3. First Educators
One of the most distinctive features of a Catholic Relationships Education programme should be emphasising the vital role that parents have in nurturing their children on these matters.
In the document, ‘Who is responsible for teaching RSHE?’, the Catholic Education Service says:
“Sex education, which is a basic right and duty of parents, must always be carried out under their attentive guidance, whether a home or in educational centres chosen and controlled by them. In this regard, the Church reaffirms the law of subsidiarity, which the school is bound to observe when it cooperates in sex education, by entering into the same spirit that animates the parents.”
We have created some resources specifically designed to fit in with and support existing parent-school partnerships, which we will share with you in this Unit.
A Note on Consultation
In Wales, parents do not have a legal right to withdraw their children from statutory Relationships and Sexuality Education.
It is, of course, good practice for all schools in Wales to share with parents about the resources they intend to use for Relationships and Sexuality Education to build confidence and trust through transparency. This course is one of the ways that the school is opening up consultation with you, to inform you of the resources and to give you an opportunity to ask questions.
Online Parent Portal
The Online Parent Portal is a unique and powerful resource for families of children who are taking part in the ‘Life to the Full’ and ‘Life to the Full Plus’ programme.
This online portal allows you to view what your child will be studying at different stages of the programme, enabling you as first educators to become fully integrated into your child’s teaching and learning.
The portal includes:
- An overview of every lesson your child will undertake
- Some video content related to the lesson
- Links to books, websites and articles we think are relevant to the particular session or topic
- Access to the prayer for each unit, so you can pray with your child, as they have been doing in school.
And, finally, there are Suggestions for Home Activities. These are different from homework and not intended to put any pressure on you or your children! They are intended to:
- embed learning
- open up a conversation about what they have learned at school so that you can support them better
- extend their learning through your unique position as their parent
- help build your relationship with your child
Sometimes they might be practical tasks, other times a conversation starter.
The teacher should provide information about what is being taught when. However, we encourage you to have a look around the Online Parent Portal now. This is the best way for you to understand the depth and breadth of the programme, ‘Life to the Full’ and ‘Life to the Full Plus’.
Click here to enter the Online Parent Portal.
In the next Unit, we’ll discuss some of the Sensitive Topics in RSE you may have some questions about.
To proceed to Unit 4: Sensitive Topics in RSE, click below.
