RSE
Introduction
Any teaching about love and sexual relationships in a Catholic school must be rooted in the Catholic Church’s teaching about what it is to be truly human in Christ, what it means to live well in relationship with others and be presented within a positive framework of Christian virtue. For this reason, Catholic are schools encouraged to speak about Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) rather than Sex and Relationship Education (SRE), since this emphasises the importance of healthy relationships to human well-being, as the core learning within an RSE curriculum.
RSE Cross-curricular
Since a Catholic school is committed to the education of the whole person, teaching on relationships and sexuality needs to be reflected in each relevant part of the curriculum. Whilst, for example, some aspects of RSE will be more appropriately explored in science lessons and some more appropriately explored in RE lessons, each should be informed by the other. Each discipline should speak with consistency about the meaning of human love and the virtues that are enshrined in the Church’s teaching on human love.
RSE Balanced
Whilst promoting Catholic virtues, schools should ensure that children and young people are offered a broad and balanced RSE programme which provides them with clear factual, scientific information when relevant and meets the statutory requirements placed on schools. The structure of this model curriculum. This model curriculum covers EYFS, KS1 and KS2 and is based on three core themes within which there will be broad overlap. It is adaptable to the age and ability of the pupils. The three themes are:
- Created and loved by God(this explores the individual)
- The Christian imperative to love self, made in the image and likeness of God, shows an understanding of the importance of valuing and understanding oneself as the basis for personal relationships.
- Created to love others(this explores an individual’s relationships with others)
- God is love. We are created out of love and for love. The command to love is the basis of all Christian morality.
- Created to live in community– local, national & global (this explores the individual’s relationships with the wider world.
Christian virtue and RSE
St Joseph’s uses TenTen to deliver its RSE Programme. This resource is used widely across many Catholic schools in England. The Catholic. Education Service have approved TenTen curriculum content and standard of resources to ensure schools undertake their statutory duty.
Life to the Full is a programme within TenTen in Relationship and Health Education for Catholic primary schools throughout the UK.
“Life to the Full” will inspire parents, teachers, children and young people by teaching about God’s call to love; about how God’s design for creation, especially the human body, reveals insight into His great plan for human relationships as a sign of heavenly unity. This programme will speak into the culture of children and young people and the teaching will be accessible to all.
Life to the Full is based on the structure of the Model Primary RSE Curriculum from the Catholic Education Service and we use this as the basis for our lessons and resources. This itself is cited as a work of good practice by the DfE so it should mean that not only are you fully-compliant with the new curriculum but you are delivering a programme that puts Catholic education at the very heart.
Our Online Parent Portal contains:
- An overview of the programme, “Life to the Full”
- Guidance for parents on the content of lessons
- Activities that can be undertaken at home to support the delivery of the programme
How to use this online portal?
The Online Parent Portal provides parents of children in schools who subscribe to Life to the Full with:
- Information about the programme children will be following;
- Access to resources;
- Suggestions for further activity at home.
Please click the link below for more information
https://www.tentenresources.co.uk/parent-portal/
Further Information
Information from the Department for Education about the introduction of compulsory relationships education and RSE from September 2020
Q&A for Parents-see link
As always if you have a question or require any further details do not hesitate to contact school.
https://pshe-association.org.uk/guidance/ks1-4/statutory-rshe
Christian virtue and RSE
Each theme begins with a statement of the virtues which are necessary to living well in relationship with others and these virtues should underpin the teaching but also should emerge as a consequence of it. Virtues are habits which are learned from experience, and are gained through imitation the same virtues being modelled by those who teach. They express the qualities of character that schools should seek to develop in their pupils, through their exemplification by the whole community of which the pupils are a part. These virtues reflect our Christian tradition but they are also, of course, fundamental human virtues which are universally shared.
St Joseph’s uses TenTen to deliver its RSE Programme. This resource is used widely across many Catholic schools in England. The Catholic.Education Service have approved TenTen curriculum content and standard of resources to ensure schools undertake their statutory duty.
Please see key documents below which relate to the intent, implementation and required impact for the teaching of Relationship Education.
