Intent

Our school participates in the Relationship Education Programme for Catholic Primary Schools, entitled Life to the Full. It is fully embedded within the rich ethos and culture of our Catholic school, where all are seen as made in God’s image and loved by God.

At St Gabriel’s, everyone is valued and respected as unique, special and gifted. We aim to instil creativity and confidence and to inspire a love of learning. We hold the conviction that people have an unbelievable capacity to achieve great things. We treat each other as we would like others to treat us. We strive to be a happy school, a holy school and an inclusive school with everyone working as a team.

As a Catholic school, our mission is to support the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all of our pupils, rooted in the wisdom and teaching of the Church.

The Church teaches us that this is very much a partnership with parents, in which parents are the first educators of their children on these matters; ultimately, you confer on us the right to co-educate your children with you.  We endeavour to build caring and supportive partnerships between school, home, parish and the wider community, so strengthening an atmosphere of trust, friendship and respect.

In the academic year 2020/21, Relationships Education and Health Education became statutory in all primary schools in England.  The subject enriches our strong Personal, Social and Health Education, our engaging curriculum and our wholistic, nurturing approach.

Implementation

The Life to the Full programme is based on the structure of ‘A Model Catholic RSE Curriculum’ by the Catholic Education Service. This model curriculum was highlighted as a work of good practice by the Department of Education. Therefore, we have confidence that the programme is fit for purpose in supporting the growth and development of your child.

Life to the Full is much more than a series of lessons. It is an entire platform of creative resources that will engage, inform and inspire our children and, indeed, you as parents. This includes interactive video content, story-based activities, employing a wide range of teaching tools, original worship music and an accompanying programme of classroom prayers.

In addition, there is an online parent platform so that you, as parent and carers, can engage with the teaching and deepen the experience for your child. To access the online parent platform please visit: www.tentenresources.co.uk/parent-portal

 Life to the Full is intended as a means to further develop, support and enrich the partnership between home, school and church so that your child is fully supported.

 Programme Content

 

Modules	Units
1.       Created and Loved by God	Religious Understanding. Me, My Body, My Health Emotional Wellbeing
2.       Created to Love Others	Life Cycles Religious Understanding. Personal Relationship Keeping Safe
3.          Created to Live in Community	Religious Understanding. Living in the Wider World

Module 1:  Created and Loved by God

Created and Loved by God explores the individual. Rooted in the teaching that we are made in the image and likeness of God, it helps children to develop an understanding of the importance of valuing themselves as the basis for personal relationships.

In these sessions, we explore:

EYFS (Nursery and reception)

Children are introduced to the story of creation and they creatively explore that they are created by God out of love and for love. In ‘Me, My Body, My Health’, children will learn about their uniqueness in real terms, including celebrating differences and individual gifts, talents and abilities. In Emotional Wellbeing, children will learn about likes, dislikes and self-acceptance. They will learn that actions have consequences; that when we make mistakes, we should say sorry and ask for forgiveness.

Key Stage 1 (Y1 and Y2)

Children learn that we are uniquely made by a loving God, that we have differences and similarities (including physical differences between boys and girls), key information about staying physically healthy, understanding feelings and emotions, including strong feelings such as anger, and the cycle of life from birth to old age.

Lower Key Stage 2 (Y3 and Y4)

Children develop their understanding of differences, respecting our bodies, puberty and changing bodies. There will be strategies to support emotional wellbeing including practicing thankfulness, and the development of pupils understanding of life before birth.

Upper Key Stage 2 (Y5 and Y6)

Children learn to appreciate physical and emotional differences, a more complex understanding of physical changes in girl and boys’ bodies, body image, strong emotional feelings, the impact of the internet and social media on emotional well-being, a more nuanced and scientific understanding of life in the womb and how babies are made, and menstruation.

Module Two: Created to Love Others

This module explores the individual’s relationship with others. Building on the understanding that we have been created out of love and for love, this unit explores how we take this calling into our family, friendships and relationships, and teaches strategies for developing heathy relationships and keeping safe.

This religious understanding is then applied to real-world situations relevant to the age and stage of the children:

EYFS 

Children are taught that Jesus loves us and is a role model for us to copy in loving one another. In ‘Personal Relationships’, children will expand their vocabulary by applying names to different family/friend relationships, consider positive/negative behaviour in relationships and learn to look to Jesus as their role model for a good friend. In ‘Keeping Safe’, children learn practical ways to stay safe inside and out, about bodily privacy (including the NSPCC PANTS message that ‘pants are private’) and the importance of talking to their ‘special people’ if anything troubles them.

Key Stage One

Children are taught to identify the Special People in their lives who they love and can trust, how to cope with various social situations and dilemmas, and the importance of saying sorry and forgiveness within relationships. In the unit ‘Keeping Safe’, we explore the risks of being online by incorporating the ‘Smartie The Penguin’ resources from ‘Childnet’ , the difference between good and bad secrets, and teaching on physical boundaries (incorporating the PANTS resource from the NSPCC ).

 Lower Key Stage Two

The sessions here help children to develop a more complex appreciation of different family structures and there are activities and strategies to help them develop healthy relationships with family and friends; here, they are also taught simple techniques for managing thoughts, feelings and actions.

Upper Key Stage Two

Children are equipped with strategies for more complex experiences of relationships and conflict; this includes sessions that help children to identify and understand how to respond to spoken and unspoken pressure, the concept of consent and some practical demonstrations of this, and further teaching on how our thoughts and feelings have an impact on how we act.

Module Three: Created to Live in Community

Finally, Module Three: Created to Live in Community explores the individual’s relationship with the wider world.  Here we explore how human beings are relational by nature and are called to love others in the wider community through service, through dialogue and through working for the Common Good.

In the first Unit, Religious Understanding, the story sessions help children to develop a concept of the Trinity.

In subsequent sessions, we apply this religious understanding to real-world situations, such as the community we live in, and through exploring the work of charities which work for the Common Good

Please note that parents will be notified by email when sensitive content is going to be taught so that this can be discussed and prepared for at home.