So, what is grooming?
The NSPCC defines grooming as ‘when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.'
They emphasise that anyone can be a groomer - and that grooming can happen both online and in person.
There can be no doubt that the internet has brought new challenges to family life! Understandably, parents and carers can feel overwhelmed and uncertain of what practical steps to take to protect their children, especially when it comes to the easy accessibility of online pornography.
A number of the members of our Esteem network of RSE educators are doing great work around this topic – including Natasha Rees.
Events of the last year, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, and also the racist treatment of East Asians over the COVID-19 pandemic, have brought the importance of race to the forefront, and hopefully, it's here to stay.
Not only did the events last year highlight police brutality but bringing these issues to the forefront also shone a light on the injustices displayed in all systems.
One of the great things about our relationships and sex education training is that we offer different and unique course options!
We never want you to feel confused about which course is right for you. So, to help make it as easy as possible, we have created a simple graphic to explain the key differences between our accredited relationships and sex education course, our teacher training course, and our bespoke training workshops.
We have also designed a clear flowchart that will lead you to the course that will benefit you the most, based on your experience and needs.
Despite the challenges of lockdown, the training side of our work has flourished - partly because we have been able to provide our courses online.
Over the past academic year, 81 educators have participated in our accredited training courses, with 38 of those attending online, and 63 opting to do the level 4 accreditation in ’Teaching relationships and sex education.”
In addition, 39 teachers from 6 schools accessed our online teacher training in the summer term.
After years of consultation, the new RSE guidance is finally statutory. The guidance details learning outcomes but leaves the decision of what materials and approaches are used to the school itself. We encourage you to support your local school as they implement the changes. Many teachers feel unprepared and ill-equipped so if you know of a local school in this position, please do tell them about us as we may be able to help with teacher training.
The 'digital age' has been a buzzword for many years now, if not for decades, and is usually spoken about in other contexts. But how has the creation and growing dependence on the internet impacted young people and, in particular, how they view relationships and sex?
The answer is that digitalization was and is probably one of the most profound turning points for relationships and sex education (RSE) - and failing to keep up with this pace of change means that educators and caregivers could lose a generation.
We are so grateful to all of you who donated this year! Coupled with emergency funding due to COVID19 and some generous grants, acet UK has been able to reach even more young people in this academic year than we did last year, despite the challenges of lockdown and school closures!
We may not have been able to deliver many RSE sessions in schools, but our Esteem training has been very busy!
Our team have worked hard to make ALL our training available online so, despite not being able to run in-person training, we have trained 77 new educators in RSE during lockdown - including youth workers, NHS staff, therapists and secondary school teachers.