[ Search ]

Welford and Wickham Primary School

Sex Education Policy

Welford and Wickham School is committed to the teaching of Sex Education. It will be taught as part of our Personal and Social Development studies.
Sex education will:

be developmental and be appropriate to the age and stage of the child. Common starting levels cannot be assumed;
put forward factual knowledge and encourage the exploration of facts;
examine opinions and concepts and encourage discussion;
encourage awareness, respect and responsibility for oneself and others.

Concepts such as love, joy, anger, fear, hate, trust, respect, sexual feelings and sexual responses are difficult to describe but need to be explored. Like other areas of health education, sex education is concerned not only with cognitive development but affective development.
The following framework for sex education for younger children has drawn on the 'Me and My Relationships' section of the HEA Primary Project for Health Education.

A Sequence for Teaching Sex Education.

Year One

People in my life - what they do for me and what I do for them.
My moods - feeling happy, sad.
Friendships.
Loss and mourning - a person, a pet.
Keeping safe - dangers I might come up against and saying no.
My body and other people's bodies - similarities and differences.
The beginning of life - me, animals and plants.
Growth in people, animals and plants.
Ageing - how we know things are alive, dead, young or old.

Year Two

Changes as we grow.
Different types of families.
Feelings in the family - love, jealousy.
What helps people to get along with each other - listening, sharing.
What makes me happy.
What I like or don't like about other people.
What other people like or don't like about me.
Keeping safe.
Caring for myself - hygiene, sleep, exercise.
People who help me to care for myself.
Inside my body - the functions of different parts.

Year Three/Four

Feelings - things which make me happy, sad, embarrassed, scared.
Difficult situations - teasing and bullying
How babies begin, how they are born and how they grow.
Family trees.
Keeping healthy, exercise and diet.
Friendships - who our friends are and how we make and lose friends.
Making decisions - influences on me and peer group pressure.
Keeping safe.
Lifestyles in the class and community - differences in others and how we feel about differences.

Year Five/Six

Decision making and risk taking.
Feelings about the future - changing schools, adolescence.
Families and how they behave - what members expect of each other.
Celebrations of birth, puberty, marriage and death in different cultures.
Expressing feelings and how we do this - being assertive and not bullying.
Differences and similarities in people.
Sexuality - what it is and what words describe it.
Body changes in me and others - why they are happening.
Things that go into my body that help and things that harm.
Messages about health and sexuality from television, films, books and newspapers.

Year Five/Six children will, in addition, have a programme of study based on the BBC Sex Education television series which shows birth and caring in a family setting.
The programmes are:-

Growing - physical and emotional changes during puberty.
Someone new - the development of the womb and the birth of a baby.
Life begins - the meeting of the sperm and the egg.

Boys and girls will watch the programmes together but can be split up afterwards for separate follow-up discussion with the class teacher and School Nurse. We shall attempt to deal with questions in a sensitive, open, frank and matter of fact way. Questions concerning homosexuality, sexually transmitted diseases and contraception will be answered if raised.
Before the programmes are seen by the children parents will have the opportunity to view the programmes and comment on the content.

Go to the Welford and Wickham Policy Index.