Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education

Intent

Underpinning our school and everything that happens here at St. John’s is our school aim of ‘nurture, learn, succeed, together’. Through our curriculum, our school vision of ‘Growing together, becoming all that we are created to be’, comes to life.

At St. John’s, personal, social and health education is an embedded part of our broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is at the heart of our school vision. Our aim is to support our children to become healthy, successful, responsible and productive members of society, as well as preparing them for life and work in modern Britain. We want to provide our children with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society.

Today’s children and young people are growing up in an ever increasingly complex and changing world. The world now could be described as secular, digital, dopamine drowning and one which brings new challenges for our young people. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also challenges and risks. We need our children to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way.

Mental wellbeing and children’s happiness is a priority for us. We want to give our children the knowledge and capability to take care of themselves and know how to receive support if problems arise. Pupils need the ability to believe that they can achieve goals, both academic and personal; to stick to tasks to achieve those goals; and recover from knocks and challenging periods in their lives.

Implementation

RSHE at St. John’s is delivered through ‘One Life’, which is a universal offer for personal development that explicitly teaches all children how to live their ‘one life’ well. One Life teaches children to do what is good and right in the hope that if they know better, they will choose better. It is deeply rooted in recent research from psychologists, social physiologists and doctors. At the heart of One Life is building strong mental, physical and social fitness. Each statutory requirement has been broken down into age-appropriate content which has been sequenced and connected to ensure that children know more and do better. The content is repeated deliberately to ensure that children know more, remember more and do more with it. The content also covers children’s spiritual, moral, cultural and social development whilst ensuring that they grow with their character with British Values at the heart. The whole programme supports an Educational Psychology Service mission, of ‘Relate to Educate,’ which helps us to build the intentional culture which enables children to develop, learn, adapt and thrive.

One Life provides the power and the practical tools to adapt to the emotional and developmental needs of our children, including those who are the most in need. This programme places a huge emphasis on relationships, respect, responsibility and restoration which have shown to be more effective in addressing issues of discipline and conflict rather than traditional behavioural approaches, where systems rely on the use of rewards and sanctions to encourage compliance

One Life helps to offer a relational approach into practice addressing the following:

• Developing Relationships (staff to pupil, pupil to pupil and pupil to self)

• Responding and Calming (supports co-regulation leading to improved self-regulation, calm responses, and managing crisis well)

• Repairing and Restoring (staff to pupil, pupil to pupil and pupil to self)

• Supporting inclusion (helps to support experiences of adversity and trauma as well as addressing the impact of being over-sanitised and entitled)

• Setting boundaries (for themselves and understanding others) (Wakefield Educational Psychology Service, Relate to Educate, August 2023)

We cover all aspects of the DFE Statutory guidance categories for Relationships Education and Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing Education for Primary Education (2020/2025). We ensure that all of this content is taught and not told.

DFE statutory guidance categories for Relationships Education (Primary Education):

DFE Statutory guidance categories for Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing (Primary Education):

Relationships Education:

• Families and People who Care for Me

• Caring Friendships

• Respectful, Kind Relationships

• Online Safety and Awareness

• Being Safe

Physical Health and Mental Well-being:

• General Wellbeing

• Wellbeing Online

• Physical Health and Fitness

• Healthy Eating

• Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco and Vaping -Y5/Y6

• Health Protection and Prevention

• Personal Safety

• Basic First Aid

• Changing Adolescent Body (Developing Bodies) -Y5/6

This will not be taught before year 4. Pupils will know: 1. about growth, change and the changing adolescent body. This topic includes the human lifecycle. Puberty will be taught as a stage in this process. 2. the key facts about the menstrual cycle, including physical and emotional changes.

One Life also supports the Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development and ethos, promotes British Values and the Equal Opportunities Act and supports the awareness of the Protected Characteristics. It supports culture, character and personal attributes and

growth for every pupil

RSHE, through One Life, is taught by class teachers in weekly lessons. One Life lessons cover three main components, social fitness, mental fitness and physical fitness. Each class in school will cover each statutory topic by following our yearly plan:  daily One life morning routine also happens throughout school. This includes a safe touch welcome into the classroom, journaling of thoughts and feelings, daily affirmations and daily words of wisdom.

Sensitive topics:

During privacy lessons In Class R, Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3, lessons will focus on privacy and personal safety. During these sessions, intimate body parts will be referred to as 'private parts'.

In Class 3, there will be additional discussion around body privacy, consent, and the importance of speaking up if a secret relates to safety.

In Classes 4, 5, and 6, lessons will explore these topics further, including body privacy, consent, and unsafe secrets. In these classes, the correct anatomical terms will be used for intimate male and female body parts.

During puberty lessons in Class 5 and 6, the correct anatomical terms will be used for intimate male and female body parts, including penis, vulva, vagina, testicles, scrotum and nipples. Statutory guidance states that pupils should understand that all of these parts of the body are private and have skills to understand and express their own boundaries around these body parts. These lessons will also include the facts about the menstrual cycle, including physical and emotional changes. Whilst the average age of the onset of menstruation is twelve, periods can start at eight, so covering this topic before girls’ periods start will help them understand what to expect and avoid distress.

All aspects of RSE/Health Education will be taught at an age-appropriate level in a sensitive way. Parents have been informed of what their child will be taught, when it will be taught and how it will be taught. A Relationships and Health Education Policy was written in July 2020 to outline actions and guidance for the subject.

Impact

By teaching RSHE through One Life, we will equip our children with positive behaviour, promote positive mental health, wellbeing, resilience and achievement, and will meet the Relationships and Health Education statutory requirements (2020).

Crucial skills and positive attitudes developed through comprehensive Personal, Social, Health and Economic education at St. John’s will be critical to ensuring our children are effective learners. We recognise how important these skills and attitudes are in unlocking pupils' potential. Our pupils will have the knowledge and capability to take care of themselves and know how to receive support if problems arise. Pupils have the ability to believe that they can achieve goals, both academic and personal; can stick to tasks to achieve those goals; and recover from knocks and challenging periods in their lives.

One Life provides a whole-school approach to building these essential foundations – crucial for children to achieve their best, academically, physically, mentally and socially. 

The clear end goal of our RSHE teaching programme is to ensure that all pupils know how to live a healthy, safe and happy life and know to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way.

We only get one life, so let’s learn how to live it well.