Dear Families,
In our curriculum, we continue to use PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) programmes across our school called 1decision and Respect Yourself, a programme devised by the curriculum committee of Shropshire Council. These programmes include elements of Relationships Education, Health Education and Sex Education. We shared our policy with parents and carers in the Autumn Term of 2022 and adjusted it according to feedback.
We give notice to families each year that the RSHE lessons will be taught during the Summer Term. We let you know so that if children want to talk to you about what they have been learning, you are ready to set aside some time to listen to their thoughts and feelings and help them to understand.
In every year group, the theme includes two or three lessons to help children understand the human body, including the changes that take place during puberty, and how human reproduction happens. There is a very serious safeguarding aspect to this work and obviously the younger year groups are not looking at these issues directly and explicitly but rather learning correct terminology for body parts and doing the foundation work for later year groups. Upper Key Stage classes look more fully at puberty and human reproduction.
We hope you will agree that this work is vitally important for children, that it needs to be done age-appropriately and that the 1decision and Respect Yourself programme gives us a secure framework in which to do this.
It is your legal right to withdraw your children from Sex Education that is outside of the National Curriculum for Science. Relationships Education and Health Education is statutory for all primary schools.
You may be aware that the government are consulting on changes to the statutory guidance on teaching relationships and sex education, and Health education. This may affect the delivery of our programme next year and we will keep you informed. There are no changes to our programme this year.
Please talk to us if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely,
Miss Cook
