Relationships, Sex, Health and Economic Education

Vision

Our vision for RSHE education is deeply Christian, with Jesus' promise of 'life in all its fullness' at its heart. In line with the Church of England's role as the established Church, our vision is for the common good of the whole community:

Educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills: enabling discipline, confidence and delight in seeking wisdom and knowledge, and developing talents in all areas of life.

Educating for hope and aspiration: enabling healing, repair and renewal, coping wisely when things go wrong, opening horizons and guiding people into ways of fulfilling them.

Educating for community and living well together: a core focus on relationships, participation in communities and the qualities of character that enable people to flourish together.

Educating for dignity and respect: the basic principle of respect for the value and preciousness of each person, treating each person as a unique individual of inherent worth.

Our Federation’s overarching distinctively Christian vision for pupils is for each child to ‘Let Your Light Shine’ (Matthew 5:16). We aim to become a community which nurtures individuals to develop a sense of belonging, purpose and self-belief in order for all to flourish and shine. Our values of respect, responsibility, kindness, courage, hope and forgiveness are clearly illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). This powerful message provides a basis to enable our children to flourish and shine as unique individuals.

Intent

At The Nar Valley Federation we follow the Diocese of Norwich values and intend that our RSHE learning will:

• Provide opportunities to learn about the emotional, social and physical aspects of growing up, relationships, sex, human sexuality and sexual health in an age and stage appropriate manner;
• Equip our children with accurate information, positive values and the skills to enjoy healthy, safe and positive relationships;
• Enable our children to value their sexuality and take responsibility for their health and wellbeing both now and in the future;
• Prepare our children to live safe, fulfilled and healthy lives;
• Support our children through a journey of physical, emotional and moral development;
• Teach essential knowledge, skills and values within the framework of the law, relevant provisions of the Equality Act, 2010 and through the teaching of the Christian perspectives on relationships and sex;
• Make a significant contribution to the development of personal skills needed by pupils to establish and maintain relationships.
• Ensure our children are encouraged to understand the importance of stable, loving relationships, respect, love, and care in line with our Christian values.
• Enable our children to make responsible and informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.
• Be taught by staff regularly trained in RSHE, with expert visitors invited in to enhance and supplement the programme where appropriate;
• Work in partnership with parents and carers, informing them about what their children will be learning and about how they can contribute at home;
• Be delivered through lessons where pupils feel safe and are encouraged to participate by using a variety of teaching approaches;
• Provide opportunities for our children to develop critical thinking and relationship skills;
• Be based on reliable sources of information, including about the law and legal rights, and distinguish between fact and opinion;
• Promote safe, equal, caring and enjoyable relationships and discuss real-life issues appropriate to the age and stage of our children, including friendships, families, consent, relationship abuse, sexual exploitation and safe relationships online. This will include respecting gender equality and LGBT+ equality and challenging all forms of discrimination in lessons and in every-day school life;
• Give a positive view of human sexuality, with honest and medically accurate information, so that pupils can learn about their bodies and sexual and reproductive health in ways that are appropriate to their age and maturity;
• Give our children opportunities to reflect on values and influences (such as from peers, media, faith and culture) that may shape their attitudes to relationships and nurture respect for different views;
• Include learning about how to get help and treatment from sources such as the school and other health and advice services;
• Meet the needs of all pupils with their diverse experiences - including those with special educational needs and disabilities;
• Seek our children’s views about their learning, so that teaching can be made relevant to their real lives and assessed and adapted as their needs change.

Implementation

At the Nar Valley Federation, RSHE will be taught through a range of teaching methodologies, including story-telling, drama, discussions, individual private reflection, quizzes and fact finding, value spectrums, debating, independent research and artistic presentations etc. This wide range of teaching strategies promotes engagement by all pupils, irrespective of preferred learning styles.

RSHE will also be taught through a ‘spiral curriculum’. This approach means that pupils will gain knowledge, develop values and acquire skills gradually during their school years by re-visiting core themes to build on prior learning. RSHE will support the school’s commitment to safeguard pupils through an age-appropriate curriculum that prepares them to live safely in the modern world.

Our RSHE curriculum is detailed in the documents below, but may vary in response to emerging issues and to reflect the rapidly changing world in which our pupils are living and learning. If this is the case, parent/carers will be provided with appropriate notice before the amended programme is delivered. Where possible the curriculum will be complemented by themed assemblies, topic days and cross-curricular links. These cross-curricular links will include our use of Jigsaw for our PSHE learning (new Autumn 2022), Science lessons relating to health and living things and e-safety learning throughout Computing.

Spirituality in our Curriculum

We foster spirituality in Relationships, Social Health and Economics Education at the Nar Valley Federation, by giving our children opportunities to reflect on issues that are bigger than themselves. We enable our children to consider their own thoughts and feelings whilst respecting those of others that may be different. We celebrate and value the diversity of life. We take time to develop our children’s ability to both ask and respond to questions about our lives, relationships and the interactions we have with society and the world around us. We include those mysteries that have no answers and reflect together and individually on the wonders of the world we share.