The aim of RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) is to give our pupils the information they need to help them develop healthy and respectful relationships of all kinds.
RSE enables pupils to know what a healthy relationship looks like and what makes a good friend, a good colleague, a good marriage, a good partner and more.
Pupils understand the benefits of healthy relationships to their mental wellbeing and self-respect, and through gaining the knowledge of what a healthy relationship is like, they can be empowered to identify and act when relationships are unhealthy.
Developing resilience and character are key elements of the RSE curriculum. This includes character traits such as belief in achieving goals and persevering with tasks, as well as personal attributes such as honesty, integrity, courage, humility, kindness, generosity, trustworthiness and a sense of justice, underpinned by an understanding of the importance of self-respect and self-worth. Growth mindsets and ‘not okayism’ are important overarching themes. We emphasise the value of a strong moral compass and this pervades all aspects of the wider curriculum and co-curriculum.
Internet safety is also addressed and pupils are taught the rules and principles for keeping safe online. This includes how to recognise risks, harmful content and contact, and how and to whom to report issues. Pupils develop a strong understanding of how data is generated, collected, shared and used online, for example, how personal data is captured on social media and how businesses may exploit the data available to them.
This summary is not exhaustive and current affairs may influence RSE coverage, for example, international relations between countries or a general election and exercising one’s democratic right. For further information, please see the relevant GOV.UK websites.
RSE is delivered explicitly through the assembly and wellbeing programmes and PSHE lessons, and assemblies often direct how tutor time is used, for example, with the ‘Word of the Week’ and the ‘Question (or Task) of the Week’. Tutors use shared resources or links to develop age-appropriate discussion and debate, often feeding back their findings to members of the School Leadership Team. Lessons, co-curricular activities, church services, Tuesday Talks and other school forums are important vehicles for implicit delivery. Priory School is a faith school, and this provides essential context for the teaching of RSE topics.
Regular mufti days and church services are used to reinforce the importance of charity and the school’s place in the wider community. Each time, funds are raised and donated to charities such as Aspire in Ryde, Pan Together in Newport and the Royal British Region, among others. Pupils learn about privilege, diversity, poverty and homelessness, stereotyping and the law, as well as social action, active citizenship and voluntary service to others locally or more widely.
Assembly themes are summarised each week in our Newsletter, and this includes the word, question, task or challenge of the week, and families are actively encouraged to contribute by engaging in relevant discussion at home. The school also holds parent seminars on key topics, for example, internet safety, mental health and examination preparation.