Primary – The Growing Up Safe Programme

 The Growing Up Safe Programme is delivered by BigTalk Education to children. It is our belief that every child deserves to be kept safe, healthy and happy through knowledge and understanding. The programme follows a ‘spiral curriculum’ where children’s knowledge is built upon through a year-by-year approach at an age-appropriate level for their year group and uses specially designed child friendly resources throughout.

It reflects the current Government Statutory Guidance, Sex Education Forum and Ofsted recommendations and includes feedback from Parents and School Staff.

Here is an outline of what is covered in the respective year groups:

• Nursery (Age 3):
  The lessons for this year group create a fun learning environment where children are taught the correct scientific names for the body.  We appreciate that children may have their own family names for these body parts at home, however as we explain to the children when we are talking like Doctors, Nurses and Scientists we use the correct scientific words. The children are taught the names for different body parts for boys and girls, what areas of the body are private, and the difference between a ‘good’ (appropriate) and a ‘bad’ (inappropriate) touch.  ‘Trusted Adults’ is a term that we introduce and use in every year group, to make it clear to the children that they have many adults (at home and at school) who they can talk to, who are there to listen, protect and help them if they are ever worried about anything.
  Time 10 – 15 minutes
  
  
• Reception and Year 1 (Ages 4 – 5)

  The lessons for these age groups of children reinforce what is covered in Nursery.  The term ‘Trusted Adults’and who those people are is reiterated throughout the lesson.  Alongside the knowledge of the private areas of the body, this lesson teaches the children the difference between happy and risky situations e.g. other children or adults taking improper photographs of their bodies, talking to strangers in the park, inappropriate touches etc.
  Time 20 minutes

• Year 2 and 3 (Age 6 – 7)

  Year 2 and 3 content builds upon previous years knowledge and includes internet safety and who they can ask to help them to stay safe online.  In these year groups the children are introduced to different types of families e.g. fostering, adoption, Special Guardianship and includes those with same gender parents, this is to reassure children that families are there to love and protect them. The term ‘Trusted Adults’ and who those people are is reiterated throughout the lesson.
  Time 20 minutes

• Year 4 (Age 8 – 9)

  The lessons for these age groups reinforces and builds upon the knowledge and ideas the children have learnt in previous year groups using the same scientific language for the private areas of the body and the term and definition of ‘Trusted Adults’ and the many different types of families.

  In this year group children are beginning to mature and the emotional and physical changes of growing up are introduced (Puberty). Children are taught to recognise different emotions and the strategies they may use to cope with these changes in mood.  How to keep their bodies clean and healthy as they change with the onset of puberty.  How babies are made from an ovum and a sperm to then develop in the womb and be born (Reproduction). The lessons link back to and build upon the awareness of ‘our body is our own’, personal safety to support the understanding of risky situations both on and offline, and how to make smart choices and get help if they need it. The children are given the opportunity to gain further understanding by asking anonymous questions in the ‘Ask It Basket’ time at the end of the lesson.
  Time 1 hour

• Year 5 and 6 (Age 9 – 11)
  The lessons for these year groups revisit the knowledge and understanding the children have gained from previous years. The four private areas, reproduction, puberty, personal safety are revisited, and consent (permission to touch) is introduced.  The anonymous ‘Ask It Basket’ session gives the children the opportunity to ask the team what they want to know.  We actively encourage the children to ask questions as we want them to be clear on the facts rather than them finding their own answers from the internet or other children which may be incorrect and contain inappropriate content.  Children are often curious about and want more details on babies, physical and emotional changes, each class is different.  Again it is important that children know who their ‘Trusted Adults’ are in school as well as at home if they want help or information about ‘Growing Up Safe’. This knowledge, understanding and confidence is vital to protect children as they move onto senior school.
  Time 1 hour 10 minutes

  The ‘Growing Up Safe’ Programme uses specially designed resources to give children the knowledge, understanding and confidence in how to keep safe, healthy and make smart decisions as they grow. Throughout the lessons ‘Trusted Adults’ at home and at school is reiterated so children know who they can speak to if they need help to protect them and keep them safe.  Research in this area shows that children receiving this education are three times more likely to have the confidence to speak out and keep themselves safe.

  Secondary – RSE Lessons for Life Programme

• Year 7 (Age 11 – 12): In secondary school, the reinforcement of previous information is critical to ensure all pupils have a good foundation, as relationship and sex education provision from feeder schools may be inconsistent. In addition, further information on personal safety, potential grooming and exploitation scenarios are delivered in a realistic but age appropriate way.

• Year 8 (Age 12 – 13): Sex and the law is introduced as a topic, identifying risky behaviour and consequences, including pregnancy myths, alcohol, technology, rights and responsibilities.  The new Government guidance also requires we define subjects covered in the media such as FGM (female genital mutilation) Honour Based Violence and Arranged Marriage.  Sexuality and  challenging homophobia should be core to any programme of education. Information on safe ways to access information about relationships and sex is crucial for teenagers, as several may have already viewed pornography at this stage. Myth busting between media and real world representations of sex and gender stereotypes is beneficial. In this age group technology and internet safety need to be reinforced and discussed.
• Year 9 (Age 13 – 14) : Topics in this age group include self esteem within relationships, confidence, communication skills and consent. We include the effect of substance misuse on  behaviour and how that may impact relationships. Contraception is covered, including the most effective methods and their local availability. Information is given on sexually transmitted infections and their effects, including long term risks, safer sex. We include condom information and practical demonstrations.  Further insight into parenthood and the effects of an unplanned pregnancy on potential mothers and fathers is discussed to inform these students.
• Year 10 (Age 14 – 15): Looking at boundaries at this age is useful, what’s the difference between flirting and sexual harassment? Identifying abusive relationships as well as identifying the elusive “perfect partner”. Further information on the realities of pregnancy and parenthood, including the physical impact of pregnancy, plus the social and economic price that young parents pay.
• Year 11 (Age 15 – 16): As with primary, the final year at secondary school is spent recapping on previous topics as well as allowing students to lead the discussion by asking anonymous questions or through open discussion.

  Click here to view specific information on sessions for each Year Group 

• If you are a primary school then yes. Our resources are available to buy on-line 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. Contact us for more information.

• Some schools find that pupils, parents and carers will raise further questions after BigTalk education visits.  Teachers and school staff who have been present in the delivery of the sessions are given additional information in order to answer frequently asked questions.

• 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.

• In line with government and Ofsted guidelines we actively engage with parents in our Growing Up Safe: Whole School Approach programme. We offer each of our schools access to our on-line age specific presentations. These are to be shared with School staff, parents and carers to give an introduction to BigTalk, our delivery and the resources used. Any questions which arise having watched these can be directed to our office on admin@bigtalkeducation.co.uk. 
• 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. Following the session school will be provided with a full written report to update them on what happened in the session.

• 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.

• 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.

• The current RSE guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1090195/Relationships_Education_RSE_and_Health_Education.pdf
• BigTalk Educations’s Growing up Safe Programme meets with all of the government guidance giving you peace of mind that you have met with all of the statutory requirements.

• In its 2013 Report PSHE, Not Yet Good Enough Ofsted were quite explicit about what they expected to see in Schools.

  (We are awaiting further updates on this guidance from government.)