St Mary's Relationships and Sexuality Education
The Welsh Government states,
'helping learners to form and maintain a range of relationships, all based on mutual trust and respect, is the foundation of RSE. These relationships are critical to the development of emotional well-being, resilience and empathy. An understanding of sexuality with an emphasis on rights, health, equality and equity empowers learners to understand themselves, take responsibility for their own decisions and behaviours, and form relationships that are fully inclusive, reflecting diversity and promoting respect.’
Relationships and sexuality education (RSE) is a statutory requirement in the Curriculum for Wales framework and is mandatory for all learners from ages 3 to 16 and a curriculum must accord with the RSE Code. Parents no longer have the right to withdraw their child from RSE lessons.
Welsh Government RSE Guidance for Parents
The Act requires that the RSE schools provide must be developmentally appropriate for learners. This means schools and settings must take account of a range of factors including the learner’s age; knowledge and maturity; any additional learning needs and anticipating their physiological and emotional development. RSE must be developmentally appropriate for each learner, meaning that learners’ needs of similar ages may differ.
However, the reasons for our inclusion of RSE go further.
Rationale
‘I have come that you might have life and have it to the full’ (Jn.10.10)
We are involved in relationships and sex education precisely because of our Christian beliefs about God and about the human person. The belief in the unique dignity of the human person made in the image and likeness of God underpins the approach to all education in a Catholic school. Our approach to RSE therefore is rooted in the Catholic Church’s teaching of the human person and presented in a positive framework of Christian ideals.
At the heart of the Christian life is the Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit in communion, united in loving relationship and embracing all people and all creation. As a consequence of the Christian belief that we are made in the image and likeness of God, gender and sexuality are seen as God’s gift, reflect God’s beauty, and share in the divine creativity. RSE, therefore, will be placed firmly within the context of relationship as it is there that sexuality grows and develops.
We use the Ten:Ten "Life To The Full" resources.
The Life to the Full scheme offers a developmental programme to promote the holistic growth of children’s understanding of human relationships following the teachings of the Catholic faith. It is underpinned with the understanding that our deepest identity is as a child of God – created, chosen and loved by God. The programme is fully inclusive of all pupils and their families and supports the delivery of a developmentally appropriate curriculum for all.
Life to the Full offers a platform of creative resources that engage, inform and inspire our children and includes interactive video content, story-based activities, a wide range of teaching tools, original worship music and an accompanying programme of classroom prayers.
Life to the Full builds on the essential partnership between home, school and church so that all children are fully supported.
The presentation used at the parents and carers' information evening is here.
Parents and Carers' Information Evening Presentation
Click here to find out more about Life to the Full on the Parent Portal. You will need to log in using the username and password sent out to all parents and carers via email. The login details are also available via the school office.