New Relationships Education planner for primary schools

The government’s new Relationships and Sex Education guidelines are set to be introduced into schools in September this year. Yet what schools are already teaching is doing untold harm to children.

That’s why we’ve created this helpful new resource, to helps schools, teachers and parents to plan Relationships Education lessons in primary schools that follows the guidance while remaining faithful to a Christian principles. Our Relationships Education planning resource is free to download and can be copied freely for your school’s planning, with space for aspects of the school’s vision and values.

Whether you are a teacher, parent or governor, you can use and share this resource to help more schools to understand exactly what the guidance states and what children need to be taught. Find more free resources to use alongside this planner at rseauthentic.uk.

Read more about the background to creating this resource below.

Harmful and unscientific teaching

Although schools are free to decide how to teach these lessons, they often use pre-written lesson plans. One set of lessons, All About Me, which is still being used in various primary schools across the country, tells young children that “lots of people like to tickle or stroke themselves,” normalising ‘self-stimulation’ as long as it’s done alone in the bath, shower or bed.

This is just one example of inappropriate material being taught right now in schools around the country. It sexualises children from a young age and contradicts any parent who teaches their child that this kind of ‘touching’ is wrong.

But these lessons don’t only sexualise children, they also teach them unscientific and harmful ideas about gender. A BBC video made for RSE lessons teaches children that there are over 100 gender identities. What’s more, children are shown videos showing other children transitioning gender, even going through reassignment surgery.

Protests not permitted

Parents across the country have been challenging what is being taught in these lessons to primary school children. However, they have met with criticism at the highest levels: back in September, the Department for Education issued advice about managing the many protests outside schools, essentially “demonising parental rights,” says Roger Kiska. In a similar act to silence parents’ legitimate concerns, the High Court recently banned any further demonstrating outside Anderton Park primary school in Birmingham.

Even now, before the guidelines are introduced, these lessons are hard to opt out of. Alternative provisions aren’t often made by schools and parents fear their children being bullied due to being taken out of the lessons.

No LGBT requirement for primary schools

What’s more, the Department for Education has made clear that primary schools are not required by law to teach LGBT elements in Relationships Education or Health Education. Education Minister Nick Gibb previously stated as much during Parliamentary Question Time in June 2019.

Providing an alternative

Taking this into account, we have created a new resource to help headteachers, teachers and governors who want to teach children a Biblical and realistic view of gender and sexuality while still taking into account the required elements of the new government guidance which are expected to be taught.

This new Relationships Education planning resource is free to use and can be copied freely for your school’s own planning. It gives you the space to include the aspects from your own school’s vision and values which relates to Relationships Education (love, forgiveness, care, kindness, etc.). It also provides the opportunity to teach themes related to the Fundamental British Values at the start of each academic year.

It does not assume large amounts of curriculum time is available and can therefore be adapted to link with regular class or whole school assembly themes, which can occur in shorter sessions than a full lesson.

Download the resource for free to share with your teachers, headteacher and governors, and to adapt it to your school’s needs.

You can find more free resources to use alongside the planner at rseauthentic.uk