Primary RSE:
Our Growing Up Safe ProgrammeAt BigTalk Education we are incredibly proud of our award winning Growing Up Safe programme, which was a Finalist for the Children and Young People Now 2018 Safeguarding award. The Whole School Approach is our most popular option, where our specialist team of facilitators work with pupils, parents and school staff. This high quality, age appropriate RSE programme is designed to keep children safe, healthy and happy.
An Introduction to the Growing Up Safe programme
Children want their parents to be the first people to talk to them about growing up, sex and relationships. Yet many parents say they lack confidence to answer their children’s questions frankly, so Schools should be there to help and BigTalk Education are here to support Schools and Teachers. Members of the BigTalk Team can come into your School for a part or whole day, ensuring your children (and Parents) are well educated to keep them safe, healthy and happy! Our Growing Up Safe : Whole School Approach programme covers children from Nursery to Year 6 and includes Parents and School Staff. In 2017 BigTalk Education was awarded the Pamela Sheridan award by the FPA (Family Planning Association) the highest accolade in Sex Education, of which we are immensely proud!
We travel across the UK delivering our Whole School Approach (please see our list of current schools) and our taught programme is our most popular option. We find that school staff and parents appreciate our specialist expertise to help establish a common language within school to talk about bodies, growing up and sex in an age appropriate manner.
Growing Up Safe Programme Options
Feedback from school staff on BigTalk Education's Growing Up Safe relationship and sex education programme
What training do you offer?
- We have a range of training solutions to meet the needs of teachers, trainee teachers and other education professionals. We offer one day courses delivered face to face in the Yorkshire & Humber region. For larger groups we can come to you to deliver training, please give us a call to discuss your requirements. We also deliver lectures and workshops within university environments. In addition all of our primary Growing Up Safe ‘in school’ programmes include a session for parents and teachers that can count towards CPD hours, as well as shadow training for teachers observing our facilitators in action.
What themes are covered at what key stage?
- At age 3 (UK nursery) we teach the differences between boys and girls, naming body parts, what areas of the body are private and should not be touched unless the child is happy and gives consent.
- At ages 4 to 8 (UK Reception, School Years 1, 2 & 3) we reinforce and strengthen what was covered in Nursery. Using specially designed child friendly resources, at the end of this session they will be able to identify happy situations and those which may be risky (e.g. other children or adults taking improper photographs of them, inappropriate touches, exposure to unsuitable media etc.) plus who they can talk to if they are worried.
- At ages 8 to 9 (School Year 4, 5 & 6) we cover different kinds of families (same sex parents, foster families etc.), the emotional and physical changes of growing up, similarities and differences between boys and girls (including transgender), coping with different emotions, looking after our bodies as they change and the onset of periods (puberty). In these classes we explain that babies are made from ovums and sperm then develop in the womb (reproduction). How to be safe and healthy linking back to and building on identifiable risks, we also strengthen awareness of “our body is our own” and personal safety especially on-line grooming, etc.
Can you help ME deliver relationship and sex education in my school as I don’t think we can afford outside specialists?
- iIf you are a primary school then yes. Our resources are available to buy here, however for schools delivering RSE independently we recommend the resources are accompanied by staff training for a minimum of two school staff. In our accompanying training day we cover many aspects of RSE that newcomers or those with outdated training often overlook. Some schools also choose to buy a class set of Bodies, Babies and Bellybuttons books which are a great support for the Growing Up Safe: Whole School Approach.
- For secondary schools we offer staff training plus some of our Workshop Packs are available to purchase from our Resources page. These packs include all you need to deliver the session; Lesson Plan, background information, a powerpoint presentation, and relevant quizzes, answer sheets etc. All worksheets are suitable for photocopying so the pack will continue to be viable for several years..
Can you help me answer questions from the pupils and parents after you go?
- Some schools find that pupils and parents will raise further questions after BigTalk education visits. We find most teachers who have been to the parent/teacher session and/or taken part in shadow training observing our facilitators are confident in answering parent and pupil questions.
- However, we also offer a telephone consultancy for teacher support (usually this is used primarily for disclosure assistance) which is included free as part of an enhanced Growing Up Safe programme.
Do you cover my area?
- We are able to travel to schools all over the UK, however we add associated travel costs to our fees to schools outside our core area of Yorkshire & Humber.
Do you speak to parents?
- In line with government and Ofsted guidelines we actively engage with parents in our Growing Up Safe: Whole School Approach programme. We hold a minimum of one parent session prior to coming into school to show parents and carers our resources and explain what each age group of children will receive. We stay for one to one questions with parents, which is more comfortable for most than a group discussion. It is our policy to stay at these sessions until every parent’s questions has been answers and they are a satisfied as they ever will be to the response.
- For incidents of inappropriate behaviour or other causes for concerns we offer one to one sessions for individual children or young people. These referrals can come from schools, children’s centres or directly from parents. Whenever a one to one take places we endeavour to ensure our staff member also speaks directly with the child’s parent(s) to discuss the issues at hand and update them on what happened in the session.
Children/a child at our school are/is using inappropriate language/displaying inappropriate behaviour, can you help?
- If multiple incidents are occurring in a school population such as frequent use of a particular inappropriate word or a ‘game’ of touching sweeping the playground it can often indicate that there is an immediate requirement for a whole school programme of RSE such as the Growing Up Safe: Whole School Approach.
- If inappropriacy is confined to an individual or if the source of a wider ‘trend’ is discovered, we recommend one to one sessions in addition to the whole school approach, to ensure the child fully understands what is okay and not okay. Use of inappropriate language or behaviour may be indicative of abuse or early stage indicators such as exposure to pornography, therefore immediate one to one intervention is recommended. If you suspect a child may be being abused please refer to your school’s child protection policy, Safeguarding lead or if still in doubt the government guidelines on what to do.
What should I put in our school RSE policy?
- At present RSE Policies should be in accordance with the Department for Education guidelines published in February 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education
- As from September 2020. Relationship & Sex Education will be statutory in all Schools .
- As part of the Growing Up Safe: Whole School Approach programme BigTalk Education will provide a free example RSE policy for partner schools.
What is in the new statutory guidance?
- The new RSE guidance is currently only in draft form. However it does not give a year by year programme of study, but says that learning needs to start at the beginning of primary.
- There is no table listing what is included in sex education for primary school. However, there is a paragraph recommending that all primary schools have a programme of sex education which includes preparing pupils for the changes adolescence brings and learning how a baby is conceived and born.
- Puberty is included in Health education.
- The proposal is that parents will only be able to excuse their child from the sex education part of the curriculum (but not from national curriculum Science), not from Relationships Education at either level.
What do OFSTED require when it comes to RSE and how can you help us be Outstanding?
- In its 2013 Report PSHE, Not Yet Good Enough Ofsted were quite explicit about what they expected to see in Schools.
"This is our second year with the programme and we wanted to roll this out across the whole school. The sessions were thoroughly informative dealing with issues sensitively but openly. The programme covered a lot of ground effectively. Our children are now confident, knowledgeable and will hopeful grow to be respectful adults once again, a great job. Thank you for spending the day with us."
"The materials used are at an informative level, without being inappropriate. The language used by the team was at the children's' level so they were able to understand. The children were put at ease, to answer and ask questions. The section on reproduction was very well discussed and paced, to inform the children about sexual relationships, as too were the puberty and period sections. Very good tutors!"
"One of the best talks on this subject area I have experienced in my teaching career. The instructors were very relaxed and this created a relaxed and open environment."
"High quality delivery which is completely age appropriate, also includes e-safety, transgender, gay, lesbian – essential knowledge."
Feedback from parents on BigTalk Education's Growing Up Safe relationship and sex education programme
"With our two boys I have been concerned about talking to them as we are a same sex couple, but now I feel supported by the school and have a great book resource. Thank you."
September 2018
"Great talk, beforehand I was unsure how much they should know at such young age, and was worried they were expected to know more. I’m very reassured now that the delivery of this information will be informed and appropriate and I am now prepared for any questions that will arise from the classroom talk."
April 2018
"I think this is fantastic. The age appropriateness makes it not OTT but gives them the right information which is so important."
September 2018
"Great idea, this should've been implemented years ago! Nice, relaxed delivery, very good!"
September 2018
Programme elements
Find out about individual elements we provide as part of the Pamela Sheridan award winning Growing Up Safe: Whole School Approach programme.
Growing Up Safe Foundation & KS1 Resources
Equip your school with outstanding resources used by award winning RSE providers, allowing staff to deliver to students independently, whether to full class groups or individuals who miss BigTalk’s lessons. Ensuring 100% pupil participation. Shop now >
Off Site Staff Training
Give staff members an introduction to what is required for an excellent RSE programme. From policy to delivery, this will enable staff to be key advocates for RSE and its integration into your school.
Parents Session Delivered by BigTalk Education Staff
Give parents the opportunity to discuss the content of the RSE lessons with the BigTalk staff. Minimising withdrawals and encouraging dialogue at home arounds RSE topics. View feedback >
Staff CPD Training
Certificates provided for all school staff that attend a staff training session which can count towards CPD hours, as well as evidence for Ofsted of child safeguarding strategy. Can be used towards an IIP submission.
Specialist RSE Delivered by BigTalk Education
The BigTalk Education team work directly with children to foster an atmosphere of calm and clarity delivering sensitive information, in a manner that is 100% age appropriate. This takes pressure off the teaching staff to allow them to focus on follow up & reinforcement.
Staff CPD Shadow Training
Supplementary certificate to evidence teacher shadow training in quality age appropriate RSE provision during BigTalk Education’s delivery day. This is useful to demonstrate additional training for Ofsted as well as benefit individual staff members in their career development.
Lesson Extension Ideas
Aid teaching staff to test pupil recall and reinforce key messages from the Growing Up Safe programme throughout the school year. Demonstrate an integrated approach to the RSE curriculum, through scheduled lessons.
Follow Up Pack for Ofsted
Allows the school to benchmark and evidence the impact of the BigTalk Education involvement at school. Demonstrating that parent and pupils questions are answered and teacher confidence increases.
Evaluation Report for Ofsted
This option gives the greatest level of detail possible including qualitative pupil feedback, further evidence for Ofsted and analysis of impact including statistical confidence review.
‘Understanding Your Tweenager’ Parents’ Worksop
Give the parents of your Key Stage 2 children additional support to aid them in relating to their children in today’s society. Allowing school to ensure their KS2 children are best placed to make the big move up to KS3 through stimulating empathy, understanding and support.
Addition One to Ones for Vulnerable or SEND Children
Ensure that any pupils of concern have full specialist provision tailored to their specific educational needs, making sure that the most vulnerable pupils are safe, healthy and happy. Find out more >
RSE Policy Guidance
Have piece of mind that your school has in place a robust RSE policy, that will exceed government requirements. Know that you will deliver RSE in line with the policy and be able to provide evidence to support this for inspectors or key stakeholders.
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