Talking about any Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) topic can cause a level of worry or anxiety for parents and carers. The information below can offer guidance on what RSE is and how to support your child as they learn more about Relationships and Sex Education.

Our RSE sessions cover a variety of topics, providing young people with information and the opportunity to explore in an age appropriate and safe way. We equip young people with knowledge, skills and resilience they need to make safer choices as they grow to adulthood – including learning how to recognise and manage risk, how to spot signs of healthy and unhealthy behaviours in relationships and how to find support services which can help them protect their sexual health.

A huge fear of young people not talking to parents is fear that parents will be disappointed, angry or upset. A parent’s reaction is really important.

• Try not to lecture your child – they will feel more comfortable continuing discussing these topics with you.
• Try to listen to them and be prepared for questions – its okay if you don’t know the answers!
• Praise your child for feeling like they can talk to you about this topic
• Reiterate that you are always there for advice and support

As a parent you are not expected to have all of the answers, but you can always support your child in accessing a sexual health service where they can have access to professional sexual health advice from doctors, nurses and health care advisers.