RSE Day – Communication is key!

RSE Day is important in schools because it promotes the teaching of relationships and sex education (RSE) as a way to support the well-being and safety of children and young people. The day highlights the need for open conversations about healthy relationships and emotional well-being, helping pupils to make informed choices, increase their confidence, and stay safe.

On RSE day, the pupils at Underley Garden enjoyed many activities and discussions focussed on the theme of Communication.

Orchard school participated in a carousel of different activities related to RSE day, the first being emotions and communicating how people are feeling on emotions flashcards. Another activity was communicating things that made them feel comfortable and uncomfortable and also sorting different activities into whether they like/dislike. Everyone engaged for a limited time and moved on to the next activity well, embedding their exposure and engagement in communication on RSE focussed activities.  

Other classes began the day by learning about RSE day in assembly. Pupils and staff talked about the fact that this day is to help people talk openly about relationships. They then learned that this year’s theme is communication. They watched staff show different ways to communicate to prompt them to think about body language, gestures, signing, written communication and visual language. The young people talked about different types of relationships they might have, including friends, family and professional relationships. They then further explored romantic and online relationships. This then lead onto conversations about technology and how things like phones, iPads and laptops can be used for communication, as well as social media. Pupils then discussed that social media can be deceiving and that they should not believe everything they see. They finished up the discussion by talking about how they can be inclusive using visuals before emphasising the importance of consent, what it is and that it is ok to change your mind.

The assembly was interactive with one activity seeing the staff showcase the importance of communication. Firstly staff members were tasked with lining up in age order without talking to each other, showing how communication can occur without talking but is much harder. They then lined up in birthday month order but this time they could talk. This helped the pupils to recognise the importance of communicating and taking leadership within a team. They then managed this without staff support after prompts to talk to each other. They then continued the theme of communication with reverse Pictionary.

Other activities included the pupils taking it in turns to read a ‘text message’ how they would say it in different emotions. This highlighted to the pupils that written communication can be perceived differently to verbal communication. Other pupils learnt some sign language and demonstrated some facial expressions to show different emotions such as anger, happiness and excitement. They then created posters to put around the school explaining the importance of communication, why we communicate and different ways we can communicate. 

And another class then completed a communication game, passing a soft toy to each other and giving compliments to those within the circle to begin with. This then expanded to complimenting those people within our lives.  Pupils identified the importance of communication within friendships and relationships and recognised it allows others to know how you feel.

A great day enhancing communication to encourage open and honest conversations about sensitive topics, improving communication skills and fostering comfort in discussing relationships.