Relationships and sexuality education
Addysg Cydberthynas a Rhywioldeb

As you may already be aware, one of the most transformative aspects of the New Curriculum in Wales is ‘RSE’, the new Relationships & Sexuality Education Code.

The purpose of RSE at Ysgol Eirias is to:

• Prepare our learners for the physical and emotional changes of growing up
• Empower them with knowledge and skills to make informed and healthy choices
• Build confidence and skills to deal with situations they may encounter
• Help them to stay safe and know where and how to ask for help if needed

There has been a lot of misinformation on RSE in the media over the last 12 months, and we encourage all our parents and carers to read the RSE code that contains the mandatory legal requirements.

Secondary schools deliver ‘Phase 3' of the code from Year 7 onwards.

The code can be found here: https://gov.wales/curriculum-wales-relationships-and-sexuality-education-rse-code

We at Ysgol Eirias believe the content of the RSE strands, such as friendship, puberty and staying safe online and offline, are important for all young people to be taught. We are confident you will share our enthusiasm for the successful implementation of the new code, which we feel will benefit all our learners.

We take a holistic approach in the delivery of RSE, delivering aspects of the code across the curriculum, including subject lessons (across the AOLEs- Areas of Learning Experience), pastoral lessons and registration.

Please see the RSE Year 7 scheme of learning.

These strands will then be built upon as learners travel through the years until the end of Year 11.

RSE topics are delivered in a way that is both progressive and developmentally appropriate.

We use a range of data to inform when topics are delivered to the learners, including the SHRN survey data and data from learner voice.

We believe putting the learners at the heart of our planning is fundamental to closing the gap between our curriculum content and the lived experiences of our young people. This will explain why some strands of the code are not covered in Year 7.

We follow all guidance from the Local Authority and the associate agencies, including Viva and The Proud Trust, and Ysgol Eirias forms part of the RSE A55 Alliance and the Conwy Professional Learning Community for RSE (since September 2021), receiving regular professional learning and ongoing training to ensure confident and correct delivery of RSE.

We are eager to consult with parents and carers on the implementation of the new RSE code and our RSE policy. We very much value your input and will be sending out a questionnaire to all parents and carers via Talaxy.