Creating a safe learning environment

Group agreements and dealing with questions

PSHE and SRE offer opportunities to explore feelings and deal with emotional content, therefore safety is key to good SRE.

The negotiation and setting of a group agreement creates a positive and safe climate so that children and young people are able to discuss relevant issues appropriately and feel valued and respected by teachers and peers. Teachers will also be less anxious about unexpected questions or comments. The use of a group agreement, particularly in SRE, promotes good practice and should include agreements about acceptable and unacceptable language and behaviour, equalities and inclusiveness, the right to personal privacy and appropriate confidentiality.

Children and young people will want to ask questions and teachers may prepare for this by using a ‘question box’ and other techniques to allow for delaying responses until there has been time for further reflection or consultation.

Teachers also need to be prepared for dealing with unexpected or inappropriate questions that may be too personal, too difficult to answer or outside the teacher’s expertise, too explicit or inappropriate for the whole class or may raise issues about the risk of child abuse.

Answering questions should be identified as a key training need. It is important that teachers do not air their own opinions or prejudices when teaching and answering questions about issues such as contraception or abortion. Links should be made with the school’s science and religious education curriculum and responses should be in line with the SRE policy.