At the Bristol Steiner School, Relationship education is taught within the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum. In addition, some aspects will be covered through:

Science curriculum
Circle times
Assemblies
Stories
PE in the context of health and hygiene.
Visiting speakers/workshops
Visits to the Life Skills centre

Relationship Education is lifelong learning about personal, physical, moral and emotional development. It should teach children and young people to develop and form positive values, attitudes, personal and social skills, and increase their knowledge and understanding of how to make informed decisions and life choices.

The statutory areas of learning for primary school are:

Basic first aid, information on making an emergency call and concepts of basic first aid.

Being safe, information on boundaries, privacy and feeling unsafe and asking for help and support.

Caring friendships, information on ways of making and choosing friends, online friendships, working through problems and the characteristics of friendships.

Changing adolescent body, information on physical and emotional changes in puberty, including menstrual wellbeing.

Drugs, alcohol and tobacco, information on legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks.

Families and people who care for me, information on the different types of family, healthy family life and marriage.

Health and prevention, information on signs of physical illness, sun safety, sleep, dental health, personal hygiene and allergies.

Healthy eating, information on a healthy diet, understanding calories, planning healthy meals and the impacts of unhealthy diets.

Internet safety and harms, information on internet use, rationing and risk, online relationships, privacy and understanding online information.

Mental wellbeing, information on talking about emotions, self-care techniques, isolation and loneliness, the impact of bullying and getting help and support.

Online relationships, information on understanding how people behave online, cyberbullying and keeping safe online.

Physical health and fitness, information on active lifestyles, the benefits of physical activity and the risks of an inactive lifestyle.

Respectful relationships, information on bullying, stereotypes and the importance of respect.

RSE is not about the promotion of sexual activity.

The Bristol Steiner School has actively sought the views of parents, through the form of an online questionnaire, with regard to SRE. The outcomes of which were shared with all parents via the school newsletter. Throughout this process, school ensured that it was sensitive to the range of religious and cultural views about relationships education whilst still ensuringthat pupils have access to the learning they need to stay safe, healthy and understand their rights as individuals. Please read ‘Understanding Relationships and Health Education in your child’s primary school: a guide for parents’.

Our Curriculum

Statutory RSE Curriculum Content

We have developed the curriculum taking into account the age, needs and feelings of pupils. If pupils ask questions outside the scope of this policy, teachers will respond in an age appropriate manner so they are fully informed and do not seek answers online.

Key objectives of the statutory Relationships Education curriculum are outlined below and are taught withinthe PSHE curriculum:

Families and people who care for me

Children should know:

that families are important for children growing up because they can give love, security and stability.
the characteristics of healthy family life, commitment to each other, including in times of difficulty, protection and care for children and other family members, the importance of spending time together and sharing each other’s lives.
that others’ families, either in school or in the wider world, sometimes look different from their family, but that they should respect those differences and know that other children’s families are also characterised by love and care.
that stable, caring relationships, which may be of different types, are at the heart of happy families, and are important for children’s security as they grow up.
that marriage represents a formal and legally recognised commitment of two people to each other which is intended to be lifelong.
how to recognise if family relationships are making them feel unhappy or unsafe, and how to seek help or advice from others if needed.

Caring friendships

Childrens hould know:

how important friendships are in making us feel happy and secure, and how people choose and make friends.
the characteristics of friendships, including mutual respect, truthfulness, trustworthiness, loyalty, kindness, generosity, trust, sharing interests and experiences and support with problems and difficulties.
that healthy friendships are positive and welcoming towards others, and do not make others feel lonely or excluded.
that most friendships have ups and downs, and that these can often be worked through so that the friendship is repaired or even strengthened, and that resorting to physically or verbally aggressive behaviour is never right.
how to recognise who to trust and who not to trust, how to judge when a friendship is making them feel unhappy or uncomfortable, managing conflict, how to manage these situations and how to seek help or advice from others, if needed.

Respectful relationships

Children should know:

the importance of respecting others, even when they are very different from them (for example, physically, in character, personality or backgrounds), or make different choices or have different preferences or beliefs.
practical steps they can take in a range of different contexts to improve or support respectful relationships.
the conventions of courtesy and manners.
the importance of self-respect and how this links to their own happiness.
that in school and in wider society they can expect to be treated with respect by others, and that in turn they should show due respect to others, including those in positions of authority.
about different types of bullying (including cyberbullying), the impact of bullying, responsibilities of bystanders (primarily reporting bullying to an adult) and how to get help.
what a stereotype is, and how stereotypes can be unfair, negative or destructive.
the importance of permission-seeking and granting in relationships with friends, peers and adults.

Online relationships

Children should know:

that people sometimes behave differently online, including by pretending to be someone they are not.
that the same principles apply to online relationships as to face-to-face relationships, including the importance of respect for others online including when we are anonymous.
the rules and principles for keeping safe online, how to recognise risks, harmful content and contact, and how to report them.
how to critically consider their online friendships and sources of information including awareness of the risks associated with people they have never met.
how information and data is shared and used online.

Being safe

Children should know:

what sorts ofboundaries are appropriate in friendships with peers and others (including in a
digital context).
about the conceptof privacy and the implications of it for both children and adults; including
that it is not always right to keep secrets if they relate to being safe.
that eachperson’s body belongs to them, and the differences between appropriate and
inappropriate or unsafe physical, and other, contact.
how to respondsafely and appropriately to adults they may encounter (in all contexts,
including online) whom they do not know
how to recogniseand report feelings of being unsafe or feeling bad about any adult and others.
how to ask foradvice or help for themselves or others, and to keep trying until they are
heard.
how to reportconcerns or abuse, and the vocabulary and confidence needed to do so.
where to getadvice e.g. family, school and/or other sources.

Theseareas of learning are taught within the context of family life, taking care to ensure that there is no stigmatisation of children based on their home circumstances (families can include single parent families, LGBT parents, families headed by grandparents, adoptive parents, foster parents/carers amongst other structures) along with reflecting sensitively that some children may have a different structure of support around them (for example: looked after children or young carers).

Pet poem and picture

A fantastic example from a member of Class 3!