At Wexham, we will teach the HRE requirement as part of our PSHE curriculum. The Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education guidance will be statutory from September 2020, which means that it is compulsory, therefore the pupils cannot be withdrawn. In designing the curriculum, we have used the statutory guidance, sought the views of parents and drawn upon our knowledge and experience of the local community. As a result, we have changed our topic order and removed some of the lessons we originally intended to teach. In addition, the parents requested we share what we will be teaching and the resources, which are detail in the table below.
Our staff will undergo training on the new HRE requirements, the Equality Act 2010 and the protected characteristics. Alongside this, they will attend training on conscious and unconscious bias. This will enable them to teach confidently the areas they need to teach.
As a school we pride ourselves on opening minds, challenging prejudices and creating a safe environment for children to share knowledge and ask questions. Our staff know their children well and know how to teach and respond in an age appropriate way.
Year 6
Year 6 will have the opportunity to draw on all the learning that has taken place from previous years. In addition to this, they will be made aware of The Equality Act 2010, which references gender reassignment. Despite not having explicitly taught it, in our experience, by Year 6, children are already aware of gender reassignment, therefore teachers will discuss this with them. They will express that this is a choice some people make after much consideration and support. They explain that they will learn more about this in secondary school.
| Year Group | Resources | Teaching | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| N & R |
We have different families and cultures and celebrate different occasions. Range of photographs emphasise that we have different families. |
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| Year 1 | Animated Alien story about aliens who have different families. | Animated Alien story about aliens who have different families. Pupils learn that families have different set ups for example, single parents, adoptive families and same sex parents. |
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| Year 2 |
One of the scenarios around bullying refers to a child being bullied because he has two mums. Photograph of same sex couple. |
Bullying is sometimes about differences and is always unacceptable. Everyone’s families are different. |
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| Year 3 |
Picture of a same sex couple amongst many other photographs to challenge stereotypes. Read story. |
Pupils learn: That everyone is different. To challenge stereotypes. About the effects of name calling. That the term ‘gay’ is often used derogatorily and is not acceptable. |
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| Year 4 |
Children discuss several statements, such as ‘age 9 is too young to have a girl/boyfriend’, ‘does a boyfriend or girlfriend have to be someone of your own age?’, ‘do boyfriends or girlfriends have to be a member of the opposite sex?’ A slide with a same sex couple. |
Children discuss when it is appropriate to have a relationship?
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| Year 5 | Homophobic name calling could come up if pupils bring it up. Teachers discuss this as they would any other name calling. |
Children discuss name calling. Homophobic name calling could come up if pupils bring it up. Teachers discuss this in an age appropriate way. |
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| Year 6 |
This unit refers to their learning during primary school and discusses homophobic behaviour and name calling, it takes views from children – child led. |
Children are made aware of the 2010 Equality Act which references gender reassignment. We will not teach a lesson about gender reassignment, but if children do ask, teachers will respond in an age appropriate way. They will confirm that it takes place and focus the discussion around the broader objectives around bullying and name calling. |
