RSE training

Teaching the hard topics

Training on the RSE topics and questions that need the most preparation, with practised wording for each.

Twilight: 90 minutes, £450
Half day: 3 hours, £650
Full day: 5.5 hours, £950
For: Teachers, pastoral staff and youth workers
Group size: Up to 20 per facilitator
Travel: At cost

Why this training

Some RSE questions need more than subject knowledge: a question about rape, a statement repeated from porn, a question that may be about the pupil’s own life. This session works through questions like these one at a time, using questions pupils have handed in anonymously.

For each one, staff work out what they’re trying to achieve, what they can answer, what needs correcting, and when a question becomes a safeguarding matter. The approach builds on our article Teaching the hard topics when you’re not a specialist, which starts by working out what kind of hard a topic is.

What staff will be able to do

Work out what makes a topic hard to teach, and prepare for that specifically.
Answer difficult questions accurately, without inviting disclosure.
Correct a harmful or false statement while keeping the pupil in the conversation.
Use distancing techniques for subjects close to pupils' lives.
Recognise when a question or comment is a safeguarding matter, and act on it.

What it covers

Real questions

Questions pupils have handed in anonymously, worked through one at a time.

What kind of hard

Whether the difficulty is knowledge, closeness to pupils' lives, the possibility of a disclosure or the dynamics of the group, and how to prepare for each.

Wording

Answers that are accurate and age-appropriate, practised during the session.

Safeguarding

When a question becomes a disclosure, what to say in the moment and what to do afterwards, aligned with KCSIE.

Choose a length

What each length covers below is a typical outline. Every session is planned with you, so the content is adjusted to fit your staff and your school. Prices are per session, for one school, with up to 20 staff per facilitator, plus travel at cost. Every member of staff receives a certificate of completion and keeps the resources from the day.

Typical twilight, 90 minutes, £450

The framework for working out what makes a topic hard, applied to a set of real pupil questions.

Typical half day, 3 hours, £650

Everything in the twilight, plus practising responses in small groups and the safeguarding route for disclosures.

Typical full day, 5.5 hours, £950

Everything in the half day, plus topics your staff choose, worked through in depth, and planning time for your own lessons.

Questions this training prepares staff for

Questions pupils handed us anonymously, on paper, in schools we have worked in. Printed as they were written. Every one is answered in full on Okay to Ask.

Questions about this session

Which topics does it cover?

Any of them. When you book, you can name the topics your staff want to work on. Without that, the session uses a spread of questions pupils have handed in, across consent, the law, porn and relationships.

Is it only for teachers?

No. It works for pastoral staff, form tutors, youth workers and anyone else who may be asked these questions.

How is this different from Teaching RSE with confidence?

Teaching RSE with confidence covers the foundations across every topic. This session goes further into the subjects and questions that need the most preparation.