide children with key building blocks of being physically and mentally healthy, understanding relationships, including online contact and good digital wellbeing.

Pupils will learn about the benefits and importance of having hobbies and interests, daily exercise, good nutrition and sufficient sleep, we also aim to give pupils the language and knowledge to understand the normal range of emotions that everyone experiences.

They will also cover healthy relationships, different families, respect, love and care, reproduction, puberty, hygiene, the body, how a baby is made and sexuality. In the primary school, we are building the foundations of skills and knowledge that will be developed further at the secondary level.

Through the delivery of RSHE we aim to give your child the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, to recognise issues in themselves and others and to seek support as early as possible when issues arise.

Policy Aims

Our key aim in providing RSHE throughout the school is to safeguard our pupils. During their time at this school, children will learn key skills to help keep them safe and embrace the challenges of creating a happy and successful life. RSHE is taught in the context of relationships and promotes self-esteem and emotional health and wellbeing to help children to form healthy, meaningful relationships, based on respect for themselves and for others.

We believe in working in partnership with parents and carers and understand the importance of sharing our RSHE programme with families so that they can support their children’s physical, moral, mental wellbeing and emotional development at home.

Key Objectives

The key objectives of our RSHE programme are:

To provide the knowledge and information to which all pupils are entitled;
To clarify/reinforce existing knowledge;
To raise pupils self-esteem and confidence, especially in their relationships with others;
To understand the importance of safe and stable relationships that promote respect, love and care;
To help pupils develop skills (language, decision making, choice, assertiveness, resilience) and make the most of the abilities;
To provide the confidence to be participating members of society and to value themselves and others;
To develop skills for a healthier, safer lifestyle;
To develop and use communication skills and assertiveness skills to cope with the influences of their peers and the media;
To develop resilience and positivity when responding to influences that may affect body image;
To reinforce and develop pupils understanding of how to stay safe online;
To respect and care for their bodies;
To be prepared for puberty and adulthood;
To respond to the needs of pupils and parents/carers by providing accurate knowledge of sexual matters at a level suitable to the children’s age and understanding and to dispel myths and rumour;
To foster an understanding and acceptance that relationships can be formed in diverse and varied ways, for example people of the same gender.
To help pupils and parents/carers to gain access to information and support.