So, What Exactly Is the New Relationships Education (RE), Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education Statutory Guidance?
The new guidance replaces the Sex and Relationship Education guidance (2000). That was aaaages ago and the world has changed quite a bit (In 2000 there was no Twitter or Facebook and the first iPhone was still 7 years away). Luckily the new guidance will be reviewed every 3 years, which is great news since the world is changing at an increasingly fast pace.
But what is the new guidance?
What does it mean for your school?
The new guidance sets out the legal duties with which schools must comply. It refers to all schools, including primary, secondary, pupil referral units, independent schools and special schools. There are slight differences for the different schools, but this is clearly specified in the guidance.
The new guidance will be mandatory from September 2020, but schools are encouraged to adopt early. The sooner you start preparing, the better!
The safety of the children is placed at the heart of the guidance - something we are very supportive of here at Loudmouth.
The guidance sets out both the rights of parents and carers to withdraw pupils from Sex Education (but not Relationships Education or Health Education) and the process that headteachers should follow in considering a withdrawal request.
Key aspects of RE, RSE and Health Education are in scope for Ofsted inspection; for example, through inspectors’ consideration of pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare; and pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
So… we hope you enjoyed exploring the guidance a little.
But we know you still might have some questions!
Which is why we are going to be releasing a series of short blog posts to help you understand different areas of the guidance, including information specific to primary, secondary, independent, and special schools, as well as pupil referral units. Stay tuned and regularly check our website for updates.
You can also sign up to the Loudmouth E-Newsletter to be kept up to date on your journey. We'll be emailing PSHE news, lesson plans, tools and techniques to help you prepare for statutory RE, RSE and Health Education.
Remember, a great way to start getting ready for September 2020 is to use the Sex Education Forum and PSHE Association's Roadmap and tools. You can read more about these here.