As per the February Newsletter, Teachers will be commencing the Relationships and Sexuality education programme (RSE) this week. RSE is an integral part of the Social Personal Health Education (SPHE) programme. RSE provides children with opportunities to develop knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practical skills necessary to establish and sustain healthy personal relationships with self and others. In addition to learning about relationships, RSE invites children to explore concepts such as physical development and human sexuality. Topics are explored with children in a developmentally appropriate, spiral nature throughout their primary education.

The sensitive elements of the Relationships and Sexuality education programme are covered under the Strand Units, ‘Growing and Changing’ and ‘Taking Care of my Body’ and ‘Safety and Protection’. We will be completing these Strand Units with all class levels during Term 2.

This programme forms part of the SPHE curriculum which all primary schools are required to implement. Co-operation between parents and teachers is essential to the success of this programme. It is important that parents are aware of the content of RSE lessons and can discuss the content with their children. Your child may bring home worksheets which will inform you on the topics being covered in class and how you can reinforce the messages and/or content at home.

You can familiarise yourself with the content of the Primary School RSE lessons at:

https://www.pdst.ie/sites/default/files/RSE%20in%20Primary%20School%20Parent%20Tips.pdf

https://www.curriculumonline.ie/primary/curriculum-areas/social-personal-and-health-education/sphe-rse-toolkit/

The Ard Rí CNS Relationships and Sexuality Education policy has recently been updated:

https://www.ardricns.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/RSE-Policy-2023.pdf

We encourage every child to complete this worthwhile scheme of work. If you have any concerns, please email us on [email protected] .