Here, our Senior RSE Specialist Rachael Baker explores how teachers in Key Stage One can deliver a meaningful and age-appropriate foundation curriculum for Relationships Education and broader RSHE.
By the end of primary, learners should be aware about personal safety, understand what privacy and private means, know appropriate boundaries with different people in their lives, and be able to recognise and know what to do if something feels unsafe. They should be confident about their own body, understand that their body is theirs alone, and be able to identify appropriate and inappropriate touch. They should know how to behave online, and be able to spot risky online situations. They should understand why families and friendships are positive things, and be able to recognise when a friendship or relationship is safe and protective, and know what to do if it is not.
But primary school covers a long period of time, and sadly these vital aspects of Relationships Education are often started too late. This puts children at risk. Sometimes this stems from not knowing what to say. These are all areas that need clear explanations and cannot rely just on a video or worksheet.
Consent and touch are key to the interactions that happen between children in the Key Stage 1 playground. Sharing, who plays with whom, and whether it is OK to hug or hold hands are all part of the lunchtime dialogue, not to mention the chatter about boyfriends and girlfriends and ‘making tiktoks’. Children need to hear clear messages about what is OK and what is not OK. Sadly, 10% of children have been exposed to pornography by the age of 9 (OCC, 2022) and an estimated 1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused (NSPCC).
Statutory Relationships Education and wider RSHE is underpinned by robust research evidence, for example research finding that children are able to recognise abuse and seek help earlier if educated about it. A strong foundation in the primary years ensures that secondary teachers can tackle the breadth and depth of issues relevant to teenagers, in the knowledge that the basic concepts around consent and personal safety are covered. This minimises the risk that disclosures of childhood sexual abuse are stored up for years and years. There is clarity in the statutory guidance about the importance of a developmental approach, but getting started is sometimes the hardest part.
It starts with...
- Conversations about sharing, and taking turns
- Recognising if someone wants to join in, by their words and body language, and knowing how to show and say if you do not want to join in
- Knowing which body parts are private
- Understanding that you are allowed to touch any part of your own body, but people do not have the right to touch someone else’s body
- Knowing what the rules are in terms of touch and proximity to others, including friends, peers, family, people who help us and strangers
- Knowing what to do and who to tell if something inappropriate happens, or is suggested
To support teachers, subject leads and senior leaders in primary settings with the information and skills to provide this vital safeguarding curriculum, Sex Education Forum offers a training course covering
- Teacher values relating to delivering early messages about touch and consent
- Evidence and rationale to support early years curriculum
- Examining what ‘age-appropriate’ means and what it looks like in the primary RSE classroom
- Where to start with talking about touch and consent, including foundations of learning, good and bad touch, public and private, and recognising whether someone is giving or not giving consent
- Considering some differentiated activities and ways to teach these topics with your youngest learners
- Bringing your school community together to ensure an effective whole school approach
Further support for educators
Join Rachael Baker for our popular webinar 'Consent and Touch: Younger Learners' on Wednesday 24th May 2023, 1-3pm
Tickets: £55-65
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