Holly Mount Roman Catholic Primary School
Nurture, Encourage, Love
“I have come so that you might have life and have it to the full.”
(John 10:10)
At Holly Mount, we believe that our approach to teaching and learning RHE, must be rooted in the Church’s Catholic Teaching. Thus, our aim is to educate the whole child spiritually, intellectually, morally, emotionally and physically towards maturity and adulthood. In accordance with our Mission Statement, we strive to nurture, motivate and encourage our children to develop self-worth, to become responsible and respectful young adults and to understand what it means to be fully human.
We believe that the human person is made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, this underpins the approach to all education at Holly Mount. Our approach to RHE is consequently rooted in the Catholic Church’s teaching of the human person and is presented sensitively in a positive framework of Christian ideals.
At the heart of the Christian life is the Trinity; Father, Son and Spirit in communion, united in loving relationship and embracing all people and all creation. As a consequence of the Christian belief that we are made in the image and likeness of God, gender and sexuality are seen as God’s gift. They also reflect God’s beauty, and share in the divine creativity. RHE, therefore, will be placed firmly within the context of relationship, as it is there that sexuality grows and develops.
Following the guidance of the Bishops of England and Wales and as advocated by the DFE (and the Welsh Assembly Government) RHE will be firmly embedded in the PSHE framework, as it is concerned with nurturing human wholeness. It is also integral to the physical, spiritual, emotional, moral, social and intellectual development of pupils.
It is centred on Christ’s vision of the joy of being human and will be positive and prudent, showing the potential for development, while enabling the dangers and risks involved to be understood and appreciated. All RHE will be in accordance with the Church’s moral teaching. It will emphasise the central importance of marriage and the family whilst acknowledging that all pupils have a fundamental right to have their life respected whatever household they come from. It will also prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.
Inclusion and differentiated learning
We will ensure RHE is sensitive to the different needs of individual pupils in respect of pupils’ different abilities, levels of maturity and personal circumstances; for example, their own sexual orientation, faith or culture. We will also ensure RHE is taught in a way that does not subject pupils to discrimination. Lessons will also help children to realise the nature and consequences of discrimination, teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviour (including cyber-bullying), use of prejudice-based language and how to respond and ask for help.
Equalities Obligations
The Governing Body have wider responsibilities under the Equalities Act 2010 and will ensure that our school strives to do the best for all of the pupils, irrespective of disability, educational needs, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, gender identity, religion or sexual orientation or whether they are looked-after children.
Broad Content of RHE
Three aspects of RHE - attitudes and values, knowledge and understanding, and personal and social skills will be provided in three inter-related ways: the whole school / ethos dimension; a cross-curricular dimension and a specific relationships and sex curriculum.
Programme and Resources
At Holly Mount, our RHE programme is through Ten Ten.
‘The Ten Ten RHE Programme, "Life to the Full", is built upon key virtues. These virtues will link directly to the daily ongoing formation of children through their current body of work in Ten Ten Resources. The programme will continue to draw deeper on the riches of the Church’s tradition, and reach out to homes through the new channels of communication that this programme will establish.’ (Ten Ten Programme)