Earlier this term, acet UK’s Kelly-Joy had the opportunity to participate in one of our 4 Day relationship and sex education (RSE) training courses. Here she shares her experience.
Although I’ve worked with young people, I haven’t had much experience in the area of delivering relationships and sex education so I was really excited about the opportunity to participate in our Esteem training course here in Chester.
1 in 8 children have a diagnosable mental health disorder – that’s roughly 3 children in every classroom - and only a quarter of them have contact with a mental health specialist.
Not all of these young people will have severe problems but sadly many will experience significant difficulties, and miss time from school and therefore any RSE they would have otherwise received.
One of the key benefits of accessing our accredited relationships and sex education (RSE) training course is that the training fee includes your first year’s membership in the Esteem network of RSE educators. Teachers who attend our 1-day teacher training course also have the option to join the network.
Members of the Esteem network are licenced to use our huge range of Esteem lesson plans and activities, and to access the members’ section of the acet UK website.
The Esteem network of independent educators and organisations across the UK (and beyond) are trained, equipped and supported by the acet UK team in their relationships and sex education delivery.
One of our longest running partnerships is with Blue Sky Trust.
Blue Sky Trust was set up in 1992 as a Christian response to HIV, supporting hundreds of men, women and children living with, and affected by HIV, in North East England and North Cumbria.
Public Health England published encouraging figures in September: new HIV diagnoses in the UK are at their lowest level since 2000 and, in 2018, 94% of UK people living with diagnosed HIV and on antiretroviral treatment had an undetectable viral load - so could not pass on HIV.
These figures are a testament to the quality of HIV care and treatment in the UK, but there are a number of challenges that risk the progress which has been made.
Sometimes we are asked how someone can start a career in relationships and sex education - and the truth is there is more than one route to working in the field.
Whatever route people end up taking into RSE, acet UK firmly believes that all young people deserve high quality - and accurate - relationships and sex education, from educators who have been specifically trained to cover the topic.
As well as requesting feedback from young people after every session, the Southwark Esteem team recently ran a focus group with Year 10 students, who have been receiving Esteem sessions each year since they started secondary school.
The results will help us understand the long-term impact of Esteem sessions on young people; identify what has worked well; and inform how we can develop our relationships and sex education programme in the future.
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Our parents' workshops are designed to equip parents and carers to talk with their families about relationships and sex confidently, in a positive and age appropriate way.
During the workshops, we: