RSE - Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School & Nursery

Relationships and Sex Education

Relationship and Sex education is based on teaching the fundamental building blocks and characteristics of positive relationships, with particular reference to friendships, family relationships, and relationships with other children and adults. This starts with being taught about what a relationship is, what friendship is, what family means and who the people are who can support them. From the beginning of primary school, building on early education, pupils are taught how to take turns, treat each other with kindness, consideration and respect, the importance of honesty and truthfulness, permission-seeking, and the concept of personal privacy. We want all children to grow up healthy, happy, safe, and manage the challenges and opportunities of modern Britain. This is in line with the DfE and our Catholic Values.

From the beginning, teachers talk explicitly about the features of healthy friendships, family relationships and other relationships that young people are likely to encounter. In drawing attention to these in various contexts, we enable pupils to form a solid early understanding of the features of relationships that are likely to lead to happiness and security. This will also help them to recognise any less positive relationships when they encounter them.

Teaching about families requires sensitive and well-judged teaching based on knowledge of pupils and their current circumstances. Families of many forms provide a nurturing environment for children. Care will be taken to ensure that there is no stigmatism of children based on their home circumstances and needs, to reflect sensitively that some children may have a different structure of support around them, for example, looked after children or young carers.

A growing ability to form strong and positive relationships with others depends on the deliberate cultivation of character traits and positive personal attributes, sometimes referred to as virtues, in the individual. We encourage the development and practice of resilience and other attributes; this includes character traits such as helping pupils believe they can achieve, perseverance with tasks, working towards long-term rewards and continuing despite setbacks. Alongside understanding the importance of self-respect and self-worth, pupils will develop personal attributes including honesty, integrity, courage, humility, kindness, generosity, trustworthiness and a sense of justice. This is achieved in various ways, including by providing planned opportunities for children to undertake social action, active citizenship, and voluntary service to others locally or more widely.

We use Ten-Ten Life to the Full Resource to teach RSE. It is the recommended programme of study for Catholic schools for Sex and Relationship Education. It has been written as a progressive scheme of work supporting Religious Education, PSHE and Science Curricula taught within the school. Children are encouraged to marvel at the wonder and beauty of God’s creative love. This is reflected in each stage of a person’s growth in the primary years to a series of suggested, progressive and developmental tasks, activities and reflections that focus on physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development. As with all aspects of learning, children are naturally curious, and many will have questions related to their lessons. Opportunities to discuss questions form part of the lessons, and again, these are treated with care and understanding. The RSE programme highlights the importance of parental input and the children will be asked to discuss their lessons at home.