Rationale and Development of Policy

This policy has been developed based on the needs of the children and school community. Consultation with children, staff, parents and governors formed the foundation of this policy.

This is a statement of the aims, objectives and strategies for the teaching of Healthy Relationships.  Relationship Education is statutory in primary schools from September 2020.  Guidance for this policy has been provided from the 2019 DFE document ‘Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education’ .

Within this policy, there also needs to be an awareness of issues such as: Honour-based abuse such as FGM, trafficking, child marriage, child-on-child sexual violence, sexual harrassment, child sexual exploitation (CSE), child criminal expolitation (CCE) and counter-terrorism and radicalisation, following the DFE document: ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education' (September 1st, 2023).  

Aims and Objectives

‘Healthy Relationships’ is lifelong learning about physical, social, moral and emotional development. They should support children in managing adolescence and preparing them for adult life, helping them to understand themselves, to respect others and to sustain healthy relationships of all kinds.

At Billesley, we believe that helping pupils to develop feelings of self-respect, confidence and empathy is crucial. We aim to ensure that we provide a positive culture around issues of relationships, and prepare pupils for puberty and body changes.

Healthy Relationships aims to support children throughout their time at the school so that they are able to:

• Form positive relationships
• Use knowledge and skills to make informed choices
• Have a realistic and positive self image valuing and respecting themselves and others
• Have the confidence to talk about and deal positively with their emotions, feelings and beliefs and those of others
• To have the skills necessary to deal with situations involving peer pressure
• Keep themselves safe and be able to ask for help in the different situations they may face, including e-safety
• Show an awareness and understanding of consent
• Keep clean and healthy
• Have the correct terminology to talk about their bodies
• Be aware of their own bodies and understand and be prepared for the physical and emotional changes that happen to them as they grow up
• Understand how babies are conceived and develop
• Make sense of the messages that they receive about relationships and growing up in the world around them
• Be prepared for life in modern Britain.

Equal Opportunities

It is intended that the school's Healthy Relationships policy and programme will reflect the ethos of the school, by providing a secure, inclusive, non-judgemental environment in which to learn. Therefore, no child or family will be discriminated against on grounds of race, gender, health, ability or sexuality.

In support of our equal opportunities policy staff will challenge discrimination and stereotyping.

Staff will support children to understand that people hold different points of view and that there is not always one clear and correct answer.

Healthy Relationships is taught within the context of family life, taking care to ensure that there is no stigmatisation of children based on their home circumstances.

Teaching Healthy Relationships

Before teaching any  unit of work, staff will consult with the school PSHE coordinator. Parents and carers need to be informed, but all communication must be agreed through the SLT. Two adults need to be present in all sessions. All staff must ensure they view all teaching materials before beginning the unit.

Lesson Delivery

• Establish rules with the group e.g.  Discuss confidentiality.
• Have a question box ready and explain how it will be used.
• Use a range of teaching styles as agreed within the year group e.g single sex teaching, circle time, question boxes, paired activities, whole class activities, group work, working individually, pre-tutoring and use of interactive whiteboard.

Healthy Relationships will be taught by the appropriate staff, with the support of the school nurse, if necessary. All staff will be supported in this work, with opportunities for team teaching, which will need to be planned and agreed in advance. The teaching of Healthy Relationships will be flexible enough to take into account the needs of individual year groups. Single sex teaching will be used for some Healthy Relationships lessons.  However, both boys and girls will receive the same curriculum content. Staff are aware that parents will need to be informed before these sessions take place.

Billesley Primary follows the Jigsaw scheme of work for RSE.

All visitors from external agencies will work within the policy framework. A teacher will be present at all times.  Any external services must have an Enhanced DBS check and be pre-approved by the Principal.

Lessons  will be observed in the normal programme of monitoring teaching and learning.

Children’s views and attitudes will be accessed through our ‘pupil voice’ Pupil Book Study opportunities to help inform our policy.

The delivery of Healthy Relationships is coordinated by Miss Stephanie Cole.

Content of the Curriculum

Healthy Relationships is taught within both Science and Personal Social Health Economics Education (PSHE). Any topics covered as part of the science curriculum are statutory.

This includes:

KS1:

• Identify, name, draw and label the basic parts of the human body and say which part of the body is associated within each sense.

• Notice that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults.

KS2:

• Describe the differences in the life cycle of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird.
• Describe the life process of reproduction in animals, including humans.

Healthy Relationships are covered within the main strands of PSHE:

• Developing confidence and responsibility and making the most of their abilities
• Preparing children to play an active role as citizens developing a healthy safer lifestyle
• Developing good relationships and respecting the differences between people.

Please see topic coverage for further information (appendix 1).

Provision for Pubertal Pupils

• Supplies of sanitary protection will be available from the main school office, class teachers will also provide these if necessary. Children will be able to speak to any member of staff they feel comfortable with, to access supplies.

• Sanitary disposal units are available in the KS2 toilets.

Confidentiality and Child protection

• Confidentiality cannot be offered to any child. If any child protection issues arise all staff and people working within the school must follow Child Protection Procedures and inform the DSL team.  
• Staff are encouraged to answer all questions but will use their professional judgement to decide whether an appropriate response should be given in a whole class situation or referred to home or the DSL.
• Correct and appropriate terminology will be used. The use of correct terminology will be encouraged throughout the school.

Working With Parents and Carers

The school seeks to work in partnership with parents and carers, through consultation and support. The school recognises that parents and carers play a vital role in providing education about relationships and growing up. We aim to support parents in this role. Parental views were integral to the development of the policy and schemes of work.  

All children will receive their statutory entitlement to RSE which is covered within

 the national curriculum. This includes all relationships education lessons, and RSE subjects that are covered within the science curriculum. If parents wish to discuss Healthy Relationships further, then they need to make an appointment with the Principal and PSHE Lead. Parents will receive a letter to inform them when Healthy Relationships lessons are taking place and they will be provided with the opportunity to view resources and discuss the specific teaching content.

If a parent wishes to withdraw their child from the non-statutory element of any RSE lessons, they must complete a withdrawal request form. Please see Appendix 2.

Year group

Term

Topic

Coverage

R

Spring 2

Summer 1

Jigsaw Puzzle 6

Changing Me

Jigsaw Puzzle 5 Relationships

•  Identify how things change as they grow.

• My Family and Me
• Friendships
• Falling out and bullying

Y1

Summer 1

Summer 2

Jigsaw Puzzle 5 Relationships

Jigsaw Puzzle 6

Changing Me

• Families
• People Who Help Us
• Being My Own Best Friend

• Life cycles.

• Changes - my changing body - look at baby photos

Y2

Autumn 1

Spring 1

Summer 1

Jigsaw Puzzle 1

Healthy me

Jigsaw Puzzle 6

Changing Me

Jigsaw Puzzle 5 Relationships

• Changes including loss

• Recognise how our bodies change since being babies.

• Boys and Girls Bodies
• Naming body parts. (Male, female, penis, testicles and vagina)        

• Assertiveness. (Link to PANTS).

• Keeping Safe - exploring physical contact.
• Secrets
• Trust and Appreciation

Y3

Autumn 1

Summer 1

Summer 2

Jigsaw Puzzle 1

Healthy me

Jigsaw Puzzle 5 Relationships

Jigsaw Puzzle 6

Changing Me

• Managing changes including loss

• Friendships
• Keeping myself safe
• Being a global citizen

• How Babies Grow.

• Babies- Understand how babies grow and develop in the mother’s uterus and understand what a baby needs to grow.

Vocabulary- male, female, penis, ovaries, egg, womb, vagina.

Y4

Summer 1

Summer 2

Jigsaw Puzzle 5 Relationships

Jigsaw Puzzle 6

Changing Me

• Love and loss
• Memories
• Are Animals Special?
• Consent

(Separated into gender groups).

• Puberty- Inside body changes. ( Use  Year 3 Jigsaw resources.)
• Label a body
• Having a baby- caring for
• Girls and Puberty.
• Describe how a girl’s body changes in order for her to be able to have babies when she is an adult, and that menstruation (having periods) is a natural part of this.
• Accepting Change
• Identify changes that have been and may continue to be outside of my control that I learnt to accept.

Vocabulary: Puberty, male, female, testicles, sperm, penis, ovaries, egg, womb, vagina.menstruation

Y5

Autumn 1

Spring 2

Summer 1

Jigsaw Puzzle 1

Healthy me

Jigsaw Puzzle 6

Changing Me

Jigsaw Puzzle 5 Relationships

• What is grief and how to seek help for it

• Puberty
• Describe how a girl’s body changes in order for her to be able to have babies when she is an adult, and that menstruation (having periods) is a natural part of this.
• conception to birth- sperm and egg

Vocabulary: Puberty, male, female, testicles, sperm, penis, ovaries, egg, womb, vagina,menstruation

• Getting on and falling out
• Boyfriends and girlfriends
• Relationships and technology

Y6

Autumn 2

Summer 1

Jigsaw Puzzle  6 Changing Me.

Jigsaw Puzzle 5 Relationships

• puberty
• conception to birth-reproduction

• Love and loss
• Power and control
• Being safe with technology-online material, e-safety and grooming

Parent to complete:

Name of child:

Class:

Name of parent:

Date:

Reason for withdrawing from sex education (non statutory element):

Any other information that you would like the school to consider:

Parent Signature:

Agreed actions from discussion with parents

on (date):