Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) at Jesmond Park Academy
Parents of Year 11 students
During the spring term Year 11 students, as part of their Personal Development course, will be participating in a series of lessons focused on:
- Keeping yourself healthy and safe – contraception and importance of resisting pressures and delaying sexual activity
- Keeping yourself health and safe – STI’s and importance of resisting pressures and delaying sexual activity
- Keeping yourself safe and healthy – pregnancy and childbirth
- Keeping yourself safe and healthy – the dangers of pornography and importance of resisting pressures and delaying sexual activity
The programme of lessons will be dealt with in a balanced and sensitive way. It is the intention of these lessons to encourage and enable students to appreciate their responsibilities towards themselves and others; for them to develop self-awareness and self-esteem through a full consideration of the choices they have to face; and that they are knowledgeable about the law and health implications relating to life style choices.
Section 45 of the Government documentation on statutory RSE 2020 states - ‘Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE.’ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education
The school has defined the above topics to be ‘sex education’ and so parents have the right to withdraw their child from all or some of these lessons.
There is no right to withdraw from Relationships Education or Health Education or areas of the Sex Education content when covered in Science lessons as part of their curriculum.
See the JPA school policy in the ‘policies’ section of our website for our full RSE policy.
https://www.jesmondparkacademy.org.uk/_filecache/21c/582/2390-jpa--rse-policy-2020-2021.pdf
If you wish to withdraw your child from all or some of the lessons above please email me at school to discuss your request - jmetcalfe@jesmondparkacademy.org.uk
Once those discussions have taken place, except in exceptional circumstances, the school will respect the parents’ request to withdraw the child, up to and until three terms before the child turns 16. After that point, if the child wishes to receive sex education rather than be withdrawn, the school will make arrangements to provide the child with sex education.
Therefore, a discussion with the student will also be required as all year 11 are within 3 terms of being 16, to establish if they wish to receive the ‘sex education’ lessons or wish to be withdrawn as per the parental request.
If no email is received then we will take this as acceptance of your child’s inclusion in the lessons as above.
If you have any questions relating to any of the issues above, please do not hesitate to contact me at school.
Yours faithfully
Miss J Metcalfe
Head of Citizenship