All For One
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Information about the school
Christchurch is the only Church in Wales School in Swansea. It is a diverse school of 155 pupils with 57% from ethnic minority groups, representing 19 home languages. The percentage of pupils in receipt of free school meals is currently 24%
The character of the school is heavily influenced by its designation as a Church in Wales Primary. The school vision reflects the belief that the roots to success are embedded in the four ‘R’s: Respect, Reflect, Responsibility and Reaching potential.
Context and background to sector-leading practice
The school’s objective was to create a co-constructed Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) curriculum for pupils. Staff recognised the importance of involving all stakeholders in the creation of this curriculum to ensure a transparent and well-understood approach to the teaching of RSE.
The Welsh Government invited the school to be one of 15 to take part in an RSE pilot scheme to explore RSE in practice and to support the refinement of the RSE code and statutory guidance. The pilot set out to explore practitioners’ experiences and perceptions as they considered how to embed RSE within their school.
The school also wanted to ensure that they were ready to deliver an RSE Curriculum as set out in the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021, as a compulsory, developmentally appropriate subject by September 2022.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
The Process
Together, the headteacher and the Health and Well-being lead mapped the content of the RSE Code and Guidance against the Area of Learning and Experience for Health and Well-being. The document was distributed to the teaching staff, who worked within their different phases to identify how the activities would be delivered and to include enrichment activities that could accompany and enhance the provision. Parents were invited to be part of the process along with governors and pupils.
The RSE lead worked alongside the local authority and other groups identified by the Welsh Government to ensure that the views of the wider community, such as religious leaders and representatives of the LGBTQ+ and BAME communities, were considered.
The staff
The school felt that understanding how the staff felt about teaching and delivering the new RSE curriculum would be crucial to its successful implementation. A questionnaire was distributed to the staff, to gain an understanding of their strengths, weaknesses and training needs regarding the delivery of the RSE curriculum. There were several requests for training and guidance as many staff members were anxious about teaching certain sections of the RSE Code. To assist them in the successful implementation of RSE, staff were given the opportunity to participate in external training sessions, as well as in-house training provided by the RSE lead. This significantly increased the staff’s confidence and willingness to teach some of the more sensitive subjects.
Parental involvement
The school recognised that it was essential to collaborate closely with parents on the creation and implementation of the curriculum.
An initial parental questionnaire was issued to parents to survey their opinions and level of understanding of the topic of RSE. It was also used to identify any parents that would be interested in participating in a parent focus group to help co-create the curriculum. A large number of responses were received, with 93% of respondents requesting more information and 83% wanting to join the focus group.
A number of effective parent meetings took place with staff working alongside parents to discuss the elements of the RSE Code and to generate ideas as to what the developmentally-appropriate sessions might look like within the primary classroom.
Pupil voice
The school valued the views of pupils and they were given opportunities to raise questions about different RSE strands. Staff ensured that planning incorporated the pupils’ contributions.
Governors
Leaders ensured that the governing body of the school was regularly informed of the progress and involved at each of the curriculum development stages. Governors attended information sharing events and presentations. As critical friends, governors were invited to ask questions and regularly discussed the content of the RSE Code, guidance, and curriculum.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
Co-constructing the RSE curriculum had a beneficial effect on staff, pupils and parents as it encouraged collaborative working, transparency and the development of a shared vision of what an effective RSE curriculum should look like.
Opportunities to share and exchange ideas with parents, by including them in important discussions regarding their children’s education, had a positive impact on their respect for staff and trust that teachers would deliver lessons in a sensitive and developmentally appropriate way.
The most recent Estyn inspection in October 2022 noted, ‘how the head teacher has successfully engaged staff and parents in the process of creating a vision for the Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum. Parents appreciate that their views and opinions matter and value the contributions they make to improving the school’s provision.’
Sharing best practice and planning with both staff and pupils has greatly improved outcomes. Staff are more confident following training and team planning, and pupils feel that their views and questions have been listened to and acted upon. This in turn has significantly improved provision.
Staff provide regular opportunities for pupils to express their views and to influence how and what they learn. As a result, pupils feel that the school values their ideas and opinions.
How have you shared your good practice?
Christchurch Primary School has worked with other schools across Swansea, Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire to share their good practice in teacher training sessions, parent meetings and conferences. The school works closely with the Local Authority Adviser for Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) / RSE who has supported them with the delivery of seminars for teachers and school leaders in South Wales.
The school regularly holds information sharing evenings for parents where the progress and roll out of RSE has been shared with them.
Leaders within the school continue to support individual RSE Leads as they begin the journey within their own schools.