Management Information Sheet
Government update: Sharing RSHE resources with families
"We are clear that parents and carers are the prime educators for children on many of these matters. Schools complement and reinforce this role and have told us that they see building on what pupils learn at home as an important part of delivering a good education." |
The guidance has several legal requirements on schools about what families should be consulted on and informed of, including:
"All schools should work closely with parents when planning and delivering these subjects, ensuring that parents know what will be taught and when." |
The Secretary of State's letter published 23 October states that schools and providers of teaching resources should share their RSHE materials with parents. It states that parents should have confidence in their right to see what their children are being taught in the classroom and giving them an opportunity to comment. The letter states that companies providing teaching resources cannot use copyright law to forbid parents from seeing materials, and that schools should share materials regardless.
Sharing RSHE resources in the context of face-to-face meetings is optimal (so what you cover, why you cover it and how you cover it can be best understood) but this is not always possible for working or busy families. Schools can lawfully share copies of resources via an online 'parent portal' or, if this is not possible, through a presentation. Schools should ask families to agree that the content will not be copied or shared further except as authorised by copyright law. If families cannot attend a presentation or access an online 'parent portal', schools may provide copies of materials for families to take home, provided they agree not to copy the content or share it further except as authorised by copyright law.
Norfolk County Council has a range of resources, courses, etc available to support your school's RSHE provision which can be accessed here.
To support family engagement and participation we have online support in our RSHE Toolkit and a workshop on 7 March 2024.
Look at Module 6 of the RSHE toolkit which includes:
- A CPD video
- An activity to support the development of your provision
- Resources; created especially for Norfolk schools
- References; links to guidance, resources, organisations etc.
- Further learning; links to podcasts, blogs, research etc.
Signing up to the workshop will enable you to confidently engage families to participate in your school's delivery of RSHE and in their children's RSHE learning. We will also be delivering a workshop for support staff to increase their knowledge, skills and values when supporting the delivery of RSHE. Register your interest here.
Norfolk County Council is committed to supporting schools to provide an inclusive culture and effective RSHE that supports children to be healthy, happy, and safe. If you have any further enquiries, please email: inclusionandsend@norfolk.gov.uk.