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________________ Relationships and Sex Education

 

Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education at Riverside Bridge School will be delivered as part of the school’s Growth Curriculum under the Development Areas of Personal Development and Healthy Living. The teaching of RSE will be carried out with sensitivity and in reference to the law.
Riverside Bridge School will promote the needs and interests of all pupils, irrespective of gender, culture, ability or personal circumstance. Teaching will consider the age, ability, readiness and cultural backgrounds of pupils to ensure that all can fully access Relationships and Education and RSE provision.
Relationships Education and RSE lessons will provide a good background for talking openly and freely about the diversity of personal, social and sexual preferences. Prejudiced views will be challenged and equality promoted. Any bullying that relates to sexual behaviour or perceived sexual orientation will be dealt with.
The teaching of RSE curriculum will be delivered by class teachers as part of Healthy Living lessons, providing learning experiences that are specific to the need of the pupils in their classes, and responsive to their pupils’ behaviour and development. Individual learning objectives will be implemented to suit the ages, gender, abilities and needs of individual pupils.
Through this aspect of our curriculum we aim to explore different attitudes, values and social labels, and develop skills that will enable all our pupils to make informed decisions regarding relationships and sex. It is important that pupils know the difference between fact, opinion and belief.

 

The teaching of RSE will be guided by the following:
  • Relationship and Sex Education will complement and support the role of parents and take into account their wishes so that sex education becomes a shared responsibility;
  • the content will be presented in a sensitive, objective and balanced manner taking into account the age, maturity and needs of the pupils as well as their cultural background;
  • the content will be planned and progressive;
  • for pupils going through puberty there will also be an emphasis on coping with the changes which are taking place in their bodies.

 

Within our curricular Areas of of Development, our pupils learn:
Engagement and Learning
  • How to be able to sequence the life cycle of a human being
  • How to describe personal physical changes since birth
Healthy Living
  • How to identify personal characteristics
  • How to recognise and accept differences between people
  • How to understand and accepts changes that occur at puberty
  • How to understands personal space
  • How to distinguish between ‘public’ and ‘private’
  • How to understand different types of relationships
  • How to use behaviour appropriate to relationship
  • How to understand laws relating to consent in relationships
  • How to keep safe within relationships
  • How to know where to seek advice or help
  • How to seek advice and support concerning sexual health
Independence and Community Participation
  • How to be safe in the community
  • How to get help in the community
  • How to be safe on-line
Creative and Sensory
  • How to express sensory likes/ dislikes
  • How to understand own sensory needs
  • How to respond to sensory adaptation to the environment
  • How to show increased tolerance of sensory input
  • How to accept support to manage own behaviour in relation to sensory needs
  • How to understand and observe ‘time and place’ rules in relation to specified sensory stimulation
Personal Development
  • How to be with others
  • How to have positive relationships
  • How to maintain friendships
  • How to get involved in group activities
  • How to understand and express Own Emotions
  • How to manage emotions and behaviour
  • How to understand others’ emotions and intentions
  • How to be aware of difficulties with “reading” others’ emotions/intentions

 

Withdrawal from RSE
The new legislation brought in through the Children and Social Work Act 2017 brings about some important changes in relation to parental rights to withdraw children from school RSE.
The Department for Education recommends that primary schools can tailor their sex education programme to the age, and physical and emotional maturity of their pupils, and as such can choose to offer some lessons in addition to statutory content. Here at Riverside Bridge School, in order to deliver a curriculum that meets the needs and maturity of our pupils, we deliver lessons that sit mainly within the National Curriculum as part of statutory science i.e. human growth and reproduction, and within Statutory Health Education i.e. changes to the adolescent body, including puberty.
Parents of primary age children will only be able to withdraw their children from Relationships and Sex Education lessons that sit outside statutory content. The school will inform parents/carers of this right by writing to parents/carers via letter before non-statutory content is being delivered.
For secondary age pupils, parents/carers have the right to withdraw their child from Sex Education within the topic entitled Intimate Sexual Relationships including Sexual Health. However parents do not have the right to withdraw their child from any of the sex education content that sits in the National Curriculum as part of statutory science or from any of the statutory Health or Relationships Education. Whilst parents have this right to withdraw their children from Sex Education, this is only up to and until three terms before the child turns 16. After that point, if the child wishes to receive sex education rather than be withdrawn, the school should make arrangements to provide the child with sex education during one of those terms.
Any parent/carer wishing to withdraw their child from RSE should contact in writing the school , who will arrange a meeting to discuss the concerns of parents/carers. RSE is a vital part of the school curriculum and supports child development.
We strongly urge parents/carers to carefully consider their decision before withdrawing their child from this aspect of school life. However, it is acknowledged that the final decision on the issue is for the parent to take.
Parents or carers who have a complaint or concern regarding the RSE curriculum should contact the school and follow the school’s complaints procedures.

 

PSHE Education Policy, including Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education – March 2021
PSHEe and RSE Letter to parents on 27th September 2021