Dear Parents and Carers

This letter is to inform you about the specific Relationships, Health and Sex Education that will be taught to your child’s class from the week beginning Tuesday 4^th May.

RHSE is an extremely valuable part of primary education and all children benefit from our clear and coherent programme of work, which begins in Reception and is taught predominantly through our ‘Good Relationships’ unit of Life Lessons.

In Year 5 and 6 we choose to begin to deliver the statutory Science and Health Education objectives which state that children must be taught:

• the key facts about puberty and the changing adolescent body, particularly from age 9 through to age 11, including physical and emotional changes. (Health Education)
• about menstrual wellbeing including the key facts about the menstrual cycle. (Health Education)
• to describe the changes as humans develop to old age. (Science Curriculum)
• how a baby is conceived and born (Science curriculum/advisory Sex Education guidance)

As these are more sensitive areas of RHSE, we know that some parents may want the opportunity to have an open discussion with a teacher about the content of the lessons and how they will be delivered. If you feel you would like to do this, please contact the school office to arrange a phone call or an informal meeting with myself as we unfortunately cannot offer a ‘drop in’ session under the current circumstances. Additionally, the invaluable feedback from our Parents’ Questionnaires on RSE from Autumn Term can be found in the ‘Key Information’ section of the website alongside some resources you may find useful if you want to have a discussion with your child about the above topics before we commence teaching in school.

Although you have the right to withdraw your child from parts of the advisory Sex Education curriculum, we would strongly urge that you allow your child to take part as it is vitally important that they receive clear and relevant information rather than picking up ‘playground gossip’. Teachers have been fully trained in the delivery of RHSE and are aware of the need for sensitivity as well as the acknowledgement of the religious and cultural backgrounds of all of our children.

As always, our RHSE Policy can be found in the ‘Policies’ section of our school website, which will give you more information about the rationale, development and implementation of our curriculum, whilst the overview for the Good Relationships topic can be found on the Life Lessons curriculum page.

Thank-you for your time and on-going support.

Mrs Sinnott