RSE
Our Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum is clearly mapped out to ensure that sensitive topics are taught in a sensitive and age appropriate way with clear progression. This content has been agreed in consultation with governors, parents, children and staff.
EYFS and Key Stage 1 |
Lower key stage 2 |
Upper key stage 2 |
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We have a planned programme which we will follow as long as it is appropriate for the needs of the children, however, due to the nature of the subject there may be times when children ask questions out of the context of a planned session. If children do ask about issues linked to RSE, they will be dealt with appropriately and sensitively. There may be times when a member of staff does not immediately answer a child’s question but speaks to them on their own later or refers them to speak to their parent or carer.
EYFS
Males and females
- Understand the differences between males and females.
Keeping our bodies safe
- Know where our private parts are.
- Understand that our body belongs to us.
- Know that people need permission to touch our bodies.
- Know what to do if we feel unsafe.
Families
- Understands that all families are different.
Hygiene
- Know correct procedures for washing hands.
Year 1
Keeping our bodies safe
- Know where our private parts are.
- Understand that our body belongs to us.
- Know that people need permission to touch our bodies.
- Know what to do if we feel unsafe.
Correct terminology
- Name the correct words for the external parts of the body.
- Recognise the differences between males and females.
- Understand that boys and girls can both do the same tasks and enjoy the same things.
Families
- Understands that all families are different.
- Value the way in which their family is special.
- Explain what is different and special about their family.
Year 2
Keeping our bodies safe
- Know where our private parts are.
- Understand that our body belongs to us.
- Know that people need permission to touch our bodies.
- Know what to do if we feel unsafe.
Growing from young to old
- Understand that all living things, including humans, start life as babies.
- Understand that the creation of new life requires a male and a female.
- Identify the key stages in the human life cycle.
- Understand some ways that they have changed since they were babies.
New babies
- Know and understand about new babies in families.
- Understand that a baby takes nine months to develop.
- Understand the love and care a baby needs as it develops.
Hygiene
- Know and understand how we keep our bodies clean and healthy.
Year 3
Keeping our bodies safe
- Know where our private parts are.
- Understand that our body belongs to us.
- Know that people need permission to touch our bodies.
- Know what to do if we feel unsafe.
Birth of a baby
- Understand how a baby is made.
- Understand how a baby develops and is born.
- Explore attitudes towards the father’s role in birth.
- Explore the role of the midwife and other support given to the mother during birth.
- Recognise the love shown for a baby by both mother and father.
- Realise the responsibility of looking after a baby.
Families
- Understand about and accept a wide range of different family arrangements.
- Understand the need for trust and love in established relationships.
Respect for others and challenging stereotypes
- Know why being different can provoke bullying and why this behaviour is unacceptable.
- Explore put downs and name calling.
Year 4
My changing body
- Know strategies for keeping their private parts safe.
- Understand that their bodies will change during puberty) as they grow older.
- Know that puberty happens differently for everyone and begins and ends at different times.
- Understand that body changes at puberty are linked to human reproduction.
- Discuss why being different can provoke teasing and know why this is unacceptable.
- Feel good about their bodies.
Body hygiene
- Discuss appropriate hygiene products and demonstrate their use.
My changing feelings and emotions
- Recognise their changing emotions.
- Understand that privacy is a natural requirement.
Year 5
My changing body
- Use correct terminology to identify the changes at puberty.
- Understand why these changes occur and the differences between the changes for boys and girls.
- Explain how changes at puberty affect body hygiene.
- Challenge myths (conception, puberty etc).
Changing emotions during puberty and challenging stereotypes
- Describe how feelings and behaviour change with puberty.
- Understand how changes during puberty can affect relationships with other people.
- Devise strategies for managing some of these changes.
- Challenge sexist stereotypes.
Year 6
Body image
- Understand the concept of appearance ideals and where pressure to achieve comes from.
- Build media literacy, exploring how images and messages, from advertising to cinema and social media, are often manipulations of the truth.
- Develop strategies to resist appearance pressures, avoid comparing themselves, challenge appearance ideals and build body confidence.
Useful Websites for Parents
We use a range of teaching resources in school to support learning. Parents may find the following websites useful:
- The Family Planning Association
- https://www.fpa.org.uk/rshe-for-parents/ ‘With a bit of help it can be easy. We have a wealth of tips and advice to give you the confidence and knowledge to talk to your children whatever their age.’
- Childline – Boys https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/you-your-body/puberty/puberty-boys/
- Girls https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/you-your-body/puberty/puberty-girls/
- NSPCC – https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/talking-about-difficult-topics/ ‘How to start the conversations about ‘difficult’ subjects that you need to have if you want to keep your children safe.’
- SCARF – SCARF at Home – Family SCARF (coramlifeeducation.org.uk) Sections on Me and My Relationships, Growing and Changing
Useful Books for Children
A number of parents have asked for the titles of books we use so they can use them at home as well. The three title below cover a range of topics at an age appropriate level.
For age 4 and up |
For age 7 and up |
For age 10 and up |
| ‘It’s NOT the Stork! A Book about Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies Families and Friends’ | ‘It’s so Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies and Families’ | ‘It’s perfectly normal’ Changing bodies, Growing up, Sex and Sexual Health’ |
| Families | Puberty | Growing from young to old and babies | Keeping our bodies safe |
| Living with mum and living with dad’ – a reassuring representation of separation for the youngest children.‘The great big book of families’ – a fresh, optimistic look through children’s eyes at today’s wide variety of family life: from homes, food, ways of celebrating, schools and holidays to getting around, jobs and housework, from extended families, languages and hobbies to pets and family trees.
‘Yes, I’m adopted’ – brightly colored children’s book illustrates how adoption is brought about by love. ‘Who’s in a family’ – explores the differences which exist in all families. ‘Who’s In My Family? All About Our Families’ – Nellie, Gus and their parents at the zoo where they see all kinds of children and families. ‘My Family: Love and Care, Give and Share’ – Looks at extended families and how they are all the same even if they look different from the outside. ‘My Family’s Changing’ – Picture book to support children through divorce and separation. . |
‘Hair in Funny Places’ – Looks at how Mr and Mrs Hormone mix their outrageous potions that turn children into adults.‘Amazing You’ – Looks at the difference between boys and girls and why these should be private.
‘How will I grow?’ – Introduction to the way our bodies change from a baby to a fully grown adult. ‘What’s the big secret?’ – Introduces the changes and how babies are made. ‘What’s happening to me? Girls’ – – written for children to help understand bodily changes. ‘What’s happening to me? Boys – written for children to help understand bodily changes. . |
Love you forever’ – story of how a little boy goes through the stages of childhood and becomes a man.‘Once there were giants’ – “Small children live in a world designed for big people. I wrote this story to help them understand it, and the idea of growing older.”
‘What’s inside your tummy mummy?’ – Learn how a baby develops month by month. ‘The world is full of babies’ – looks at all kinds of babies and how they grow. ‘Mummy laid an egg!’ – explores some myths before explaining. ‘How are babies made?’ – Discover how a baby is made inside its mother. ‘Where Willy went…’ – explores the journey of sperm and how babies develop. ‘How did I begin?’ – Story of a new life from the moment of conception to the birth off a baby. . |
No means no!’ – Introduces personal boundaries and empowers children by explaining the choices they have and their right to say, ‘No!’.‘My underpants rule!’ – empowers without needing to go into the darkness of this tricky topic through rhyming language, colourful illustrations, a super-hero theme and child-friendly humour.
‘Some secrets should never be kept’ – sensitively broaches the subject of keeping children safe from inappropriate touch. ‘I said no!’ and discuss strategies and scenarios through the book. . |
Online resources to support puberty at KS2
Lil-Lets – Six videos covering different aspects of puberty. Suitable for boys and girls.
Why do we need to teach RSE?
- 1 in 10 children (amongst respondents aged 11–13) are leaving primary school without having been taught words for sexual parts of the body and 3 in 10 not having learnt about how to get help
- Over half of young people (53%) had not been taught to spot the signs of when someone is being groomed for sexual exploitation
- Overall, 50% of the young people surveyed had not learnt how to get help if you experience unwanted touching / sexual abuse
- Sex Education Forum (2016) found that 16% had not learnt the correct names for genitalia and 17% had not learnt that the genitals are private to you, all key to recognising and reporting abuse
- The Cochrane review (2015) concluded that ‘Children who are taught about preventing sexual abuse at school are more likely than others to tell an adult if they had, or were actually experiencing sexual abuse’
- Relying on parents and carers to talk about these issues at home is not effective because 38% of respondents had not learnt about the difference between safe and unwanted touch from discussions at home – National Children’s Bureau (2016) Heads or tails? What young people are telling us about RSE
- National and international research shows that good quality RSE has a protective function as young people who have had good RSE are more likely to choose to have sex for the first time later
- In a NSPCC study, one in three girls and 16 percent of boys reported that they had experienced sexual violence from a partner
- In a ChildLine survey of 13 to 18-year-olds, 60% said they had been asked for a sexual image or video of themselves.
- One in three 16 to 18-year-old girls experience unwanted sexual touching/’groping’ at school
- A 2013 NAHT survey found that 88% of the parents of school-aged pupils want RSE to be taught in all schools.
- Most parents (84%) want both school and home to have a role in RSE
- Children want to learn about issues such as body confidence, love and sexual attraction, how to respond to peer pressure, and how to behave in a relationship
- Children want parents and carers to talk to them about growing up and sex, and to learn about other people’s views and opinions in school
- Children need help to understand the way their bodies and feelings change as they grow and develop, and to develop skills and confidence
Human development and reproduction in the Primary Curriculum (March 2016)
The following extracts have been taken from the above document which was produced for teachers, school leaders and governors by The Association for Science Education and the PSHE Association. The full document can be found here: https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/curriculum-and-resources/resources/briefing-human-development-and-reproduction
There is no period when pupils go through as much change as they do between reception, infants and their final term of primary school. Therefore, best practice indicates that schools should teach about relationships from the start of the primary phase.
As with all teaching of the Science National Curriculum, correct scientific vocabulary should be taught and its use encouraged. The naming of internal parts and the process of internal fertilisation would be covered in KS3 science, but the correct naming of external parts should be included at KS1and KS2.
In order to keep young pupils safe, it is vital that their learning about the social and emotional aspects of sexual reproduction begins in the early stages of primary school. At this time, and throughout the primary phase, pupils will have many different relationships: acquaintances, friends, close friends, ‘best friends’, distant and close family relations and classmates. Often, there may be some sort of physical contact with some of these people, from handshakes, to holding hands, to hugging, cuddling and kissing. Learning to judge what is appropriate and feels right for themselves and others is a skill that is partly inherent, and partly learnt over time.
Younger pupils should learn that their body belongs to them and that they can say who has access to it. This is a key element in a school’s approach to safeguarding. Learning to respect boundaries – their own and other people’s – helps children to understand the need to obtain consent and that everyone has the right to give or not give their consent for any activity, sexual or otherwise. It is a sad reality that many children of primary age are at risk of abuse and it is critical for their safety that they are educated early in order to keep themselves safe and to seek help if they feel at all threatened. This should be explained to parents/carers in advance of being taught to pupils.
While schools will make their own decisions in consultation with parents and governors when designing schemes of work in line with their school policy for RSE, it is essential that children learn the correct biological names for the genitalia and reproductive organs. Having the right language to describe all parts of their body – and knowing how to seek help if they are worried or uncomfortable about something and having the vocabulary to describe why they are seeking help – are vital for safeguarding.