Greenacres Primary Academy

Relationships Education

At Greenacres Primary Academy, we understand the importance of educating pupils about relationships and their health, for them to make responsible and well-informed decisions in their lives.

The teaching of Relationships and health education can help to prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. It allows us to promote the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at school and in the wider society.

We are clear that parents and carers are the prime educators for children on many of these matters and the school’s role is to provide our pupils with high-quality and age-appropriate teaching to support their personal development and pastoral needs.

The Relationships and health education policy outlines how the school’s curriculum will be organised and delivered as well as what will be taught to the various year groups. You can access a copy of this policy via the link below.

Defining Relationships Education

The DfE guidance defines RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) as “lifelong learning about physical, moral and emotional development.  It is about the understanding of the importance of marriage and family life, stable and loving relationships, respect, love and care. It is about the development of the pupil’s knowledge and understanding of her or him to be fully human, called to live in right relationships with self and others and being enabled to make moral decisions in conscience. 

Working with parents

• We believe in effective communication between home and school. If parents have concerns regarding RSE and health education, they may submit these via email, or contact the school office to arrange a meeting with the Principal.

Right to withdraw

• Parents have the right to request that their child is withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE, however at Greenacres we have chosen not to teach this element of RSE.
• Parents do not have a right to withdraw their child from the relationships or health elements of the programmes (RSHE), which means that at Greenacres you do not have the right to withdraw your child from any lesson.

Please refer to our RSE Policy below, as well as our curriculum plans. 

This is our curriculum document for RSHE, which included the Relationships elements.

Frequently asked questions about RSE

The Department for Education introduced compulsory Relationships Education for primary pupils and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) for secondary pupils from September 2020. Also, from September 2020, it became compulsory for all schools to teach Health Education. 

Through these subjects, we want to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe – we want to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. Throughout our engagement process as we developed this curriculum, we have heard a number of wide ranging concerns.

Below, we have explained some of the common misconceptions around the subjects.

Q: Will my child’s school have to engage with me before teaching these subjects?

A: Schools will be required to consult with parents when developing and reviewing their policies for Relationships Education and RSE, which will inform schools’ decisions on when and how certain content is covered. Effective engagement gives the space and time for parents to input, ask questions, share concerns and for the school to decide the way forward. Schools will listen to parents’ views, and then make a reasonable decision as to how they wish to proceed. When and how content is taught is ultimately a decision for the school, and consultation does not provide a parental veto on curriculum content.

A school’s policies for these subjects must be published online, and must be available to any individual free of charge. Schools should also ensure that, when they engage parents, they provide examples of the resources they plan to use, for example the books they will use in lessons.

Q: Will my child be taught sex education at primary? This is too young.

A: We do not sex education at Greenacres Primary Academy. This is compulsory at secondary-level only. 

We do teach Relationships Education at primary, to put in place the building blocks needed for positive and safe relationships of all kinds. This will start with family and friends, how to treat each other with kindness, and recognising the difference between online and offline friendships.

Many primary schools choose to teach sex education (which goes beyond the existing national curriculum for science), and we recommend that they do so, tailored to the age, physical and emotional maturity of their pupils. In those instances we recommend you discuss this with the school, to understand what they propose to teach and how. If you continue to have concerns, you have an automatic right to withdraw your child from these sex education lessons.

Q: Does Relationships Education and RSE curriculum take account of my faith?

A: The subjects are designed to help children from all backgrounds build positive and safe relationships, and to thrive in modern Britain.

In all schools, when teaching these subjects, the religious background of pupils must be taken into account when planning teaching, so that topics are appropriately handled. Schools with a religious character (for example, church schools) can build on the core required content by reflecting their beliefs in their teaching.

In developing these subjects, the curriculum resource provider worked with a number of representative bodies and faith organisations, representing all the major faith groups in England.

Q: Do I have a right to withdraw my child from Relationships and Sex Education?

A: Parents will continue to have a right to request to withdraw their child from sex education delivered as part of RSE in secondary schools which, unless there are exceptional circumstances, should be granted up to three terms before their child turns 16. At this point, if the child themselves wishes to receive sex education rather than be withdrawn, the school should make arrangements for this to happen in one of the three terms before the child turns 16 - the legal age of sexual consent.

 There is no right to withdraw from Relationships Education at primary or secondary as we believe the contents of these subjects – such as family, friendship, safety (including online safety) – are important for all children to be taught.

Q: Has the government listened to the views of my community in introducing these subjects?

A: A thorough engagement process, involving a public call for evidence and discussions with over 90 organisations, as well as the public consultation on the draft regulations and guidance, informed the key decisions on these subjects. The consultation received over 11,000 responses from teachers, schools, expert organisations, young people and parents – these responses helped finalise the statutory guidance.

Q: Will my child be taught about LGBT relationships?

A: Pupils should be taught about the society in which they are growing up. These subjects are designed to foster respect for others and for difference, and educate pupils about healthy relationships.

Pupils should receive teaching on LGBT content during their school years. Teaching children about the society that we live in and the different types of loving, healthy relationships that exist can be done in a way that respects everyone. Primary schools are strongly encouraged and enabled to cover LGBT content when teaching about different types of families.

Secondary schools should cover LGBT content in their RSE teaching. RSE should meet the needs of all pupils, whatever their developing sexuality or identity – this should include age-appropriate teaching about different types of relationships in the context of the law.

Q: Where can I find out more information about what will be taught in my child’s school?

 A: If you want to know more about what will be taught as part of the new subjects, the best thing to do is speak to school. 

These subjects are designed to equip your child with knowledge to make informed decisions about their well-being, health and relationships as well as preparing them for a successful adult life. The important lessons you teach your child about healthy relationships, looking after themselves and staying safe, are respected and valued under this curriculum.

Teaching at school will complement and reinforce the lessons you teach your child as they grow up. School has the flexibility to deliver the content in a way that is age and developmentally appropriate and sensitive to the needs and religious background of our pupils.

Parent forum presentation on RSHE 25/01/2023

This presentation was delivered to parents following requests to explain the teaching of RSHE. It includes information on the legal position, official guidance, school policy, the RSHE curriculum in school, details on biology and reproduction in the primary science national curriculum, the assembly programme for the year 2022-2023 and an example of an assembly used with KS2 children.