Relationships Education

From September 2020, Relationships Education has been statutory in all schools in England. At The Kennet Federation we deliver Relationships Education through our PSHE curriculum. Relationships Education in primary schools covers ‘Families and people who care for me’, ‘Caring friendships’, ‘Respectful relationships’, ‘Online relationships’, and ‘Being safe’. Our PSHE curriculum has been created utilising ‘Jigsaw’, ‘Yasmin and Tom’ and the PSHE Organisation.  Whilst the Relationship unit in Jigsaw and Yasmine and Tom covers most of the statutory Relationships Education, some of the outcomes are also taught elsewhere in the PSHE curriculum e.g. the Celebrating Difference unit helps children appreciate that there are many types of family composition and that each is important to the children involved. This holistic approach ensures the learning is reinforced through the year and across the curriculum.

We have provided a link for parents to look at that outlines the Yasmin and Tom units regarding relationships education.

Sex Education

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’. (p. 23)

Schools are to determine the content of sex education at primary school. Sex education ‘should ensure that both boys and girls are prepared for the changes that adolescence brings and – drawing on knowledge of the human life cycle set out in the national curriculum for science - how a baby is conceived and born’.

At The Kennet Federation, we define Sex Education as understanding human reproduction and we believe children should understand the facts about human reproduction before they leave primary school. As such, puberty and how the body changes as the children grow is not sex education. Sex education addresses directly the physical mechanics of conception, and the journey from conception to birth.

“Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory Relationships and Sex Education” DfE Guidance p. 17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 The Kennet Federation, puberty is taught as a statutory requirement of Health Education and is taught through our Science curriculum.

Therefore the parental right to withdraw their child from Science and teaching about puberty is not applicable. We are of course happy to discuss the content of the curriculum and invite parents to contact the school to request more information in the first instance. All parents of upper Key Stage 2 children will be able to view the teaching material for Sex Education before the units are taught. Again, teaching material is sourced from the Yasmin and Tom scheme.