Sex Education Policy

Brighton College Prep and Pre-Prep Schools

Sex Education Policy September 2003

Member of staff responsible:  Head of PSHE

Date of policy review:  September 2004

This policy was approved on 16/9/03 by the governors of the prep and pre-prep schools.

Background Information

Brighton College Prep and Pre-Prep Schools are two of the three schools that make up Brighton College. Brighton College is an independent school on an urban site in a busy, fashionable city. There are approximately 300 pupils in the prep and approximately 210 pupils in the pre-prep. The schools work within the whole school ethos of Brighton College but maintain their separate identities and have independent head-teachers. The pre-prep school caters for pupils from pre-reception age to year 3 (3-8 years) and the prep school for pupils from year 4 to year 8 (8-13 years).

The children come from both single and dual parent families. There is a social and ethnic mix although not a particularly wide one. Brighton College has a Christian foundation but there is a strong Jewish community within the school. Around 10% of pupils have dyslexia and receive specialist tuition within the dyslexia centre as a part of the curriculum. Such pupils in the prep school are withdrawn from French lessons and some English sessions to attend classes in the dyslexia centre. The dyslexic pupils in the top two year groups of the pre-prep receive specific help each week.

The prep and the pre-prep schools have active parents’ associations, which involve themselves in social events and fund raising.

Aims and Objectives of Brighton College Prep and Pre-Prep Schools’ Sex Education Policy

We believe that sex education is an educational entitlement of all our pupils. For our younger pupils it is developmental and lays the foundations for further work; for our older pupils it is an integral part of their individual progress through adolescence and ultimately into adulthood whilst at the senior school.

Sex education in this school contributes to the requirement of the Education Reform Act 1988 that the school curriculum should be one which:

• promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of the pupils at the school and of society; and,
• prepares our pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.

The aim of this policy is to clarify the content and manner in which sex education is delivered in Brighton College Prep and Pre-Prep Schools. This policy is available to staff and parents.

Moral and Values Framework

The sex education programme will reflect the schools’ ethos as illustrated by the code of conduct in the prep school and the pre-prep creed. Programmes of study in PSHE reinforce the morals and values framework of the school. In essence the following values are encouraged:

• Respect for self
• Respect for others
• Responsibility for one’s own actions in all forms of behaviour
• Consideration for others (friends, family, school and the wider community).

Sex Education at Brighton College Pre-Prep

Sex education is not taught formally to this age group. However, it is discussed during circle time and PSHE lessons when issues arise, at an appropriate level for the group. For example, this might be a discussion based upon a new baby in the family.

In science lessons the sequence of human life is taught i.e. the development of babies into adults and the life cycles of animals, plants and insects.

Brighton College Prep Sex Education Programme

The sex education programme is co-ordinated by the head of PSHE, in liaison with the head of science. The head of PSHE is responsible for the overall planning, implementation and review of the programme.

Delivery is through:

• Planned aspects within the science and the PSHE curriculum.
• Addressing moral and ethical issues that may arise from apparently unrelated topics in both subjects. Within this category, as long as any discussion takes place within the context of the subject, it will not be deemed to be part of the sex education programme and is not therefore subject to the parental right of withdrawal.
• Addressing the children occasionally in assembly.

Teaching approaches

A variety of approaches are used to give pupils relevant information to enable moral issues to be explored through discussion. A selection of videos is shown to generate discussion and to aid teaching. Such videos have worksheets and pupil activities to accompany each programme that is viewed.

Pupil groupings

Pupils are taught in mixed gender and ability classes for PSHE lessons involving self-esteem, health education, respect for themselves and others and citizenship. When addressing aspects of sex education, there are occasions when single sex groupings are used when deemed appropriate. The biological detail of sex education is taught in mixed gender groups where children are set according to ability.

Resources

Sections from the Channel 4 ’All About Us’ series is used in year 5. The sex education in year 6 is based upon the BBC Wales video ’Health E’ series 3. The Channel 4 video ’In My Experience’ is used with the older children in their relationship education. There are a variety of teacher resources that complement these programmes and support the content of the videos and there are also a number of books available in the library.

Time available

All pupils receive a 35 minute PSHE lesson once a week. Full schemes of work are available for this subject. Sex and relationship education, within the PSHE scheme of work, takes place in year 5, year 6 and after the common entrance examinations in year 8. In year 7, human sexual reproduction is covered within the biology curriculum.

• Year 5 pupils are taught about puberty, menstruation and personal hygiene. This is followed by some relationship education, which together would form the large part of a term’s PSHE work.
• The year 6 scheme of work for PSHE has a focus on sex education in the Summer term. The pupils are taught more about puberty, about sexual intercourse and childbirth. This aims to tackle pupils’ anxieties and queries within the security of the form group by the form tutor.
• In year 8, before leaving the prep school, pupils will have the chance to discuss and learn about the pressures and expectations related to ’dating’. It is hoped that this will help to prepare pupils for the new experiences awaiting them at their new schools.

Parental involvement

The school hopes that parents feel confident about the delivery of the sex education programme. Under the Education Act 1993, parents can withdraw their child from the part of sex education that is outside the compulsory elements of sex education contained within the science national curriculum.

A letter will be sent to inform parents before their child embarks upon the sex education components of the PSHE scheme of work in year 5 and year 6. This will help to prepare parents for their child’s questions and anxieties that might arise at home. Parents will be invited to view the material to be used with year 6 relating to intercourse and childbirth with the head of PSHE, who will also be happy to explore any worries with them.

Should a parent wish to remove their child from the sex education programme, they can not take part in sex education until the request for removal has been cancelled.

Confidentiality

If appropriate the teacher or member of staff concerned will maintain a child’s confidentiality. If this person believes that a child is at risk or in danger, she/he is to talk to the headmaster who is the child protection officer.

Answering difficult questions

Sometimes a child will ask an explicit or difficult question in the classroom. Questions do not have to be answered directly and if a teacher is uncomfortable with the nature of a question they should decline to answer it. A child should never be made to feel uncomfortable for having asked a question. The anonymous writing of questions to be answered at random by the teacher can overcome some of these situations.

Updated April 2008