“At St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, we believe that the teaching of Relationships & Sex Education is an important aspect of the National Curriculum that needs to be delivered to pupils sensitively and at an age appropriate level.”
Relationships, Sex and Health Education is lifelong learning about physical, moral and emotional development. It is designed to equip children with knowledge to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships as well as preparing them for a successful adult life.
Our intention is that when children leave St. Joseph’s, they will do so with the knowledge, understanding and emotions to be able to play an active, positive and successful role in today’s diverse society. Any teaching about love and sexual relationships at our school is deeply rooted in the Catholic Church’s teaching about what it means to be truly human in Christ, to live well in relationships with others and be presented within a positive framework of Christian virtues.
St Joseph’s Relationships and Sex Education programme will:
- Acknowledge, respect and value the moral teachings of the Catholic Church.
- Provide information which is relevant and appropriate to the age and maturity of the pupils.
- Develop resilience, to know how and when to ask for help, and to know where to access support.
- Develop personal attributes including kindness, integrity, generosity and honesty.
- Provide children and young people with a positive understanding of what constitutes positive relationships, with particular reference to friendships, family relationships and relationships with other children and with adults.
- Address on line safety and appropriate behaviour that is relevant to pupils’ lives.
- Ensure children know how to report concerns and seek advice when they suspect or know something is wrong.
- Promote good health and understanding of physical development, respecting and reverencing the wonder of the body.
Life to The Full Programme
At St Joseph’s’, we have chosen to use the programme: Life to the Full by Ten:Ten Resources to support the teaching of Relationships and Sex Education within the school.
Life to the Full is a comprehensive and fully resourced programme which embraces and fulfils the new statutory curriculum within a Catholic Context. It is based on ‘A Model Catholic RSE [Relationships and Sex Education] Curriculum’ created by the Catholic Education Service and was highlighted as a work of good practice by the Department of Education.
The programme adopts a spiral curriculum approach so that as our children go through the programme year-after-year. Their learning will develop and grow at an age appropriate stage, with each stage building on from the last. The entire teaching is underpinned with a religious understanding that that our deepest identity is as a child of God– created, chosen and loved by God. Life to the Full contains creative resources to engage, inform and inspire our children. This includes interactive video content, story-based activities, a range of teaching tools, original worship music and an accompanying programme of classroom prayers. Life to the Full, follows a four-stage structure which is repeated across four different learning stages:
- Early Years Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception)
- Key Stage One (Year 1 and 2)
- Lower Key Stage Two (Years 3 and 4)
- Upper Key Stage Two (Years 5 and 6)
Within each learning stage, there are three Modules which are based on the Model Catholic RSE Curriculum:
- created and loved by God (exploring the individual).
- created to love others (exploring an individual’s relationship with others).
- created to live in community – local, national and global (exploring the individual’s relationships with the wider world).
Each Module is then broken down into Units of Work.
| Module 1 | Created and Loved by God |
| Units | Religious Understanding
Me, my Body, My Health Emotional Well-being Life Cycles |
| Module 2 | Created to Love Others |
| Units | Religious Understanding
Personal Relationships Keeping Safe |
| Module 3 | Created to Live in Community |
| Units | Religious Understanding
Living in the Wider World |
The scheme works in conjunction with the Islington ‘You, Me, PSHE’ programme to provide a comprehensive relationship, health and sex education curriculum so that children at St Joseph’s pupils are equipped with the skills, knowledge, understanding and emotions to be able to play an active, positive and successful role in today’s diverse society.
The Role of the Parent
Furthermore, we recognise the importance of working collaboratively alongside parents and carers in order to deliver this sensitive curriculum area. We see parents as the first educators of their children. Ten:Ten Resources understands the foundational role that parents have in educating and nurturing their children on relationship and health matters. Within the programme, there is an Online Parental Portal to keep parents informed about what is being taught in school. This will also give them the opportunity to engage with their children in discussion, activity and prayer.
The school ensures that parents are informed of the content throughout the year. Further information can be obtained from our school’s RSE policy and FAQ document produced by the Diocese of Westminster Education Service.
RSHE Curriculum Overview Map 2022-2023
DfE Mapping with Ten Ten Resources
DfE Guidance Relationships Education Document