Relationships and Sex Education...
From Summer 2021, all primary schools will be required by law to teach Relationships Education and Health Education. At Roundhay St John’s this is something we already do. We will also continue to teach sex education beyond the National Curriculum Science, which is strongly recommended by the Department for Education.
Our teaching of these subjects is based on the belief that it is essential to give our children a shared language so everyone understands, and everyone is understood. It is so essential that, in the diverse world in which we live, children have the language and understating to build respectful relationships with those around them both now and in the future. This is important for keeping our children safe, so they can be easily understood when talking about their bodies and feelings. It will also enable them to have informed discussions about their own health and wellbeing. We know that addressing these subjects as part of the curriculum in primary school stands children in good stead before starting at secondary school.
The requirements for schools were set to be in place for September 2020 but this was put back as a result of the pandemic which has diverted the focus of schools in the past months. We want to have our policy in place by the start of the summer term and we will be happy to have any comments you may have about this. Because we already teach these subjects then there is little change in practice but it provides a useful opportunity to refresh our policy and seek your views.
Parents will continue to have the right to request that their child is excused from sex education and we will continue to give you advance notice of when the non statutory elements of this are taught which is not until children are in Year 5 and 6. We’ll also continue to let you know exactly what we will be teaching and give you opportunity to view the materials we use. We do this as we find that where parents have concerns these can usually always be allayed when they fully understand what we teach and why.
Thank you for the comments we had about the draft RSE policy which were very supportive of the school's work in this important area. The final policy can be read below.
