Relationships and Sex Education

Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is now a national programme for all schools, which follows DFE guidance. The aim of our RSE curriculum is that topics are revisited regularly, links made from prior knowledge and students are confident in talking about Relationships and Sex education content.

We intend to equip children and young people with the information, skills and values they need to have safe, fulfilling and enjoyable relationships and take responsibility for their physical, sexual and emotional health and wellbeing.

If you would like to withdraw your child from any element of this programme, please contact the head of year. Please note that we typically cover this content early in the autumn term so you may wish to contact us as soon as possible.

If you wish to know more about the resources we use, again please the head of year.

In addition to the RSE delivered in PSHE, students will have input through assemblies and tutor time on key themes from the RSE curriculum.

Year 7What relationships are, positive relationships and staying safe. They will be given the opportunity to discuss different types of relationships and understand the characteristics of positive and healthy friendships in all contexts, including online. Students should be able to identify ways they can develop and maintain positive friendships. They should know some practical steps they can take in a range of different contexts to improve or support respectful relationships
Year 8Online Grooming so they can correctly identify the different ways an online groomer will try to exploit someone. They should be able to describe what the warning signs are and how an online groomer might act to persuade you he/she is someone else. Students should be able to explain why online groomers may use these particular methods and what the consequences for the vulnerable person could be. This will be delivered through case studies. The Dangers of Sexting. Through this unit students will be able to learn about the dangers of sexting and the long and short-term consequences, including the legal consequences for those breaking the law. The focus of this unit is to ensure that students keep themselves safe in the digital world.
Year 9Peer pressure, to be able to identify strategies to resist it in a relationship context and the reasons this can be so difficult. Students will be given the knowledge so they can explain the difference between herd mentality, herd behaviour and peer pressure and analyse which strategies will work best in which case. Consent. Students will also learn about consent and be taught to understand that consent is freely given and that by being pressurised, manipulated or coerced to agree something is not consent. Students will be given the opportunity to learn and understand that if consent is not given or is withdrawn, that decision should always be respected. CSE. Students will also learn to correctly identify the warning signs of child sexual exploitation(CSE) and what we can do if we suspect a case of CSE. They will learn about both online and offline safety which suggest cases of CSE. They will learn to identify the manipulation techniques used by abusers and why we should leave investigation to the authorities.
Year 10Sexism and Gender Prejudice. How dangerous it can be and identify the main issues women face in the UK today. Students will learn to explain counter arguments against the main reasons why women are often treated differently to men and analyse whether certain elements of UK society are perpetuating gender prejudice. Harassment And Stalking. Students will look at what constitutes stalking and harassment and what can happen if people don’t take reports of this seriously. They will look at how victims are targeted, the abuse they suffer and correctly identify the different types of abuse and their effects. Role Models. Students will identify what makes someone a positive or negative role model. They will learn about the issues young people face when they idolise poor role models, research and assess whether there is a link between the way some people idolise role models and their levels of self-esteem. Revenge Pornography. Students will correctly identify what to do to prevent revenge pornography and what to do if they became a victim. They will describe the long- and short-term consequences of sharing intimate images with partners or friends. Conflict Management. Students will identify strategies to resolve and manage conflict as well as the different situations these can be used in. They will describe how to resolve or manage different conflicts.
Year 11Different Types of Relationships and Sexualities. Students will describe different types of relationships and ways we can make our school more LGBT+ inclusive. They will explain how we can take our best ideas for an inclusive school and put them into practice. Consent and Rape. Students will identify cases where sexual boundaries have been crossed and a crime has been committed. They will look at whether society does enough to prevent these. Students will be given the opportunity to explain why many people don’t report sexual crimes. Body Shaming. Students will be able to identify cases of body shaming, the different types and the hurt this can cause. They will describe the consequences of body shaming, how it affects self-esteem and why people do this. Students will explore how to make people feel better about their bodies, using notable or famous examples and role models.
Sixth formHow to correctly identify ways that people can become vulnerable to domestic abuse and exploitation. They will look at how people can be affected by domestic abuse, exploitation and how they have been placed into this situation and organisations who can help if someone is in this situation. Students will also explore ways that people can be assisted if they are in a domestic abuse or exploitation situation and knowledge of support organisations to support victims.