PSHE & RSE Resources - Key Stage 1&2

Creating a safe space for RSE lessons

Ensuring your Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) lessons are inclusive and safe is often easier said than done. The primary goal of creating a safe space for RSE lessons is to create an environment where young people feel safe to share and are respectful of one another’s feeling.

The Group Agreement

An important element in creating a safe learning environment is setting a group agreement for the lesson. This is like a set of ground rules which helps to set clear boundaries so that everyone feels able to safely:
• Share feelings
• Express views
• Explore values

Managing Questions

At both primary and secondary level, young people have a right to ask questions. However, this doesn’t mean they always need to be answered (or answered immediately). Teachers need to feel prepared to hold boundaries and empowered to shut down inappropriate questioning or comments.

Maintaing Distance

Distancing techniques should be employed throughout RSE lessons. This means not making young people share their personal experiences with others, which may potentially be traumatic or challenging. Instead, you can use characters, case studies, fictional scenarios or videos to explore a topic.

A judgement free environment

If a young person chooses to ask a question during the lesson, remember that this is often a sign that they trust you and your ability to give them an open and honest answer. Try to create a non-judgemental environment, where ideas and contributions are encouraged and are not ridiculed or mocked. If unhealthy ideas are communicated these should be challenged positively where possible and followed up after the lesson. Be aware of the language you use to avoid shame and stigma.

Keeping it relevant

Make lessons relevant to young peoples’ lived experience where possible, especially when considering the online world and how this relates to the topic. This is where continuously seeking feedback will come in useful; it will help you better understand the concerns that young people have or spot trends in the questions they are asking. It’s also worth keeping an eye on things going on in the world that might impact young people. For example, news stories or recent events that you know young people will take an interest in or may affect their lives in some way.

Key Wellbeing, PSHE & Cultural Dates Calendar 2024/25

This PDF document from youHQ includes;

An overview of the Academic Year
A list of important dates
A detailed planner with pages
Free monthly resources

Road & Rail Safety

This lesson pack, available exclusively to members, supports pup to understand how to keep themselves safe around roads and railways. Pupils explore potential hazards, identify risks and develop the skills to make safe decisions while travelling and as they develop independence.

Switched on! Rail safety programme that encourages young people to stay Switched On around the railway

Switched on! is a new rail safety programme for 3-16 year olds through a range of age targeted films, interactive games and classroom activities. Switched on teaches pupils to be aware of risky behaviour and develop hazard-spotting skills. Switched on has the following resources split into age categories=

Switched On Travels with Suzi (ages 3-6) Teacher Guidance
Switched On for every journey (ages 7-11) Teacher Guidance
Living Switched On (ages 12-16) Teacher Guidance

Water Safety

Swimming and water safety are compulsory parts of the National Curriculum at primary school to make sure that children are well equipped to enjoy swimming and know how to keep safe in and around water.

As we head into summer, it’s especially important that children are prepared with these skills.

This year, Drowning Prevention Week runs from 17 June to 24 June 2023, and aims to raise awareness about water safety.

Water safety skills are useful to know all year round. To access everything you need to know about what is taught in schools click here.

Schools can access free resources from the PSHE Association, which have been produced in partnership with the Environment Agency.

Lesson Plans & Teaching Materials

The three Talk Relationships lessons for 11 and 12-year-olds cover how to deal with changes to friendships, what healthy relationships look like and how to respond to hurtful behaviour.

Sex Education Forum

The importance and scope of PSHE education:

The theory and research evidence for effective practice in schools
School structures which support effective teaching and learning in PSHE education
Planning schemes of work and effective, engaging lessons
Assessment for, and of, learning in PSHE education

Established in 1987, the Sex Education Forum is a group of partners working together to achieve quality relationships and sex education (RSE) for all children and young people. Membership for schools and other educators serves to connect organisations and individuals with the latest practice, research and policy information.

The Sex Education Forum's work on RSE is underpinned by evidence, a rights-based approach and the expressed needs of children and young people. The forum endeavours to achieve three main objectives:

Ensuring RSE is firmly embedded into national and local government policies and public understanding. To achieve this, they have been at the forefront of the campaign for statutory RSE, and will continue to work to influence policy;
Supporting professionals to be well informed and competent to commission, plan, teach, evaluate and research RSE. Membership keeps educators informed and the forum offers a range of training courses and projects to expand the reach of high quality RSE;
To identify, explore and respond to new themes emerging in practice, policy and research, nationally and internationally. The Sex Education Forum forms partnerships with researchers and regularly pushes the boundaries on issues that impact on children and young people's health and wellbeing

Sex Education Forum Resources:

This FREE tool is very popular among PSHE leads and teachers when planning lessons on Relationships and Sex Education and can also be used to explain to parents and governors what is covered in RSE.
This FREE curriculum design toolkit is very popular among PSHE leads and teachers when planning lessons on Relationships and Sex Education and can also be used to explain to parents and governors what is covered in RSE
Puberty information and resources

JIGSAW - The Mindful Approach to PSHE

This Jigsaw project brings together all aspects of Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (including RSE), emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development in a lesson-a-week programme for Foundation 1 and 2 to Year 6.

Understanding PSHE

'Understanding Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education in Secondary Schools'

An essential guide to best practice in PSHE education at key stages 3 and 4. The book was co-authored by leading PSHE academic Jenny McWhirter, PSHE Association Senior Subject Specialist Jenny Barksfield, and our Subject Specialist Nick Boddington. It was written with trainee teachers and their mentors in mind but is equally valuable for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of PSHE education pedagogy and practice. This new book joins Understanding Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education in Primary Schools, also available from SAGE Publications. Both books provide a thorough grounding in the theory underpinning PSHE education, practical approaches to teaching it and the evidence which supports these approaches. The publications are a definitive guide to best practice and include guidance on:

Relationships and Sex Education Now Mandatory in All Schools

In September 2020, relationship and sex education became a mandatory provision. Do you know what the legislation means for your school?

To help school leaders prepare, the poster provides a 10 steps guide to provide high quality RSE as an identifiable part of PSHE education. These steps are based on established good practice and evidence.

View and download the roadmap to statutory RSE.

Statutory Relationship and Sex Education KS1 and KS2

Under the Children and Social Work Act 2017 the government committed to making relationships education (primary) and relationships and sex education (secondary) statutory in all schools, including LA maintained schools, academies, free schools and independent schools. All primary schools will soon be required to have relationships education in place and a relationships and sex education policy. Schools that are ready to implement the updated guidance from September 2019 are encouraged to do so. September 2020 is proposed as the start date for mandatory provision.

Depending on where your school is on its journey towards implementing statutory relationships and sex education, it may feel like there is a lot to organise, or you may feel that what you currently have in place is sufficient. In any case, by reviewing your current practice and making a plan of steps forward, you will find that your school vision for RSE takes shape. The tools referenced within this document will enable you to focus on key areas that require development and using them will ultimately mean that you will be better prepared for the introduction of statutory relationships education within your PSHE curriculum.

It is important to remember that there are many opportunities to seek further advice and guidance, both from members of your school (such as SLT, governors and your teaching team) and from national organisations such as the PSHE Association.

For further advice, contact: info@pshe-association.org.uk

PSHE Association Programme of Study (KS1-5)

Please click image for link(31/01/20)

Loudmouth

Lesson Plans E-Book - Relationships & Sex Education and Health Education Key Stages 2-4

Free lesson plans for Key Stages 2-4 available here.

These changes to relationships, sex and relationships education and health education will become compulsory in September 2020 and so we want to help teachers and schools get a head start.

The consultation document has a lot of information and so to help you save some time and get a handle on the main points we have pulled out 20 of the key points for you. Click here to view the 20 key points.

The full document can be accessed here.

Resources

GHLL Relationships and Sex Education - Teachers' Planning Resource has been designed to be embedded within a whole school PSHE curriculum and is a fantastic FREE resource for all infant and primary settings in Gloucestershire. It consists of a series of FOUR lessons per year group (apart from Year 6 which has FIVE) and has clear learning objectives and suggested activities to achieve the objectives. To receive your FREE resource and to enquire about RSE training please email GHLL.
Sex Education Forum - Effective Learning Methods prodives approaches to teaching about sex and relationships within PSHE and Citizenship
Recommended book list for Primary R(S)HE
A template letter to parents regarding the teaching of R(S)HE in schools
Primary FPA resources
Stonewall - Resources for schools 'Different Families Same Love' - developed by Bath & North East Somerset Council, in consultation with the children from St Keyna Primary School. A number of card games based on pictures from the posters.

Different Families Same Love Cards A4

Different Families Same Love Cards A3

Different Families Same Love Card Game Instructions

Guidance

GHLL poster showing the importance of teaching PSHE to young people
PSHE subject page on the Ofsted website - Provides links to organisations in the PSHE strategic Partners Groups and to other organisations that are not part of the group but which are relevant to PSHE issues in schools
FPA information booklet about female genital mutilation (FGM) for primary schools. Hard copies purchasable via the link provided. Scroll to the bottom of the page for a free PDF download
Operation Ouch programme - "How are babies made?" is a BBC Teach film resource for use in PSHE and Social Studies lessons with primary school children at Key Stage 2
Free RSE card deck sample from Split Banana is a practical resource for educators to get more clued up on the content, narratives and approaches necessary for implementing inclusive RSE. The full resource can be purchased here

Brook

Brook is a registered charity that specialises in providing information on sexual health and relationships to young people, and infromation and resources to educators. Brook's website offers a wealth of resources and information including:

A free self-directed online Introduction to RSE course for teachers;
Brook Sexual Health and Wellbeing advice for under 25's (SHEILD - Sexual Health Information Empowerment Learning Development);
Education and training for educators.

Brook provides a Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light Tool which is designed to support professionals working with children and young people. It helps them to identify, assess and respond appropriately to sexual behaviours. Many expressions of sexual behaviour are part of healthy development and no cause for concern. However, when children or young people display sexual behaviour that increases their vulnerability or causes harm to someone else, adults have a responsibility to provide support and protection.

The tool uses a traffic light system of green, amber and red to:

• Categorise sexual behaviours

• Increase understanding of healthy sexual development

• Distinguish this from harmful behaviour

Brook provides a UK-wide training programme for professionals to support the use of this resource. Their Traffic Light Tool Training has been evaluated by The University of Worcester and has been shown to increase the confidence of staff in their ability to distinguish healthy and harmful sexual behaviour in children and young people and support staff in the protection of children and young people from harm or abuse.

This training is strongly recommended for all professionals working with young people including teachers, social workers, school nurses, youth and outreach workers, health care professionals, safeguarding leads.

Coram Life Education

Enable your students to understand the issues facing adopted children at school. Increase staff awareness of behavioural issues that can affect young people from the care system.

Enrich your school's values, helping children to empathise with others and respect diversity.

Enhance Personal, Social, Health and Economic education by focusing on the PSHE Association's programme of study: Relationships, Health and Wellbeing, and Living in the Wider World.

The Adoptables' Schools Toolkit The Adoptables' Toolkit tackles the issues adopted young people experience at school, and helps to raise awareness of these challenges amongst both students and staff members.This FREE Toolkit includes lesson plans, teachers' guidance, films and activities for KS2 and KS3, all clearly linked to learning opportunities included in the PSHE Association Programme of Study (the PSHE programme of study regularly signposted to by the DfE).

Teaching relationships education to prevent sexual abuse- Research Report September 2024

Published in September 2024 this new research project builds on the findings of Ofsted’s 2021 Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. The Ofsted review commented on how prevalent sexual harassment and online sexual abuse have become for children and young people: “It is concerning that for some children, incidents are so commonplace that they see no point in reporting them.” The report went on to recommend the need for:

“[A] carefully sequenced RSHE curriculum, based on the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) statutory guidance, that specifically includes sexual harassment and sexual violence, including online. This should include time for open discussion of topics that children and young people tell us they find particularly difficult, such as consent and the sending of ‘nudes.’” – Ofsted

Following the publication of revised statutory guidance for relationships, sex and health education, the DfE is looking to provide further support for schools in teaching about sexual harassment, sexual violence, and violence against women and girls. The primary aim of this project was to conduct a review of evidence to inform further support for schools and to ensure that this support is based on the best possible evidence, particularly of best practice. The evidence review was conducted employing the technique of a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA). The methodology and steps to conducting an REA are presented in the section below. As a secondary aim, this project also identified evidence gaps and areas requiring further research. Finally, another key aim of the project was the development of a list of key recommendations for further support for schools. The recommendations are based on (i) the literature reviewed, and (ii) advice, expertise and additional evidence shared by a group of sector experts formed specifically for this project (which is described as the ‘Expert Group’ in the rest of this report).

This report presents the results of the REA, providing a comprehensive review of evidence on teaching interventions to prevent sexual abuse, and the list of recommendations produced based on the findings of the REA and inputs from the Expert Group.

Click here to access the full report