From Summer Term 2021 all primary schools will be required to have Relationships Education in place and a Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) policy.
As a maintained school we have an obligation to teach children from Year 1 to Year 6 about aspects of RSE and I feel it is important that as a school we are clear about what that entails. The mention of the words, ‘Sex education’ can create unnecessary anxiety for parents and carers and I want to reassure you that the focus of much RSE in primary school is broader than you might think, focussing more so on the Relationships rather than the Sex aspect.
We adopted the JIGSAW scheme of work several years ago, which many of our children and families will be familiar with. Recently, JIGSAW have updated the resources in order fulfil this statutory requirement and this week we have begun to teach the updated resources to our children. The JIGSAW scheme covers issues such as Building self-esteem, Recognising feelings and emotions, Healthy friendships, Differences and similarities between girls and boys and challenging stereotypes, Rights & Responsibilities and Growing and changing.
Throughout the year we cover different aspects of the JIGSAW curriculum through six broad topicsBeing me in my World, Celebrating Difference (autumn term) Dreams & Goals, Healthy Me (spring term) Relationships and Changing Me (summer term) A focus on Relationships is covered within each topic, with the ‘Changing Me’ topic covering most of the Sex Education aspects.
As a parent or carer you do have the right to request your child is removed from parts of the sex education programme, but we feel confident that the content is both relevant and appropriate for our age group. It is important to clarify that withdrawal of your child would only be considered only for content that is not part of the statutory science curriculum.
Please click on the buttons below to view the RSE policy, JIGSAW overview and parent/carer guides.
The policy will be reviewed by Governors and your comments are welcomed, so please email admin@soudley.gloucs.sch.uk to share your views which will be included in the policy review.