Personal, Social, Health, Relationships and Sex Education
An introduction to RSE and PSHE at Carlton Road
RSE (relationships and sex Education) and PSHE (personal, social and health education) are fundamental subjects in our curriculum. At Carlton Road Academy we have implemented a whole-school, creative programme to enhance our children’s learning in PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) lessons. The programme – Jigsaw: A mindful approach to PSHE – has been written by teachers and a psychotherapist and substantiated in reliable psychology, offers a comprehensive, nurturing scheme in developing our children into compassionate and well-rounded human beings as well as building their capacity to learn.
This engaging, inclusive programme has six key areas which children will progress through building on key skill, knowledge and understanding. These six areas are:
Relationships and Health Education
The Changing Me Puzzle includes, in every year group, 2 or 3 lessons to help children understand the changes puberty brings 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. The Years 5 and 6 lessons look more fully at puberty and human reproduction.
We hope you will agree with us that this work is vitally important for children, that it needs to be done age-appropriately and that the Jigsaw Programme gives us a secure framework in which to do this.
Parents’ Views and Consultation
The government Department for Education (DfE) has made Relationships Education and Health Education statutory for all primary schools – guidance can be viewed here: Relationships_Education_RSE_and_Health_Education
Parents do have the legal right to withdraw their children from some aspects of this work, that which is related to Sex Education in Key Stage 2, in consultation with the school. Please note that children can not be removed from science lessons which include "subject content in related areas, such as the main external body parts, the human body as it grows from birth to old age (including puberty) and reproduction in some plants and animals [as well as} how a baby is conceived and born" DfE.
"The Relationships Education, RSE, and Health Education (England) Regulations 2019 have made Relationships Education compulsory in all primary schools. Sex education is not compulsory in primary schools and the content set out in this guidance therefore focusses on Relationships Education... Schools should consult with parents on what is to be covered." DfE
Due to the higher than average pupil mobility at Carlton Road, our consultation on RSE is an ongoing process. Parents have the opportunity to review their child's participation in the selected curriculum content at any time. Class teachers will notify parents when this key content is due to be taught. The links below explain all of our curriculum content; much - though not all the sex education content can be found in the units in "Changing Me" and "Relationships".
We value this opportunity to share the curriculum we intend to teach the children, why we feel this is so important, and the aspects parents have the right to withdraw their children from – all of which can be seen from the links below.
If, after viewing the materials, you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school addressing any queries to Mrs Kirsty Deamer – Assistant Head teacher. Parental contributions to this consultation and the school’s practice are always valued and may contribute to our practice in school.
We hope you, like us, will see the materials in Jigsaw as educationally sound and beneficial to our children, helping to safeguard them, and look forward to any feedback you would like to share with us.
