Background

We acknowledge that Personal, Social and Health Education (PHSE) and Citizenship, as well as Relationship and Sex Education (RSE), are all underpinned by a theology of relationship and are all encompassed in the title ‘Relationships , Sex and Health Education’ (RSHE).

Our belief in the unique dignity of the human person as made in the image and likeness of God underpins the approach to all education in our school. Our approach to relationship and sex education therefore is rooted in the Catholic Church’s teaching of the human person and is presented positively and prudently.

Stemming from this vision of what it means to be human, we seek to educate the whole child: spiritually, intellectually, morally, emotionally, psychologically, and physically towards our understanding of Christian Maturity.

Following guidance from our own Bishop and Diocese, the Conference of Bishops of England and Wales and as advocated by the DFE, all relationship and sex education in our school will be firmly embedded in the Religious Education framework as it is concerned primarily with nurturing the human wholeness of our pupils.

All relationship and sex education will be in accordance with the Church’s moral teaching. It will emphasise the central importance of marriage and the family whilst acknowledging that all pupils have a fundamental right to have their life respected whatever household they come from and support will be provided to help pupils deal with different sets of values.

Journey In Love

A Journey in Love is a resource created by Sister Jude Groden of BRES. It is the recommended programme of study for Catholic schools for Sex and Relationship Education, and has been written as a progressive scheme of work that supports the Religious Education, PSHE, RSHE and Science curricula taught within the school.

As children progress through school, they discover more and more about themselves and the wider world. This thirst for learning new things in all aspects of life is fostered by the school, who attempt to create a safe, stimulating environment for learning; supporting all children in their development. Our mission statement which drives the school, attempts to achieve this goal following the Gospel values of truth and respect, understanding our journey as children of God, both special and unique.

Central to our work within the school is learning about our faith, including understanding ourselves, our position in our community and how we develop as human beings - our spiritual, social, emotional and physical development. This is how A Journey in Love fits in to the school’s curriculum. The scheme permeates through all levels of learning throughout the school. It focuses on friendship, family, community, relationships and spirituality; a guide to the children’s development as young Catholics.

As you would expect, not all issues related to personal development are covered by the end of Year 6. The content is age appropriate and is taught with sensitivity, taking into account the children’s level of maturity in regard to the delivery of the lessons.

As with all aspects of learning, children are naturally curious and many will have questions related to their lessons. Opportunities to discuss questions form part of the lessons and, again, these are treated with care and understanding.

As a parent, you have the right to withdraw your child from Sex Education at any time if you wish to do so however, this is not to be confused with the topics around growing and life cycles within the Science curriculum which is a statutory requirement and certain aspects of relationships within the Relationships and Health Education, which are also statutory.

A Journey in Love programme content:

An aspect of the mystery of love is taught in each year group; children are encouraged to marvel at the wonder and beauty of God’s creative love. This is reflected through a series of progressive and developmental tasks, activities and reflections which focus on  social, emotional, physical and spiritual development.

Early Years-Nursery and Reception

THE WONDER OF BEING SPECIAL AND UNIQUE

AIM-To explore the wonder of being special and unique

-The children will recognise the joy of being a special person in their families.

-The children will recognise that we are all different and unique.

-The children will celebrate the joy of being a special person in God's family.

-The children will explore the above learning objective through these 4 areas: Social, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual.

Year 1

WE MEET GOD’S LOVE IN OUR FAMILY

Aim-To focus on families and specially growing up in a loving and stable home

-The children will recognise signs that they are loved in their families.

-The children will recognise how they are cared for and kept safe in their families.

-The children will celebrate ways that God loves and cares for us.

-The children will explore the above learning objective through these 4 areas: Social, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual.

Year 2

WE MEET GOD’S LOVE IN THE COMMUNITY

Aim-To describe how we are growing and developing in diverse communities that are God-given

-The children will recognise the joy and friendship of belonging to a diverse community.

-The children will describe ways of being safe in communities.

-The children will celebrate ways of meeting God in our communities.

-The children will explore the above learning objective through these 4 areas: Social, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual.

Year 3

HOW WE LIVE IN LOVE

Aim-To describe and give reasons for how we grow in love in caring and happy friendships where we are secure and safe

-The children will describe and give reasons how friendships make us feel happy and safe.

-The children will describe and give reasons why friendships can break down, how they can be repaired and strengthened.

-The children will celebrate the joy and happiness of living in friendship with God and others.

-The children will explore the above learning objective through these 4 areas: Social, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual.

Year 4

GOD LOVES US IN OUR DIFFERENCES

Aims-To make links and connections to show that we are all different.

-To celebrate these differences as we appreciate that God's love accepts us as we are now and as we change

-The children will describe how we all should be accepted and respected

-The children will describe how we should treat others making links with the diverse modern society we live in.

-The children will celebrate the uniqueness and innate beauty of each of us. 

-The children will explore the above learning objective through these 4 areas: Social, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual.

Year 5

GOD LOVES US IN OUR CHANGING AND DEVELOPING

Aim-Show a knowledge and understanding of how we grow in awareness of the physical and emotional changes that accompany puberty-sensitivity, mood swings, anger, boredom etc and grow further in recognising God's presence in our daily lives.

-The children will show knowledge and understanding of emotional relationship changes as we grow and develop.

-The children will show knowledge and understanding of the physical changes in puberty.

-The children will celebrate the joy of growing physically and spiritually.

-The children will explore the above learning objective through these 4 areas: Social, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual.

NB-The children will be discussing and using vocabulary associated with the physical changes in girls and boys during puberty including menstruation as part of the Year 5 lessons.

Year 6

THE WONDER OF GOD’S LOVE IN CREATING NEW LIFE

Aim-To develop a secure understanding of what stable, caring relationships are and the different kinds there may be.

-Focusing on Catholic teaching, children will also know and understand about the conception of a child within marriage.

-The children will develop a secure understanding that stable and caring relationships, which may be of different types, are at the heart of happy families.

-The children will explain how human life is conceived.

-The children will show an understanding of how being made in the image and likeness of God informs decisions and actins when building relationships with others, including life-long relationships.

-The children will explore the above learning objective through these 4 areas: Social, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual.

NB-The children will look at the physical differences between men and women in more detail. They will also learn about the act of sexual intercourse within a loving relationship, conception and the process of having a baby as part of the Year 6 lessons.

Ten Ten - Life To The Full

In the academic year 2020/21, Relationships Education and Health Education became statutory in all primary schools in England.  Since then, we have successfully delivered the Ten:Ten Relationships, Sex and Health Education programme of study alongside our Journey In Love programme.

As a Catholic school, our mission is to support the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all of our pupils, rooted in the wisdom and teaching of the Church. The relationships education of children is an important, precious and privileged responsibility.  The Church teaches us that this is very much a partnership with parents, in which parents are the ‘first educators’ of their children on these matters; ultimately, you confer on us the right to co-educate your children with you.

At Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, we use the Life to the Full programme by Ten Ten Resources because Ten Ten is an award-winning Catholic educational organisation that is well-respected and very experienced in this field of work. The programme is based on ‘A Model Catholic RSE Curriculum.’ by the Catholic Education Service.

Life to the Full has been approved by our archdiocese.  Furthermore, Ten Ten are in partnership with the Catholic Education Service and the Department for Education and will provide training for teachers in Catholic schools. Therefore, we are confident that this programme is a very good fit for our school and the best for our children.

Life to the Full is much more than a series of lessons. It is an entire platform of creative resources that will engage, inform and inspire our children and, indeed, you as parents. This includes interactive video content, story-based activities, employing a wide range of teaching tools, original worship music and an accompanying programme of classroom prayers.

Through their programme, Ten Ten understand the foundational role that parents have in educating and nurturing their children on these matters. Within the programme, they have built in resources which will not only keep you informed about what is being taught in school, but will also give you the opportunity to engage your children in discussion, activity and prayer. 

In addition, there will be an online parent platform so that you, as parent and carers, can engage with the teaching and deepen the experience for your child. To access the online parent platform please visit: www.tentenresources.co.uk/parent-portal

School Username: holy-cross-l3

School Password: georges-hall

Life to the Full is intended to be partnership between home, school and church. We know that you already do a fantastic job and we see our programme, Life to the Full, as a means to further develop, support and enrich the partnership between home, school and church so that your child is fully supported.

Ten Ten Life to the Full Information

The programme structure in “Life to the Full,” is split into three distinct units which are then repeated across the four different learning stages:

• EYFS section is aimed at Early Years pupils
• Key Stage One is aimed at Years 1 and 2
• Lower Key Stage Two is aimed at Years 3 and 4
• Upper Key Stage Two is aimed at Years 5 and 6

There are three modules within each learning stage, all based on the Model Catholic RSE Curriculum:

Module 1: Created and Loved by God

Module 2: Created to Love Others

Module 3: Created to Live in Community

Each Module is then broken down into separate Units of Work.

The programme adopts a spiral curriculum approach so that as your child goes through the programme year-after-year, the learning will develop and grow, with each stage building on the last.

Module One: Created and Loved by God

This sequence of lessons explores the individual and the idea that we are made in the image and likeness of God. It helps children to develop an understanding of the importance of valuing themselves as the basis for personal relationships.

EYFS: We are all the same but have unique qualities, basic body parts, introduction to identifying feelings, growing up.

Key Stage One: We are uniquely made by a loving God, we all have differences and similarities, key information about staying physically healthy, understanding feelings and emotions (including strong feelings such as anger,) and the cycle of life from birth to old age.

Lower Key Stage Two: Understanding differences, respecting our bodies, puberty and changing bodies (age- appropriate,) strategies to support emotional wellbeing and the development of pupils’ understanding of life before birth.

Upper Key Stage Two: Gaining an appreciation of physical and emotional differences, a more complex understanding of physical changes in girls’ and boys’ bodies, body image, strong emotional feelings, the impact of the internet and social media on emotional well-being, a more scientific understanding of life in the womb and how babies are made, and menstruation.

Module Two: Created to Love Others

Exploring our relationship with others. Building on the understanding that we have been created out of love and for love, this unit explores how we take this calling into our family, friendships and relationships, and teaches strategies for developing healthy relationships and keeping safe.

EYFS: Who are our role-models, what makes a good friend, feeling safe and who can help us when we are in need.

Key Stage One: In the Unit ‘Personal Relationships’, children are taught to identify the Special People in their lives whom they love and can trust, how to cope with various social situations and dilemmas, and the importance of saying sorry and forgiveness within relationships. In the Unit ‘Keeping Safe’, children explore the risks of being online by incorporating the ‘Smartie the Penguin’ resources from Childnet, the difference between good and bad secrets, and teaching on physical boundaries (incorporating the PANTS resource from the NSPCC).

Lower Key Stage Two: These sessions help children to develop a more complex appreciation of different family structures as well as healthy relationships with family and friends. They are also taught simplified Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques for managing thoughts, feelings and actions. Once again, for the ‘Keeping Safe’ unit, there are some excellent NSPCC resources, as well as teaching on bullying and abuse through a series of animated stories.

Upper Key Stage Two: The sessions in the ‘Personal Relationships’ module aim to equip children with strategies for more complex experiences of relationships and conflict. Sessions help children to identify and understand how to respond to spoken and unspoken pressure, the concept of consent and some practical demonstrations of this, and further teaching on how our thoughts and feelings have an impact on how we act.

Module Three: Created to Live in Community

Here children explore the individual’s relationship with the wider world. This includes how human beings are relational by nature and are called to love others in the wider community through service, through dialogue and through working for the Common Good. In the first Unit, Religious Understanding, the story sessions help children to develop a concept of the Trinity. In subsequent sessions, we apply this religious understanding to real-world situations, such as the community we live in, and through exploring the work of charities that work for the Common Good.