Appendix 2 - Elements of Sexual Health AND Relationship Education

The aim of the training and information about sexuality and personal relationships should be to help people with learning disabilities to develop the self and social awareness needed to make personal relationships with others, and an appropriate awareness of sexuality.

Not all individuals will have the ability to understand all the areas listed and training, or one to one support, will have to be tailored to meet the individual’s needs.

Training and information giving should be available to service users on a one-to- one basis, in mixed groups and in single sex groups.

Gloucestershire County Council and 2gether will source appropriate training for staff and services users, internally and externally to their organisations.

Training could include any or all of the following elements according to the needs of an individual.

GROUPWORK

• Establishing rules and boundaries
• Forming a group
• Awareness of self in relation to others/self esteem

SOCIAL SKILLS

• Family, friends and relationships
• Societal and cultural attitudes
• Marriage and responsibilities to partners
• Professional relationships and boundaries
• Consent

BODY AWARENESS AND BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT SEX

• Our bodies and how they work
• Puberty
• Reproduction and sexual intercourse
• Personal hygiene
• Masturbation, ejaculation
• Menstruation
• Pregnancy; Conception; needs of a baby; reality of parenthood
• Same sex relationships

PERSONAL HEALTH AND CONTRACEPTIVE ADVICE

• How to access a range of services within Family Planning Services and within Primary Care, for example, family doctor and practice nurse
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Conception and Condoms
• HIV and AIDS

APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR

• Public and private places
• Time and place
• Body language
• Private and public behaviour
• Difference between child and adult behaviour
• Understanding our emotions
• Appropriate/inappropriate expression of feelings and emotions
• Use of sexually explicit materials
• Right and responsibilities

ASSERTION: PROTECTION AGAINST ABUSE

• How to make choices
• How to say ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ assertively, and how to insist it is acted upon
• Rights and responsibilities of increased independence
• Good touch and bad touch
• Protective behaviours
• Identifying abuse if it happens and reporting it

THE LAW

• Responsibilities of the individual, workers and parents

AWARENESS OF MEDIA INFLUENCE

• Issues around possible devaluation and exploitation of people through pornography and stereotyping

LIFESTYLE CHOICES

• Monogamy
• Marriage
• Celibacy
• Multiple partners
• Choice of partner
• Spirituality and religious beliefs