Relationships (and sex) and Health Education
From the Summer term in the academic year 2020/2021, Relationships (and Sex) Education and Health Education is to become statutory in all schools in England. This page will provide you with information about how we will deliver this curriculum area at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School.
As parents you are pivotal in teaching the children about relationships and we would like to continue to support you with this. This year we will start to participate in a new Relationship Education programme for Catholic schools: ‘Life to the Full’.
As a Catholic school, our mission is to support the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all our pupils, rooted in the wisdom and teaching of the Church. ‘Life to the Full’ has been approved and advised by our diocese as it is based on ‘A Model Catholic Relationships and Sex (RSE) Curriculum’ by the Catholic Education Service- which was highlighted as a work of good practice by the Department of Education. The programme has been especially designed to follow the new statutory requirements.
Taught with a spiral approach to learning, in which pupils will revisit the same topics at an age-appropriate stage throughout their school life, the programme includes teaching about personal health, physical and emotional wellbeing, strong emotions, private parts of the body, personal relationships, family structures, trusted adults, growing bodies, puberty, periods, life cycles, the dangers of social media, where babies come from, an understanding of the Common Good, and living in the wider world. The entire teaching is underpinned with a religious understanding that our deepest identity is as a child of God – created, chosen and loved by God. The programme is fully inclusive of all pupils and their families.
The Church tells us that teaching about relationships is done in partnership with parents, who are the ‘first educators’ of their children on these matters; ultimately, you confer on us the right to co-educate your children with you. The programme has the added benefit of allowing us to share with you what is being taught in school, giving you the opportunity to engage your children in discussion, activity and prayer.
Life to the Full
Click on the link below to read a letter for parents, detailing the programme, as well as how to access the Parent Portal to view some of the materials and resources
Other links and downloads for parents
Parent Consultation (Now Closed)
We would like to have your feedback on our approach and have opened a consultation period during which we would like you to take the time to read through the linked documents and then complete a short questionnaire using Google Forms (linked below and sent out via text):
An Overview of Life to the Full
A summary of what all pupils are expected to know by the end of primary school through RSE
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sheet
After reading the aforementioned documents, please complete the questionnaire by following the Google Forms link. The consultation will close on Monday 8th February. Your views are very important to us and we will respond to you on the outcome of this process later this term.
We hope this page and information goes some way to inform you how we will be delivering the new statutory guidance on teaching RSE. If you have any queries or concerns regarding the consultation process, please do not hesitate to contact the school.