Dear Parents,
As you may have seen on the news recently, the Government have restated their view that all materials relating to the teaching of Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) ,must be made available for parents to see, should they wish to.
This letter is to reassure parents that we are already up and running with this and, as with all of our curriculum areas, have details about the RSHE curriculum available on our website. The Statutory RSHE outcomes are taught through our Jigsaw PSHE curriculum and occur in each unit of study. Details of the teaching progression between Year R and Year Two can be found on our school website. Please follow the link below to the PSHE section of our website and click on the ‘Progression of Knowledge and Skills‘ tab for details: https://st-michaels-inf.hants.sch.uk/curriculum/p-s-h-e.
Schools are also required by law to publish an RSHE policy as part of a wider PSHE policy. This details the theory behind our choice of Jigsaw PSHE and gives further information about when and how we teach RSHE. This policy is approved and regularly updated by our Governing body and can be found on our school website by following this link: https://st-michaels-inf.hants.sch.uk/information-for-parents/policies and clicking on ‘PSHE and Relationship, Sex and Health education Policy’
In addition to the RSHE Policy and unit-overview, parents are able to request access to teaching materials and lesson plans should they wish to. This can be done by speaking to your child’s class teacher who will be able to generate a Parent Access Code so that you can log on to the Jigsaw PSHE Parent Portal. Please be aware that whilst we closely follow the Jigsaw scheme, lessons are adapted to meet the needs of our unique classes. Your child’s class teacher or myself, will be able to talk you through any adaptations if a Parent Access Code is requested.
Whilst we support the fact that parents have access to these materials, we would like to make it very clear that at this, Infant stage of children’s education, RSHE is nothing controversial and is very age appropriate!
- The ‘Sex Education’ element of RSHE is as simple as naming external body parts, including penis, vagina and nipples in Year Two. Prior to this, in Years R and One, children look at and name external body parts but not penis, vagina and nipples at this stage. Year Two parents are informed by letter/email before this unit is taught and have access to a school-made PowerPoint Presentation explaining our rationale behind teaching children anatomically correct names for body parts in Year Two.
- The ‘Relationships’ element of RSHE is key to our school values and the lessons planned help children feel good about themselves, help them to understand that we are all different and all special and help children to know how they can expect to be treated by others, and, how they must treat their peers.
- The ‘Health’ element of RSHE covers children being able to recognise and talk about the importance of staying healthy through a balanced and varied diet, through maintenance of dental health and through regular exercise. Children also learn about staying emotionally well by exploring ways to communicate and look after their feelings.
We know how important it is, in today’s changing society, that children are equipped with the skills they need to be able to feel strong, healthy and mentally well. Our PSHE scheme, provided by Jigsaw, has been used in school since 2020 and the children (and staff!) all enjoy the lessons. If you have any concerns at all about the RSHE that is taught through our PSHE scheme, I would invite you, in the first instance to have a look at the PSHE sections of the school website and then, if you have further questions, to speak to your child’s class teacher who will be happy to help.
Thank you for taking the time to read this information.
Kind regards,
Sarah Boon
PSHE and RSHE Lead
October 2023
