Approved by: Management Committee Date: August 2025

Last reviewed on: August 2025

Next review due by: August 2026

Contents

1. Aims
AYBI recognises Relationship and Sex Education [RSE] is an essential part of lifelong learning about the physical,
moral, emotional, social and cultural development of students. We recognise that it contributes to every
participant’s health, wellbeing and ability to be able to make well-informed decisions about their lives.
At AYBI, RSE involves learning about what makes a healthy relationship, sexual health, sexuality, healthy
lifestyles, diversity and personal identity through a combination of acquiring knowledge and information,
sharing information, developing skills, and exploring issues, beliefs, attitudes and values in a safe and inclusive
environment. We also work with a range of external providers such as Brook who support and enhance our
delivery of RSE.
RSE is not about the promotion of sexual activity or any particular sexual orientation or gender identity. Instead
it is about creating a safe space for young people to explore issues and beliefs around sexual health to support
them making safe and informed choices in their future.

The aims of our RSE curriculum at AYBI is to:
Provide a framework and safe space in which sensitive discussions can take place

Ensure that young people have an understanding of puberty, sexual development, the nature of consent
and the importance of health and hygiene
Help students develop feelings of self-respect, confidence and empathy
Create a positive culture around issues of sexuality and relationships
Teach young people the correct vocabulary to describe themselves and their bodies

2. Statutory requirements
As a maintained community interest organisation we must provide RSE to all young people as per the Children
and Social work act 2017.
In teaching RSE, we must have regard to to guidance issued by the secretary of state as outlined in section 403
of the Education Act 1996.

3. Policy development
This policy has been developed in consultation with staff, young people and parents. The consultation and
policy development process involved the following steps:
1. Review – a member of staff or working group pulled together all relevant information including relevant
national and local guidance

1. Staff consultation – a focus group of staff were given the opportunity to look at the policy and make
recommendations

1. Parent/stakeholder consultation – parents and any interested parties were invited to review and comment
on the policy

1. Student consultation – we investigated what exactly participants want from their RSE through participant
voice forums

1. Ratification – once amendments were made, the policy was shared with the management committee and
ratified

4. Definition

RSE is about the emotional, social and cultural development of pupils, and involves learning about
relationships, sexual health, sexuality, healthy lifestyles, diversity and personal identity.
RSE involves a combination of sharing information, and exploring issues and values.
RSE is not about the promotion of sexual activity.

5. Curriculum
Our curriculum is set out as per Appendix 1 but we may need to adapt it as and when necessary. Being a Pupil
Referral Unit we recognise that young people will attend AYBI for varying lengths of time and will have various
levels of RSE from other mainstream providers.
We have developed the curriculum in consultation with parents, students and staff, taking into account the
age, needs and feelings of participants. If participants ask questions outside the scope of this policy, teachers
will respond in an appropriate manner so they are fully informed and don’t seek answers online.

6. Delivery of RSE
RSE is taught within the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum. Biological aspects
of RSE are taught within the science curriculum, and other aspects are included in religious education (RE).
Participants also receive stand-alone sex education sessions delivered by a trained health professional. At AYBI
we have worked closely with Brook who have provided staff training on RSE as well as delivering regular RSE
sessions to young people.
For more information about our RSE curriculum, see Appendices 1 and 2.
RSE focuses on giving young people the information they need to help them develop healthy, nurturing
relationships of all kinds including:
Families
Respectful relationships, including friendships
Online and media
Being safe
Intimate and sexual relationships, including sexual health
For more information about our RSE curriculum, see Appendices 1 and 2.

These areas of learning are taught within the context of family life taking care to ensure that there is no
stigmatisation of children based on their home circumstances (families can include single parent families, LGBT
parents, families headed by grandparents, adoptive parents, foster parents/carers amongst other structures)
along with reflecting sensitively that some children may have a different structure of support around them (for
example: looked after children or young carers).

7. Roles and responsibilities
7.1 The Management Committee
The Management Committee will approve the RSE policy, and hold the headteacher to account for its
implementation.
7.2 The CEO
The CEO is responsible for ensuring that RSE is taught consistently across AYBI, and for managing requests to
withdraw participants from components of RSE (see section 8).
7.3 Staff
Staff are responsible for:
Delivering RSE in a sensitive way
Modelling positive attitudes to RSE
Monitoring progress
Responding to the needs of individual participants
Responding appropriately to participants whose parents wish them to be withdrawn from the non-
statutory/ components of RSE
Establishing ground rules for discussions in RSE to ensure that a safe space is established
Reporting any safeguarding concerns to the DSL or Deputy DSL in line with AYBI’s safeguarding policy
Ensure that all discussions are depersonalised to established clear parameters for discussions
If a member of staff is concerned about a young person who is struggling with their sexuality or gender
identity and that this is affecting their physical and/or mental wellbeing, staff should pass this information
to the DSL or Dep DSL. Questions, which have some relevance to sexual matters may arise during
discussion. In order to avoid any question of parental withdrawal from such lessons, the law requires that
‘such discussion is relatively limited and set within the context of the subject concerned’.
Staff do not have the right to opt out of teaching RSE. Staff who have concerns about teaching RSE are
encouraged to discuss this with the CEO or Safeguarding Team.
The staff member responsible for RSE at AYBI is the Safeguarding lead.
7.4 Participants
Participants are expected to engage fully in RSE and, when discussing issues related to RSE, treat others with
respect and sensitivity.
Sensitive issues, confidentiality and advice to participants
a. Sensitive issues may include: Puberty, menstruation, sexual intercourse, contraception, abortion, safer
sex, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), abuse, awareness of sexuality or gender identity. Staff
should understand the difference between stating facts and stating opinions. If work in sensitive areas of
the curriculum causes staff any concerns, they should discuss them with their line manager or a senior
leader.

(b) Confidentiality: If a young person makes a personal disclosure to a member of staff, that member of staff
cannot offer or guarantee unconditional confidentiality. The member of staff must refer to the DSL as outlined
in the Safeguarding and Child Protection policy.

(c) Advice to participants: Through the pastoral support system, participants will be given full information
related to RSE elements.

8. Parents’ right to withdraw
Parents have the right to withdraw their children from the non-statutory/non-science components of sex
education within RSE up to and until 3 terms before the child turns 16. After this point, if the child wishes to
receive sex education rather than being withdrawn, the school will arrange this.
Requests for withdrawal should be put in writing using the form found in Appendix 3 of this policy and
addressed to the safeguarding lead.
A copy of withdrawal requests will be placed in the participant’s educational record. The safeguarding lead will
discuss the request with parents and take appropriate action.
Alternative work will be given to participants who are withdrawn from sex education.

9. Training
Staff are trained on the delivery of RSE as part of their induction and it is included in our continuing
professional development calendar.
The CEO will also invite visitors from outside AYBI, such as nurses or sexual health professionals, to provide
support and training to staff teaching RSE.
At AYBI staff have been trained by Brook and they also provide additional sessions to support RSE.

10. Monitoring arrangements
The delivery of RSE is monitored by Roxanna Tello (Safeguarding Lead) through:
Learning walks
Evaluations and feedback from sessions by external providers
Students’ development in RSE is monitored by class teachers as part of our internal assessment systems.
This policy will be reviewed by Roxanna Tello (Safeguarding Lead) every two years.

At every review, the policy will be approved by The Management Committee.

Appendix 1: Curriculum map
Relationships and sex education curriculum mapping

PSHE

Science

AQA PSHE Unit Awards:
* Sex and Relationship Education unit;
* Emotional Wellbeing; Healthy Lifestyles
* Personal Safety
* Introduction to Diversity
* Prejudice and Discrimination.

Content cross over with RSE and GCSE Science (AQA)
4.5.3.3 Hormones in human reproduction (Control of menstrual
cycle and fertility)
4.6.1.1 Sexual and asexual reproduction (In animals and plants)
4.6.1.6 Sex determination (XX and XY at birth)
4.3.1.2 Viral diseases (STIs)
4.3.1.3 Bacterial diseases (STIs)

GCSE AQA Sociology
Family and households

Curriculum area TOPIC/THEME DETAILS RESOURCES

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Appendix 2: By the end of secondary school, participants should know

TOPIC PARTICIPANTS SHOULD KNOW

Families

That there are different types of committed, stable relationships
How these relationships might contribute to human happiness and their
importance for bringing up children
What marriage is, including their legal status e.g. that marriage carries legal rights
and protections not available to couples who are cohabiting or who have married,
for example, in an unregistered religious ceremony
Why marriage is an important relationship choice for many couples and why it
must be freely entered into
The characteristics and legal status of other types of long-term relationships
The roles and responsibilities of parents with respect to raising of children,
including the characteristics of successful parenting
How to: determine whether other children, adults or sources of information are
trustworthy: judge when a family, friend, intimate or other relationship is unsafe
(and to recognise this in others’ relationships); and, how to seek help or advice,
including reporting concerns about others, if needed

Respectful
relationships,
including
friendships

The characteristics of positive and healthy friendships (in all contexts, including
online) including: trust, respect, honesty, kindness, generosity, boundaries,
privacy, consent and the management of conflict, reconciliation and ending
relationships. This includes different (non-sexual) types of relationship
Practical steps they can take in a range of different contexts to improve or support
respectful relationships
How stereotypes, in particular stereotypes based on sex, gender, race, religion,
sexual orientation or disability, can cause damage (e.g. how they might normalise
non-consensual behaviour or encourage prejudice)
That in school and in wider society they can expect to be treated with respect by
others, and that in turn they should show due respect to others, including people
in positions of authority and due tolerance of other people’s beliefs
About different types of bullying (including cyberbullying), the impact of bullying,
responsibilities of bystanders to report bullying and how and where to get help
That some types of behaviour within relationships are criminal, including violent
behaviour and coercive control
What constitutes sexual harassment and sexual violence and why these are

always unacceptable
The legal rights and responsibilities regarding equality (particularly with reference
to the protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010) and that
everyone is unique and equal

Online and
media

Their rights, responsibilities and opportunities online, including that the same
expectations of behaviour apply in all contexts, including online
About online risks, including that any material someone provides to another has
the potential to be shared online and the difficulty of removing potentially
compromising material placed online
Not to provide material to others that they would not want shared further and not
to share personal material which is sent to them
What to do and where to get support to report material or manage issues online
The impact of viewing harmful content
That specifically sexually explicit material e.g. pornography presents a distorted
picture of sexual behaviours, can damage the way people see themselves in
relation to others and negatively affect how they behave towards sexual partners
That sharing and viewing indecent images of children (including those created by
children) is a criminal offence which carries severe penalties including jail
How information and data is generated, collected, shared and used online

Being safe

The concepts of, and laws relating to, sexual consent, sexual exploitation, abuse,
grooming, coercion, harassment, rape, domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-
based violence and FGM, and how these can affect current and future
relationships
How people can actively communicate and recognise consent from others,
including sexual consent, and how and when consent can be withdrawn (in all
contexts, including online)

How to recognise the characteristics and positive aspects of healthy one-to-one
intimate relationships, which include mutual respect, consent, loyalty, trust,
shared interests and outlook, sex and friendship

That all aspects of health can be affected by choices they make in sex and
relationships, positively or negatively, e.g. physical, emotional, mental, sexual and
reproductive health and wellbeing
The facts about reproductive health, including fertility and the potential impact of
lifestyle on fertility for men and women

Intimate and
sexual
relationships,
including sexual
health

That there are a range of strategies for identifying and managing sexual pressure,
including understanding peer pressure, resisting pressure and not pressurising
others
That they have a choice to delay sex or to enjoy intimacy without sex
The facts about the full range of contraceptive choices, efficacy and options
available
The facts around pregnancy including miscarriage
That there are choices in relation to pregnancy (with medically and legally
accurate, impartial information on all options, including keeping the baby,
adoption, abortion and where to get further help)
How the different sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDs, are
transmitted, how risk can be reduced through safer sex (including through
condom use) and the importance of and facts about testing
About the prevalence of some STIs, the impact they can have on those who
contract them and key facts about treatment
How the use of alcohol and drugs can lead to risky sexual behaviour
How to get further advice, including how and where to access confidential sexual
and reproductive health advice and treatment