Life to the Full is a scheme of work in Relationships and Health Education for Catholic primary schools and is approved by Catholic dioceses throughout England and Wales. L Please see information below. 

Life to the Full is intended to be a partnership between home, school and church. We know that Catholic schools already do fantastic partnership work with parents and their local Church, so this programme is intended to fit in with and support those partnerships.

Knowing that the English and Welsh government have statutory requirements for Relationships, Sex and Health Education (schools in England) and Relationships and Sexuality Education (schools in Wales), but that faith schools are able to teach RSHE/RSE in line with their faith’s beliefs can sometimes feel a bit confusing and overwhelming, especially when schools want to communicate clearly with parents.

What is covered by statutory RSHE/RSE and what does this mean in terms of what schools can and should teach, and what right do parents have to withdraw their children from lessons?

Schools in England

In primary schools, the subject is entitled ‘Relationships and Health Education’. There is no compulsory mention of the word ‘sex’ in the subject for primary schools. This means that ‘sex education’ is an optional subject. In secondary schools, the subject is entitled ‘Relationships, Sex and Health Education’. Here, ‘sex education’ is a compulsory element of the statutory curriculum.

What does the Catholic Church say about engaging parents?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church perfectly sums up the core principle that the Church gives us with regard to engaging parents when teaching their children about RSHE:

Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children.

CCC 2223

The Catholic Church further expands on this by saying that God has given each family its own specific and unique mission, and that the role of the school is to complement the educational responsibilities that have been bestowed upon parents.

According to the Congregation for Catholic Education in Rome:

‘Catholic tradition teaches that God has bestowed on the family its own specific and unique educational mission… The educational task of the family and that of the school complement one another in many concrete areas.’

So, parents are the first educators of their children. It is their right and responsibility to inform and educate their children in matters relating to human growth and development, particularly sexual development. Therefore, schools should always seek to work in partnership with parents and carers. The teaching offered by schools should complement and not replace their primary role. In doing so, we are fulfilling the mission of the Church and enacting the Home-Parish-School triangle: supporting the Church in its duty to educate on these matters, and assisting parents in their duties.

How does Ten Ten Resources enable schools to support parents?

As part of Life to the Full, we have created an Online Parent Portal. This section of our website is available to all parents whose child’s school uses Life to the Full. The Online Parent Portal provides a summary of each lesson, links to specific content and suggestions for further engagement at home. Every school is given a unique username and password which they can distribute to parents to provide all-year-round access to the portal.