RSE at Carbeile
As a part of your child’s education at Carbeile Junior School, we promote personal wellbeing and development through a comprehensive Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education programme. PSHE education is the curriculum subject that gives children the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live safe, healthy, productive lives and meet their full potential.
The DfE guidance 2019 (p.23) recommends that all primary schools ‘have a sex education programme tailored to the age and the physical and emotional maturity of the pupils.
However, ‘Sex Education is not compulsory in primary schools’.
At Carbeile, we believe children should understand the facts about human reproduction before they leave primary school so we intend to teach the non-statutory aspects of the curriculum to ensure the pupils are fully aware and prepared for the changes adolescence brings.
We define Sex Education as understanding human reproduction and the changes that occur in the human body throughout life.
There are four main aims of teaching RSE:
- To enable children to understand and respect their bodies
• To help children develop positive and healthy relationships appropriate to their age and development
• To support children to have positive self-esteem and body image
• To empower them to be safe and safeguarded.
NON-STATUTORY SEX EDUCATION
As part of statutory Health Education, children are taught in an age appropriate way about puberty and the associated physical and emotional changes from Year 3 onwards. As part of the science curriculum, children learn in Year 5 about how reproduction occurs in some plants and animals. The DfE guidance 2019 also recommends that all primary schools have a sex education programme tailored to the age and the physical and emotional maturity of pupils, and this should include how a baby is conceived and born.
Although sex education is not compulsory in primary schools, we believe children should understand the facts about human reproduction before they leave primary school. We therefore provide some non-statutory sex education, covering how human reproduction and conception occurs.
This is included in the “Changing Me” unit in the summer term. Children are taught:
- that for a baby to be made, a sperm from the father and an egg from the mother must meet; that this can happen when a grown-up man and woman share an especially close and loving embrace that is a loving and very private part of a grown-up relationship (no detail on what this involves). (Year 4, Lesson 2);
- that when a sperm and egg meet, this is called conception; that conception usually occurs as a result of sexual intercourse, and what sexual intercourse means (Year 5, Lesson 4);
- how a baby develops in the womb and how babies are born (Year 6, Lesson 4 and Lesson 5).
In each year group, lessons will recap on the content of previous years as a reminder and to allow for children to “catch up” if they were not present for the previous year’s lessons.
We recognise that children in younger year groups may ask questions that cannot be answered without reference to content from older year groups. Should this occur, we will respond by telling them that they will learn about that when they are older. Please see the relevant section within this policy for further information on how teachers manage difficult questions in RSE.
We believe that teaching this additional content to pupils will ensure that they are better prepared for transition to secondary school and also support their personal and social development as the grow into young adults.
As is legally prescribed, parents have a right to withdraw their children from these additional non-statutory sex education lessons.
Parents’ right to request their child be excused from Sex Education
“Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory Relationships and Sex Education” DfE Guidance p.17
At Carbeile, puberty is taught as a statutory requirement of Health Education and covered by our Jigsaw PSHE Programme in the ‘Changing Me’ Puzzle (unit).
We conclude that sex education refers to Human Reproduction, and therefore inform parents of their right to request their child be withdrawn from the PSHE lessons that explicitly teach this i.e. the Jigsaw Changing Me Puzzle (unit) e.g.
Year 4, Lesson 2 (Having a baby)
Year 5, Lesson 4 (Conception)
Year 6, Lesson 4 (Conception, birth)
Year 6, Lesson 4 (Conception, birth)
If you wish to discuss any of the session being covered or wish to withdraw your child from a particular session, please contact Mr Hamlyn via reception.
Language used during RSE sessions