At St Nicholas CE Primary Academy we believe that Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) should play a vital role in the life of our school family. Our vision statement from Matthew 5:14-16, "Let your light shine before others", is rooted in the premise of having 'good relationships' at its heart: with good relationships, all people are able to flourish and enjoy "life in all its fulness".

We believe fully in delivering an RSHE education that covers health and relationships in order to fully prepare every child for life's challenges and opportunities.  We promote healthy, individual and responsible members of society and encourage all children to play a role in contributing to school life in a range of ways including through: fund raising, supporting charities, organising events and helping peers and others. 

We facilitate children in expressing their opinions and by remaining open-minded, willing to consider new ideas. 

Children will be taught the fundamental building blocks and characteristics of positive relationships, with particular reference to friendships, family relationships, and relationships with other peers and adults.  Our teaching will enable our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society who are well equipped for succeeding in their next phase of education.

How does Goodness and Mercy approach RSHE?

Used in conjunction with the PSHE Association materials published by Twinkl, Goodness and Mercy offers an opportunity to ground the RSHE curriculum in an acknowledgment of the worth and dignity of all people, rooted in the Christian belief that all are divinely created and eternally loved. This offers an ethos that supports our sense of individual and communitarian value, affirms that relationships (including intimate relationships) should and can be life-giving and offers resounding reasons for looking after ourselves and others.

Does it fit with our school?

Goodness and Mercy is written particularly with Church of England and Methodist schools and academies in mind. For Church of England and Methodist schools it is important that RSHE is informed both by the national vision and values for education and by our school’s vision from Matthew 5: 14-16, "Let your light shine before others".

What is the Church’s ‘Vision for Education’?

'Goodness and Mercy' aims to fully support the Church of England vision for education: “I come that they may have life in all its fullness” (John 10:10). This scripture grounds us in the recognition that having a positive relationship with ourselves and with others is foundational for a complete and fulfilled life and in order to fulfil our vision of enabling all to flourish by "Letting their light shine".

https://goodnessandmercy.co.uk/about/

What difference does our RSHE curriculum make to our learners? 

By the end of their academic journey at St Nicholas CE Primary Academy, the children will demonstrate confidence and awareness about sex and relationships in an independent and safe way. Learners will develop a good understanding about safety and risks in relationships. They will be prepared for the physical and emotional changes they undergo during puberty. RSE will promote the well-being of learners and will prepare learners for the challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities of adult life. The RSE curriculum will have a positive impact on learners’ physical and mental health and well-being as well as their ability to achieve, and this will play a crucial part in meeting these obligations.

To be successful independent learners, children and young people need regular opportunities to reflect on and identify what they have learned, what needs to be learned next and what they need to do to continue their learning. Teachers also need to be clear about the progress and achievements of the pupils they teach, and how their learning might be improved. To enable this to happen, assessment has to be an integral part of the teaching and learning in all subjects, including RSHE education. However, the personal nature of RSHE education means that it cannot be assessed in the same way as most other subjects and it would be inappropriate for assessment in RSHE education to imply meeting a particular standard ‘as a person’.

It is, however, possible to recognise and evidence progress and attainment in the knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes RSHE strives to develop. It is important that children can be assessed using a method which allows them to best express their knowledge and understanding of the topic being taught, so a range of assessments are used, such as photos of practical work, freeze frame pictures, reflective diaries, drama and diagrams. Mind maps can be produced illustrating what they know, think or believe and questions they have about a new topic. At the end of the unit the children can take a different coloured pen and revisit their original mind-map, adding to it, correcting previous misconceptions and answering their original questions. This will demonstrate the progress they have made. Evidence can also be recorded through the use of individual pupils’ books or a whole class RSHE book, which pupils contribute to with pictures, reflections or annotations of work.

Monitoring of the RSHE curriculum is carried out by the RSHE coordinator, using the following methods:
• Learning walks
• Evidence in class books
• Staff questionnaires
• Pupil discussions and questionnaires
• Meetings with the head and safeguarding team