RSHE at St Joseph’s
St. Joseph’s is a Catholic School, religious education and the spiritual life of the school is at the heart of our service to your children. Our aim is that they grow up to be young people with a well-developed moral sense and openness to the work of the Holy Spirit, or the spiritual, in their lives. We welcome families from a variety of backgrounds and different religious beliefs. Everyone is warmly welcome to take part in any of our celebrations and services. We endeavor to create a family atmosphere. All members of staff strive to make pupils feel welcome, secure and highly valued.
We aim to ensure that the curriculum provided is delivered sympathetically to meet the needs of each individual child; enabling growth in understanding and the acquisition of those skills, attitudes and values necessary for life.
Our Catholic ethos commits us to the education of the whole child (spiritual, physical, intellectual, moral, social, cultural, emotional) and we believe that Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (RSHE) is an integral part of this education. Furthermore, our school aims are that we will endeavour to raise pupils’ self-esteem, help them to grow in knowledge and understanding, and help them to recognise the value of all persons and develop caring and sensitive attitudes.
In March 2017 the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales published Learning to Love: An Introduction to Catholic Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) for Catholic Educators. This framework has been informed by Learning to Love. In a Catholic school all teaching about love and sexual relationships and the Catholic Church’s teaching about what it is to be truly human in Christ and what it means to live well in relationship with others must be rooted in Gospel values (from which British values are derived). This curriculum framework is being offered to help schools deliver quality Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education adhering to guidance from the Department for Education which states:
‘To embrace the challenges of creating a happy and successful adult life, pupils need knowledge that will enable them to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships… High quality, evidence-based and age-appropriate teaching of these subjects can help prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. They can also enable schools to promote the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, at school and in society’. (Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education DfE February 2019)
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle framework for Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education, is offered as guidance, to be adapted by schools as required. It covers EYFS, KS1, lower KS2 and upper KS2 and it is based on five core themes within which there will be some overlap. It is adaptable to the age and ability of the pupils. The five themes are:
- Moral (this explores the individual)
- Spiritual (this explore the individual’s approach to the world and relationships through their relationship with God)
- Physical (this explores the individual’s response to the world as they change and develop physically)
- Emotional (this explores the individual’s relationships through their emotional responses and how to deal with them)
- Social (this explores the individual’s relationships with others in the local community and the wider world)
This curriculum framework refers to resources being used across our Diocesan schools including Come and See and Journey in Love. It shows how and where the learning takes place using these resources. In addition, it shows where issues concerning safety and behaviour for example cyber bullying are covered in the curriculum.
St Joseph’s RSHE curriculum will be delivered in a cross curricular programme of learning using the following resources and frameworks:
- Ten:Ten Resource – Life to the Full
- Statements to Live By – Nurturing Human Wholeness through the Distinctive Catholic
- Come and See – Sr Victoria Hummel – Matthew James Publishing Co ltd
- Early Learning Goals from Statutory Framework for Early Years/Foundation Stage
- National Curriculum for Science 2014
CAFOD – Catholic Agency for Overseas Development