Relationships, Sex Health Education (RSHE)
'At the heart of Christian faith is love, St John say that God is love (1 John 4:8) and the whole purpose of Christianity is to live it as fully as possible in and through love. This means we have to link every aspect of our being, from birth to death, with love.'
At St John's Catholic Primary School, we recognise that as parents, you are the first educators of your children, and in doing so have primary responsibility in teaching your children how to build healthy, loving relationships.
Our Catholic school also plays a vital part in supporting you in doing this. The Governors of St John's have adopted the 'Journey in Love' programme to support Relationships and Sex Education throughout the school (EYFS to Year 6). This is a programme of study authentic to the teaching of the Catholic Church.
A Journey in Love programme content:
An aspect of the mystery of love is taught in each year group; children are encouraged to marvel at the wonder and beauty of God’s creative love. This is reflected through a series of progressive and developmental tasks, activities and reflections which focus on physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development.
The following themes are studied in each year group:
Nursery- Wonder at God's Love
Reception- God loves each of us in our uniqueness
Year 1- We meet God's love in our family
Year 2- We meet God's love in the community
Year 3- How we live in love
Year 4 - God loves us in our differences
Year 5- God loves me in my changing and development
Year 6- The wonder of God's love in creating new life new life
As part of our commitment to you, we will hold a meeting annually for the parents and carers of children across the school to discuss the programme.As parents, you have the right to withdraw your child from this aspect of the curriculum in Year 6 however, this is not to be confused with curriculum Science and/or Personal Development which is statutory as defined by the Department for Education 2020.
If you require any further clarification regarding this aspect of the curriculum please contact school.
| Name | |
|---|---|
| DfE Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education Statutory Guidance.pdf | Download |
| journey-in-love-parents-overview.pdf | Download |
| RSE primary schools guide for parents.pdf | Download |
| RSHE Jigsaw Links to Statutory Guidance (St John's).docx | Download |
| The Department for Education RSE Q&As.docx | Download |
Consultation Process:
From September 2020, it became a statutory requirement that all schools in England and Wales teach Relationship and Sex Education as a fundamental part of the curriculum. Due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, this deadline was extended to Summer term 2021.
As part of implementing the RSE curriculum, school completed a stakeholder consultation in order to ensure that there is a general consensus on our approaches to policy and the curriculum content.
Policy Development
This policy has been developed in consultation with staff, pupils and parents. The consultation and policy development process involved the following steps:
- Review – Clare Williams (Deputy Head Teacher) and Ruth Earles (RE / RSE lead) reviewed the policy, referencing DfE statutory guidance and Liverpool Archdiocese guidance.
- Staff consultation – school staff were given the opportunity to complete a questionnaire regarding their understanding of RSHE and to identify CPD needs (January 2021)
- Parent / stakeholder consultation – parents and carers were invited to provide feedback on draft policy and provision for RSHE through an online survey due to COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time of the policy review (February 2021)
- Review - following additional discussion with staff, 'A Journey in Love' was agreed as our primary RSE programme of work, with the PSHE Jigsaw programme of work reviewed and specific lessons identified to support RSE teaching.
- Information leaflets shared with parents / carers (May 2021)
- RSHE mapping across curriculum areas fully completed (July 2021)
- Ratification – once final amendments were made, the policy was shared with governors and ratified (July 2021)
Our PSHE / Health & Well-being Programme is Jigsaw; it offers a comprehensive programme in an age appropriate way however the Liverpool Archdiocese recommendation of 'A Journey in Love' is our primary RSE programme of work, a link of which can be found below.