‘Health and relationships’ programme helps teachers get ready for statutory RHE curriculum changes and supports blended learning
A digital programme which provides complete coverage of the new RHE curriculum is being made available to UK primary schools at no cost, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
From today, 12th January through to the 31st October 2021, Discovery Education is providing free access to ‘health and relationships’, a complete suite of dynamic digital resources which helps teachers to plan, deliver and evidence the new DfE objectives. Suitable for children in years 1 to 6, the programme will enable teachers to show that they are meeting the new DfE objectives and deliver lessons with confidence. The resources can be accessed in the classroom and at home, helping schools to support learning wherever it is taking place.
From April 2021 UK primary schools must deliver new teaching of relationships education, physical health and mental wellbeing. But, in a challenging year, many teachers have had little time to prepare. Discovery Education is responding to this by providing schools with open access to a complete RHE teaching and learning solution.
“We know that this is a difficult time for schools and that teachers might not be ready for the RHE curriculum changes”, said Howard Lewis, UK MD of Discovery Education UK.“That’s why we’re providing free access to our popular health and relationships programme, which includes fully-resourced lessons and teacher support. We’re proud to help UK primary schools by opening up this exciting scheme of work.”
Sam Winton, deputy headteacher at St Margaret’s CE Primary School in Crawley, is already using Discovery Education health and relationships. “Discovery Education health and relationships is our go-to resource for RHE”, explains Sam. “When we first reviewed the statutory guidance, we realised that it covered a lot of new ground. We wanted a complete scheme of work that teachers could pick up and run with. Health and Relationships has saved us huge amounts of time and is brilliant to teach. The resources and support have given us confidence to approach challenging topics and our pupils are very engaged.”
Newland House School in Twickenham is using health and relationships to teach PSHE remotely, as teacher Andrea Taylor explains: “Returning to school after the first lockdown early last autumn, we used the health and relationships programme to supplement our Recovery Curriculum. This was useful not only for children but for teachers as well, providing resources to help us explore and address any concerns or anxieties about the return to school. In periods of home learning the platform has also proved ideal. Integrating PSHE lessons into the remote timetable is very simple and the resources work equally well as both live online lessons and static resources, which the children can easily access from home.”
Devised by subject experts, health and relationships’ resources are engaging and age-appropriate. Child-led scenario-based videos feature children talking about key topics while role play activities help pupils explore scenarios and develop skills to confidently deal with issues that affect their lives today and as they grow.
Discovery Education health and relationships covers six key topic areas: healthy and happy friendships, similarities and differences, caring and responsibility, families and committed relationships, healthy bodies, healthy minds and coping with change. Designed as a spiral curriculum, the programme enables pupils to revisit each topic as they progress through primary school, building upon their skills and understanding.
Many of the topics covered e.g. feelings of loneliness, isolation and loss and coping with change, have special relevance to the current pandemic and the challenges children face. The programme’s digital content means that teachers can easily pick up activities for children to complete at home to help them cope with the uncertainty of the situation and share positive thoughts and ideas with classmates.
Support for teachers includes end-to-end curriculum planning, detailed guidance and help with parental communication. The programme also sets out a series of best practice principles to help schools create a safe learning environment for teaching about healthy relationships.
The programme’s series editor is Lucy Marcovitch, a PSHE subject expert and former National Curriculum advisor. Lucy said: “The challenges of COVID-19 mean that many schools simply haven’t had time to get ready to teach a subject which needs to be planned very carefully and delivered safely. Discovery Education health and relationships takes care of this. Teachers can feel reassured that they are fully prepared while children can benefit from high-quality, inclusive resources to help them lead healthy and fulfilling lives.”
Primary schools are encouraged to register for free access at www.discoveryeducation.co.uk/rse. Free access will be provided until 31st October 2021. Schools that do not wish to continue after this time should notify Discovery Education by 30th September 2021.
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