An Introduction for Parents and Carers
If you child's school has decided to use Get Real Sessions to support their provision of relationship and sex education, this video is for you.
The Get Real Sessions...
Provide clear & accurate facts and information around relationships and sex in an age appropriate way, building on year 6 RSE teaching from year 7 to year 11.
Create space for students to think about & discuss different aspects of relationships, including sexual relationships.
Aim to equip students to make informed choices in their own relationships, by considering what makes relationships healthy and the impact different choices can have.
All sessions contains central themes of respect, self awareness, individual choice, consent & tolerance.
The Get Real Sessions consists of 4 modules.
Your school may be using some or all of these modules to teach your child's RSE.
They are mapped to the statutory guidance, mentioned in the video above, and cover what schools are required to teach around relationships and sex. You can find the statutory RSE guidance on the government website
The Get Real Sessions contain age appropriate content.
A session about sharing online for a year 7 class and for a year 11 class would cover the subject in a very different way.
The content supports students to develop appropriate understanding on different relationship and health topics, including sex, helping them to stay safe and healthy.
The Get Real Sessions don't tell students what to think.
These sessions aim to give young people the understanding they need to think for themselves and have the confidence to make healthy choices in their lives.
Both the videos and the classroom activities in each session leave space for thinking and discussions where appropriate.
7 Ways to Support Your Child or Teenager's Learning around
Relationships and Sex
Make/ set aside time to spend just with them. It doesn’t need to be doing anything special - watch tv, play on the xbox, go for a walk, go for lunch, cook together - and try not to have an agenda except to spend time with them. Even if they don't seem very enthusiastic about it, spending time together is an important way to keep lines of communication open.
Ask them about what they are interested in and why. 'What youtuber are you watching?', 'What games are you playing?', 'What are you reading?' and 'What’s good about it?’. This shows you are interested in them and what they care about. It also helps you to keep track of what is having an influence on them.
Be aware of your own feelings around relationships and sex and how this might affect your reactions and what you tell/ teach your child. What views and opinions do you want to pass on?
Answer questions with simple, clear language. Relationships and particulalry sex can be difficult subjects to explain but try to think about it in the same way as you would explain anything else. Be clear about what they are actually wanting to know - 'That's a good question or interesting word, where did you hear that word/about that?/ what do you think that means?' - then explain using clear language.
Be honest if you don’t know. If your child/ teenager asks you a question about relationships or sex and you don’t know the answer, tell them you don’t know. And either find out and answer it later or find out the answer together. It can help them to know you don’t know everything either and this can open up the conversation for the future.
Use TV/film/songs that have themes about relationships and sex to talk with your child or teenager. Ask them what they think about what’s happening or questions like, ‘Do you think they are both happy?’, ‘Who has the power in the relationship?’, ‘Do you think that’s fair?’, ‘What would you do in that situation?’, ‘Why do you think that happened?’.
We all make mistakes. If they make a mistake in their relationships or around sex and they tell you about it, try to let them explain their point of view. If they have come to you, they probably want your help and advice. Try not to react by blaming or shaming them, as this will most likely close down the conversation. We all make mistakes so if you do initially react this way, go back and apologise and explain why you reacted like that, then try to listen to their side and support them.