Regardless of your children’s educational journey, whether they have ever attended school or not, and what their future plans are, all will need to learn basic fundamental knowledge and skills to keep them safe, healthy and contributing in a positive way to relationships and society as they develop into adulthood. All parents have a responsibility to ensure their children grow up with the information they need to make informed choices as they increasingly interact with the world.

In schools, there has recently had a drive to update the statutory duty regarding teaching what is now referred to as Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE).  As well as the basics such as puberty, reproduction, healthy eating, drugs and alcohol, that used to be the focus, this has expanded to cover the ever increasing and changing risks in society.  This is especially with regards to the internet, consent, sharing images and more emphasis on healthy vs unhealthy relationships as well as some of the more controversial issues such as gender and identity. This is to reflect the real life situations that our children are likely to encounter that we ourselves might never have while of school age.

While it could be assumed, with this comprehensive curriculum, that those who attend school can rely on them to teach these topics, it is rare that the home environment will not include some of these issues naturally arising during everyday life.  Most parents expect that a large part of their parental role will involve engaging with their child’s personal development alongside any school based learning they access.  With home education, the same applies, often with more opportunity and flexibility.  But it is important that you know what is involved in taking full responsibility for making sure you facilitate learning with all areas of  this vast and varied topic. And are therefore providing an education that is suitable for your child.

When it comes to home education, this is one area that parents very positively report being relieved to have more freedom over how their child approaches this learning.  Most embrace the opportunities for effective, robust learning that transfers to their child’s behaviour when actually making choices and experiencing new situations as they grow older.  And they enjoy that home education provides many opportunities to naturally encounter the topics that an important part of any child’s development and understanding of themselves and their place in the world around them, rather than the formal classroom approach.  There may be no need for them to be formally taught any of these issues.  Indeed, many of us will recall with horror the lessons we had in school that were embarrassing and bore no resemblance to the actual situations we faced or went any deeper than we already knew.

We might feel rightly confident that we have created and nurtured a safe and open space for effective communication as and when issues arise.  With no embarrassment there is little they might ask that you don’t know or haven’t experienced and so will be confident in answering if needed. You may be aware of your child’s preferred learning styles and are able to present answers through whatever medium is most effective.

But while you might not want to follow any sort of curriculum or do any formal learning in this area, the new guidelines do reflect many of the more recent issues that all of our children will need to know if they are to be safe in an ever changing society. And because many of these are outside of our own experience, or might challenge our own values, we might actually find ourselves feeling less confident about how we respond to teaching our children some of the safety issues or new laws that are being introduced, for example regarding social media or equity laws.  More than teaching basic biological or health related facts, there are many more nuances that might be outside of your experience or that you are not yet aware of how they might impact on your family.

 So how do you ensure that you are equipping your children to be safe in an environment you might not be familiar with yourself?  Who, and what, can you trust, if you decide that you would like some support, a framework or just more knowledge in this area?

The good news is that, whatever your needs, there is an abundance of information, resources and materials that is easily available and accessible.  For example, the government website can be a good place to start if you just want to have a quick look at the topics that schools are required to cover.  This can help you to get a rough idea of any that you feel you will need to make more of a conscious effort to introduce. Likewise, any internet search for the curriculum that is covered will soon do the same.

If you are looking for help, either directly through planned curriculums or indirectly through suggestions and inspiration or resources, you should quickly find that suggestions and ideas are available in whatever format would suit you. For example, the internet is full of ideas for how you can naturally raise various topics, maybe through a particular TV programme, news story or celebrity scandal, their latest favourite pop band or someone they know. Some resources will tangibly cement facts and knowledge for understanding, while others just raise the idea and let you think it over and maybe discuss or explore it further at a later stage.

It might be that this is enough to reassure you that all areas are or will be covered naturally and that this suits your values and philosophy.  Or it might be that you think maybe now is the time  to start to gently introduce opportunities for discussion around certain areas with increased confidence that you are giving accurate and useful information.

Once you have the confidence and information that you need, you might still face barriers that might require a different approach.  For example, a child might simply not feel able to engage in one to one discussions, or at least not for any length of time or depth.  They might not retain verbal information or might be able to learn all the facts but not apply this to their behaviour. You might need to present information in a different format. It might actually be traumatic for some to explore certain issues that might be emotive or difficult to manage. Or they might fail to see the relevance of what you are saying.  Their level of maturity might be such that they cannot grasp the nuances of some of the more complex topics being taught. Or you might find yourself being caught out by something naturally needing to be addressed before you ever thought it would be an issue. Again, it is considered a big positive of home education that there is more opportunity for these barriers to be identified and removed and for it to be child led and relevant.

Whatever your views on the curriculum and its relevance to the education you provide, there is no doubt that all parents benefit from having a good knowledge of the current issues that will affect their children as they mature.  And equally that they have the confidence to know that any information they are passing on is relevant, up to date and in the context of any laws.  This way children not only acquire the knowledge, but also the skills to research and debate these issues as they incorporate them into their own value system.  The volume of information available, and the flexibility available with home education, should only benefit children.