"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it" Proverb 22:6
St Leonard’s CE Academy
Curriculum Intent Statement
Relationships, sex and health education
At St Leonards CE Academy, we believe that relationship, sex and health education (RSHE) enables our children to become healthy, safe, independent and responsible members of society. The RSHE curriculum subject will be known as “Life Skills” to support pupils engagement.
We aim to help our pupils understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up.
We are dedicated to ensuring that St Leonards CE Academy is a happy, stimulating and caring place and we expect high standards of behaviour and good manners throughout the school. Behaviour and attitude to learning is underpinned by our values: be safe, be respectful, be determined and be faithful, making these integral to the success of the whole school. RSHE is at the heart of our school ethos.
We encourage our pupils to take part in a range of practical roles and activities that promote active citizenship: school council reps, library assistants, whole school and house team fundraising plus engagement in school and local events.
Pupils have opportunities to meet and work with members of the community, such as: health workers, firefighters, police officers, sports coaches, secondary school pupils, artists, authors, community groups, representatives from the local church and wider community.
We participate in, and promote national events such as Comic Relief, Anti-Bullying Week and Children in Need. We are committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all pupils and use various strategies such as, outdoor learning and Forest School provision, using zones of regulation across the school, a positive recognition and reward system (school behaviour policy), alongside quality teaching and learning about awareness and management of mental health through the RSHE curriculum.
In addition, we are able to offer family keyworker support, a school counsellor, support from outside agencies Open For Parents, ESBAS, CAMHS, Dragonflies, Young Minds and coaching from Transforming Lives for Good.
Sex and Relationship Education
Sex education forms part of our whole Academy approach to health education, which in turn is part of our Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum. The biological elements are contained in the National Curriculum for science and are mandatory for all children.
In Years 5 and 6 sex and relationships education is more detailed. Parents are invited to a meeting to discuss how this will be taught before the units of work begin. This helps parents to understand the extent to which they can support their children with discussion in the home.
If parents wish to withdraw their children from all or part of the sex education provided, except that which is required as part of National Curriculum, they should inform the Headteacher in writing. Parents will be given the opportunity to view the resources prior to them being used in class. The polices for PSHE and sex education are available for parents to read.