Dear Parent/Carer,
During the summer term our Year 8 students, as part of their Citizenship course, will be participating in a series of lessons focusing on RSHE.
The programme of lessons will be dealt with in a balanced and sensitive way, with age appropriate resources. 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.
At JPA, as with all maintained schools, we are required to implement the 2019 guidance ‘Relationships Educations, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education’ published by the DFE’ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education
The topics that must be covered are:
Families, respectful relationships (including friendships), online and media, internet safety and harms, being safe, changing adolescent bodies, intimate and sexual relationships, drugs and alcohol, healthy eating, physical health and fitness, prevention of health issues and basic first aid. The guidance also states that students must know about the laws relating to relationships and sex as part of a wider safeguarding agenda.
To fulfil our statutory obligation the year 8 lessons will cover:
Relationships and Health Education
- Keeping yourself healthy and safe – healthy and unhealthy relationships and friendships
- Keeping yourself healthy and safe – online and media, the internet safety and harms – including the laws linked to keeping young people safe online.
- Keeping yourself healthy and safe – puberty – changing adolescent bodies
- Keeping yourself healthy and safe – the laws relating to relationships
Sex Education
- Keeping yourself healthy and safe – biological key terms and common myths surrounding sex and intimate relationships
- 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
The Government documentation on statutory RSE 2019 states - ‘Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE. There is no right to withdraw from Relationships Education or Health Education’
The school has defined the above topics to be either Relationships/Health Education OR Sex Education. Parents therefore have the right to withdraw their child from all or some of the lessons defined as Sex Education only – see the 3 lessons outlined above.
To view the JPA RSHE policy follow the link below or visit the policy section of our website.
https://www.jesmondparkacademy.org.uk/_filecache/bfc/854/7580-jpa-sex-and-relationship-education-policy-sre-2022-2023.pdf
If you wish to withdraw (remove) your child from all or some of the lessons above please complete the attached slip and return by email to me or to your child’s Citizenship teacher. Students who are withdrawn will be removed from the room and supervise elsewhere completing alternative Citizenship work.
If you wish discuss any aspect of the RSHE please email me at school - jmetcalfe@jesmondparkacademy.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Miss J Metcalfe
Head of RE and Citizenship