A Fertile Heart programme makes teaching the new RSHE curriculum across the whole school easy.
It includes teacher planning and support materials, and the structured lessons are interactive and fun.
The resources use of age-appropriate videos and animations as their focus. They help students relate to the subject, encouraging engagement and participation.
A Fertile Heart is a faith-inspired program designed to shape the future of young people. It does so through the delivery of relationships and sexual health education (RSHE).
The new RSHE curriculum is now mandatory in schools across the UK and further afield.
Therefore, when thinking about RSHE, dioceses, schools and parents need to ask the following questions…
A Fertile Heart is a direct response to these questions. We exist to provide faith-based RSHE to Catholic schools and ensure the quality of content aligns with Catholic teachings.
On this page, we’ll give you a rundown of what you can expect your child to learn when they engage with A Fertile Heart on a yearly basis. Simply scroll down and find a school year that is applicable to your child to discover which important topics we’ll cover with them.
If you want to view a sample lesson, just click on the link below the relevant year.
KS1 starts with the creation stories of Genesis. Then it moves to Jesus’ parables and the stories of Noah and Joseph. We introduce the children to God’s love, which led to their creation. We also talk about God’s desire to see them grow. This module invites them to cooperate in their growth and help others and the natural world do the same. Contemporary stories, songs, and other activities help the learning be interactive, which is fun.
Reception introduces children to many of the fundamentals of the faith, priming them for the introduction of God’s love and the notion that he desires to see them grow. Learning is interactive, with an emphasis on anecdotes and stories from the bible, including the feeding of the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21) and Noah’s Ark. This introduction acts as a beautiful foundation for the rest of our materials.
The “Hail Mary” forms the structure of the six modules in Year 1.
We’ve separated it into three parts. These parts help us receive God’s love so we can love ourselves, each other, and the whole human family. Self-love is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. It provides us with self-worth and self-confidence, making us feel positive.
We look at the story of Zacchaeus in this module. We follow his journey as he moves from hated tax collector to model citizen. Children can learn from his example because it shows that Jesus loves us even when we don’t do the things we should.
The “Our Father” helps children understand their journey from earth to heaven. Jesus, our Saviour, guides us on this journey.
He teaches us the importance of service, trust, cooperation, forgiveness, and avoiding pitfalls.
We illustrate it with the story of Jesus calming the storm, where the disciples learn all these lessons in one go.
Key Stage 2, for Years 3-6, is about the human person. It explains the importance of building and maintaining solid friendships and relationships. At this level, teaching shows students how to respect differences. They learn to appreciate these differences between people and their beliefs.
With a heavy focus on Jesus in John’s Gospel, Year 3 will give your child the opportunity to develop his or her understanding of who they are. We’ll consolidate the idea of God as Our Father, installing the key building blocks for this year and beyond. Year 3 also speaks to the idea that home, school and church are all places where we can grow together. Lessons highlight the essence of marriage between a man and a women, and the importance of being faithful to God, yourself and others.
In Year 4, Children will be encouraged to think more conceptually than in earlier years. This will bring fresh challenges to both students and teachers, but, with each module helping to form a deeper relationship with God, and with prayer sessions, children will truly begin to grasp their faith and their understanding of themselves. Later on in the year, Children will be introduced to Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation as well as Mass, the Sacraments and God’s life.
Marriage, family, freedom and tolerance are all key elements of Year 5. Children will explore the logical understanding of God’s existence. We’ll dive deeper into the importance of marriage, highlighting how it gives a home for children to grow. The notion of freedom will be explored too, and how it is explicitly linked to Christ. Discernment and Trust feature at the end of this year and, due to their weight, are split into two parts. Year 5 will bring clarity to children about the understanding of their impulses and influences.
With another rational look at God’s existence, Year 6 ties many of the topics from previous years together. The children will wrestle with more complex theories and thoughts on intellect, order and beauty, as well as returning to the idea of tolerance. We’ll look at how faith and science enrich our lives, and how the two certainly are not mutually exclusive. All of this provides an understanding of faith and reason that is vital to mature growth.
Personhood, marriage and family are essential topics. They make up a good part of the RSHE lesson material covered in Years 7-9. We introduce the topic of fertility into the syllabus at KS3. We also discuss both spiritual and physical relationships. This module shows how they align with the Christian faith. We navigate critical conversations about race, class, and sexual orientation. We also discuss how our schools can be safe places where all students can thrive.
What does it mean to be tolerant? People from different walks of life are living all over the world. So, we must teach our children to love and respect them regardless. In this module, we show why tolerance impacts the dignity of each person. Differences aside, tolerance of others is essential. We need it to move throughout life and develop our own personhood to better serve others.
What does it mean to be appropriately vulnerable? Does texting influence appropriate vulnerability? Does social media? Phones are portals to another world. Smartphones and apps are growing in popularity. Thus, it is more important than ever to teach morally correct behaviours. Our students must learn to conduct themselves both online and via text message. Social media is a part of our lives, but we must use it wisely.
Emotional experiences form the base of our desires. Yet, knowing which of these are objective and subjective is a different matter. We explore the two, look at other desires that may arise, and teach the students how to handle them appropriately. We show how reflecting on our desires helps us get in touch with and understand our deepest desires.
Previous modules have taught students to develop a strong sense of self. Key Stage 4 introduces faith-appropriate sexuality education. It approaches physical intimacy as a precious gift to create new life, more than an expression of love and affection. Years 10 and 11 also look at human life and love in modern-day society. It shows students how to support both with Christian beliefs.
Sexuality and our belief in God go hand in hand, and we explore what it means to be fertile in both senses of the word. So, we map out the things we are grateful for. We start with life itself and work out the other things God has given us. This module tells us that when we receive a gift, we show our gratitude best by using it well. This statement is particularly true about our own personhood and sexuality.
We have free will and the power to take decisions into our own hands. Knowing what is “right” plays a large part in this, and we voice our opinions clearly and decently. Our ability to think is central to being a person. Developing the process of thinking correctly is essential to growing as a person.
