Relationships, Sex and Health Education

RSHE

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.

At Kirkby on Bain Church of England Primary School, we believe it is important that we equip our children with the knowledge and skills they need to be safe and healthy citizens of the world.

The aims of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) at our school are to:

• Provide a framework within which sensitive discussions can take place;
• Prepare pupils for puberty, and give them an understanding of sexual development and the importance of health and hygiene;
• Help pupils develop feelings of self-respect, confidence and empathy;
• Create a positive culture around issues of sexuality and relationships;
• Prepare pupils for transition e.g. to secondary school;
• Teach pupils the correct vocabulary to describe themselves and their bodies.

Our RSHE curriculum is carefully woven through our delivery of PSHE. At Kirkby on Bain, we use Kapow as a basis of our PSHE curriculum and resources from the PSHE Association to support and supplement our learning. (Please visit our PSHE page to find out more.) curriculum includes learning about human body parts, growth, puberty and reproduction which forms part of the Primary Science Curriculum and some elements of RSHE may be taught within the RE curriculum, particular with relation to a range of views on relationships from religions and world views. Teaching is delivered by class teachers; some elements of RSHE education are delivered by a trained health professional.

Mental wellbeing is central to our delivery as we put a huge value on our children’s happiness. We know that children and young people are increasingly experiencing challenges, and that young people are at particular risk of feeling lonely. Our RSHE curriculum will give them the knowledge and capability to take care of themselves and to identify where they might access and receive support if problems arise.

Our guiding principles have been that all the compulsory subject content must be age appropriate and developmentally appropriate. It must be taught 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. The use of Kapow allows us to do this in a child-friendly and accessible way.

We are clear that parents and carers are the prime educators for children on many of these matters. Our aim is to complement and reinforce this role and we see building on what pupils learn at home as an important part of delivering a good education.