Sex Education
Chelmer Valley High School
A Policy for Sex Education
Aims
- To enable students to develop a personal moral code.
- To increase students' understanding about the physical, emotional and social aspects of human relationships.
- To develop attitudes of tolerance towards the religious, cultural and moral values of others in relation to family organisation and sex-related issues.
- To complement the parental role in educating students on sexual matters.
- To ensure students are confident regarding their growing maturity and personal health.
- To foster in students a sense of individual responsibility towards their community and society.
Objectives
- To provide current information about physical human growth, development and reproduction.
- To provide information about the laws relating to sexual behaviour.
- To provide information about health-related issues, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
- To provide relevant information about agencies offering help on sexual and health issues.
- To provide opportunities for understanding the nature of relationships and responsible attitudes towards them.
- To promote awareness of gender stereotyping and the problems this poses.
- To promote sensitive and responsible behaviour in personal and social relationships.
- To provide the sex education policy to parents and advise them of their right to withdraw their child.
Implementation
Delivery of the sex education programme will be to all year groups by tutors and qualified personnel including Health Authority staff and outside agencies, where appropriate, during PSHE lessons, Science lessons and assemblies.
Sex education will be taught in context, suitable to the age and development of the students according to the schemes of work and National Curriculum requirements.
Resources will be supplied from Personal, Social and Health Education with input from health agencies and other bodies as recommended by the local Health Promotion body.
Staff training will reflect the needs of the staff in the light of current developments.
In Years Nine and Ten, the APAUSE Programme will provide the cornerstone for the delivery of Sex Education.
Management and Co-ordination
The Health Co-ordinator and the Co-ordinator of PSHE have the responsibility for the planning and co-ordination of the programme content.
Tutors and teaching staff have a responsibility to deliver the agreed schemes of work, using appropriate resources which are regularly evaluated, both by staff and by students using monitoring sheets.
Extra-curricular experiences, including drama and talks will be assessed on an individual basis. This evaluation will form the basis of future planning and provision.
New opportunities for methods of delivery will be actively sought.
Students will have input into the curriculum following responses to monitoring and evaluations.
Related issues
Confidentiality
Both staff and students must respect the privacy of others.
Where appropriate students should be advised to discuss issues with parents and qualified professional agencies.
The giving of contraceptive advice to individual students is inappropriate to a teacher's professional responsibilities.
In circumstances where a teacher feels a student's conduct could be placing them at moral or physical risk or in breach of the law, the teacher will ensure they make the student aware of that risk and where they can receive advice. The member of the Senior Management Team responsible will be informed. In these circumstances, students should be aware the disclosure may need to be passed on to another responsible authority.
In cases of suspected child abuse, the Named Person will be informed and procedures followed according to Essex County Policy.
Parental Rights
Parents have the right to withdraw their students from some elements of sex education.
Provision is made for them to study the resources used in the curriculum should they wish to do so and discuss issues arising with the Health Co-Ordinator.
Students will be withdrawn from such lessons only on written application to the school.
Support
Support for any member of the school community, infected or affected by HIV or other sexually transmitted infections, will be in accordance with current Health & Safety at Work regulations, with guidance from health professionals.
Relevant documents on file include PSHE Schemes of Work, Government and Local Authority guidelines and National Curriculum documents.
