Sexuality Education (SEd) in schools is about enabling students to understand the physiological, social and emotional changes they experience as they mature, develop healthy and rewarding relationships including those with members of the opposite sex, and make wise, informed and responsible decisions on sexuality matters. SEd is premised on the importance of the family as the basic unit of society. This means encouraging healthy, heterosexual marriages and stable nuclear family units with extended family support. The teaching and learning of SEd is based on respect for the values and beliefs of the different ethnic and religious communities in Singapore on sexuality issues.

Sexuality Education focuses on the development of adolescents' values, and social and emotional competencies required to make responsible decisions regarding sexual behaviours and to build rewarding relationships based on love and respect, which are the foundation for strong families. It is also named Sexuality Education (rather than Sex Education) to emphasise the holistic approach which includes the emotional, social, intellectual and ethnical aspects, in addition to the physical aspect of sex.

The four key messages of Sexuality Education are:

Love and respect yourself as you love and respect others
Build positive relationships based on love and respect (which are the foundation for strong families)
Make responsible decisions for yourself, your family and society
Abstinence before marriage is the best protection against STIs/HIV and unintended pregnancies. Casual sex can harm and hurt you and your loved ones

The three goals of Sexuality Education are:

To help students make wise, responsible and informed decisions through the provision of accurate, current and age-appropriate knowledge on human sexuality and the consequences of sexual activity;
To help students know themselves and build healthy and rewarding relationships through the acquisition of social and emotional skills of self-awareness, management of their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, development of empathy for others, possession of effective communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills; and
To help students develop a moral compass, respect for themselves and for others as sexual beings, premised on the family as the basic unit of society, through the inculcation of positive mainstream values and attitudes about sexuality.

The key guiding principles of Sexuality Education are:

Home

Parents play the primary role in the sexuality education of their child. As such, they are responsible for the teaching and transmission of values on sex and sexuality. Recognising that parents have a key role in the sexuality education of their children, they can exercise their choice to opt their children out of the school's sexuality education programme.

School

The teaching of knowledge and skills is integrated with the teaching of values which reflect that of Singapore's mainstream society, to help students make wise, informed and responsible decisions on sexuality matters.
In accordance with our national values, Sexuality Education is premised on the family as the basic unit of society. This means encouraging healthy, heterosexual marriages and building stable nuclear family units with extended family support.
Only specially-selected teachers are trained to teach Sexuality Education. These teachers are selected because they:

Believe in the importance of sexuality education for students
Possess values that are aligned with MOE values in Sexuality Education
Are comfortable discussing sexuality issues; and
Have healthy rapport with students and possess good facilitation skills.

Community

In recognition of our multi-racial and multi-religious society, students and teachers will respect the different attitudes, values and beliefs regarding sexuality that these different communities may have; and
Relevant resources in the community that are in alignment with MOE Sexuality Education Framework and Implementation Guidelines may be brought in to supplement schools' sexuality education programmes where needed.

You may click here for more information on MOE Sexuality Education.

RGS' Sexuality Education Programme for 2022

The values and attitudes of our youth towards sexuality are increasingly shaped by their peers, exposure to the media, popular culture and the Internet. Adolescence is a complex stage in life as the adolescent attempts to find his/her own identity and often struggles with new social relationships. The period of middle adolescence (generally from 15-17 years old) can be a turbulent period for adolescents. The gap between physical and emotional/cognitive maturity may result in a tendency to act on impulse, experiment with various activities (including sexual activities), sometimes without understanding the unpleasant consequences that may arise from such experimentation. The need for peer acceptance can be overwhelmingly strong and hinder one’s ability to act responsibly. Given the pressures faced by the middle adolescent from within themselves and from peers, it is important to build a strong sense of self-worth, personal conviction and an understanding of the possible consequences of sexual behaviour.

Through the Sexuality Education lessons, secondary school students will have the opportunity to develop a positive self-esteem, develop their character and expand their understanding and repertoire of skills to deal with various issues related to sexuality, which are of prime concern at this age.

School Implementation

The MOE Sexuality Education Curriculum adopts a cross curricular approach. It is delivered through the school curriculum viz. Science and Citizenship Education (at Secondary level). The Sexuality Education lessons and the e-Teens Programme, which are complementary, are staple Sexuality Education Programmes conducted under the ambit of Character and Citizenship Education (CCE).

Implementation of Sexuality Education (SEd) Lessons and eTeens Programme

MOE Sexuality Education programmes, which comprise SEd lessons and eTeens is implemented as part of the CCE curriculum.

SEd lessons are for Year 1-4 students; eTeens is for Year 3

eTeens is implemented as a Mass Talk segment conducted by approved external providers
Only specially-selected MOE staff and MOE-SEd trained teachers are deployed to teach SEd lessons and the class-based lesson of the eTeens programme (Secondary)

At RGS, the following lessons from the Sexuality Education Programme will be taught in 2022:

Year 1 CCE 2022 Theme: Making Choices

Unit	Lesson(s)/Duration	Key Learning Objectives	Time Period
Respectful Relationships and Safety	1 (60 mins)	Steady or Not Recognise the importance of monitoring and managing our emotional reactions in helpful ways that are reflective of our values and principles Understand the importance of healthy and supportive relationships Recognise that there are different forms of love (e.g. familial, platonic, romantic love) Recognise the importance and understand what builds healthy and supportive relationships, both online and offline Understand what dating is, and recognise that the readiness and interest in dating vary among individuals	Term 3 Week 2
	2 (60 mins)	Being Aware, Being Safe Understand that physical and psychological abuse from others, especially those we know and trust, can have strong negative effects on a person’s self-concept Sexual grooming and abuse Setting boundaries Clarifying responses and values	Term 3 Week 3
	3 (60 mins)	More than Meets the Eye Understand and accept that as we work towards becoming our best self, there will be times when we make mistakes, and recognise the importance of exercising moral courage in facing up to consequences Recognise that there are moral and legal consequences of risky sexual behaviours, pornography access and acting irresponsibly or maliciously when online (e.g. spreading of online falsehoods, flouting copyright laws etc.)	Term 3 Week 5

Year 2 CCE 2022 Theme: Making Choices

Unit	Lesson(s)/Duration	Key Learning Objectives	Time Period
Respectful Relationships and Safety	1 (60 mins)	A Role for Everyone Know that one’s understanding of gender roles should not be limited by gender stereotypes Develop an appreciation of one’s own unique qualities and characteristics as a male or female Understand what sexual orientation entails	Term 3 Week 8
Respectful Relationships and Safety	2 (60 mins)	Online Safety Challenge Recognise one’s vulnerability to risky situations and the importance of exercising discretion to reduce risks and avoid negative consequences, both online and offline	Term 3 Week 9

Year 3 CCE 2022 Theme: Making Choices

Unit

Lesson(s)/Duration

Key Learning Objectives

Time Period

Respectful Relationships and Safety

1 (60 mins)

Love Yourself, Love Others

Understand what is respectful relationship
What it takes to keep relationships healthy

Term 3 Week 10 (TBC)

1 (60 mins)

When Respect Takes Centre Stage

Recognise the importance of being informed of social and moral issues of the day and the need to reflect on these issues, and weigh them against our own moral standpoints as we form our perspectives about them
Understand that we strengthen our character when we commit to sound values-based viewpoints (e.g. respect for life) and decisions, and speak and act in alignment with our beliefs

Term 4 Week 2

Year 4 CCE 2022 Theme: Making Choices

Unit	Lesson(s)/Duration	Key Learning Objectives	Time Period
Respectful Relationships and Safety	1 (60 mins)	Levelling the Ground Understand that the value of a person is not tied to one's gender and not conforming to gender stereotypes does not negate one's gender identity Understand what gender stereotypes comprise (e.g. notions of masculinity and femininity vary over time and space, and are shaped by societal expectations) Know that imposing gender stereotypes on oneself and other can limit one's experiences, cause harm to the self-esteem of oneself and other and should be avoided	Term 2 Week 4
	1 (60 mins)	When Love Hurts Know there are healthy ways of coping with broken relationships, and family and friends are important pillars of support Recognise emotions caused by traumatic situations (e.g. bullying, abuse and dating violence) and understand the physiological and psychological, social impact on victims Understand that we need more moral courage and wisdom to recognise and end relationships that are unhealthy and cause harm to our mental and emotional well-being Understand the importance of ensuring that non-verbal messages match with verbal ones, when communicating personal and emotional boundaries in a relationship	Term 3 Week 5
	1 (60 mins)	For Better or For Worse Know that long-term romantic relationships leading to marriage involve understanding oneself and others in the intellectual, emotional and social and moral dimensions Know that marriage entails a union between a man and a woman based on love, trust, commitment, and requires mutual effort Understand that conflicts are normal in any relationship, including marriage, and the way in which a couple handles conflict is critical to the success of their marriage	Term 3 Week 6

eTeens Programme

eTeens is a programme developed by Health Promotion Board, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education for Year 3 students, to provide them with accurate information on STIs, HIV and protection from a health perspective. eTeens is conducted in two segments – a mass talk segment and a classroom-based programme.

Students are taught skills such as decision-making, assertiveness and negotiation to say “no” to sex and negative peer pressure. They also learn that the impact of STIs/HIV extends beyond themselves and involves their family. Abstinence and upholding family values are the key messages. The desired outcome of the eTeens programme is that students are empowered to make wise, informed and sensible decisions.

At RGS, the eTeens programme will be implemented as follow in 2022:

Topics/Lessons	Programme Learning Objectives	Time Period
Mass Talk by HPB-appointed Vendor	Awareness of the different STIs and HIV/AIDS Modes of transmission Modes of protection, specifically on how the condom is used Consequences and impact of STIs/HIV	Term 3 Week 2
Classroom-based Lesson	Learn to negotiate their way out of a risky situation by applying skills of assertiveness and responsible decision-making	Term 3 Week 3

Information for Parents

Parents may opt their children out of the Sexuality Education lessons, eTeens and/or supplementary sexuality education programmes by MOE-approved external providers.
Parents who wish to opt their children out of the Sexuality Education lessons need to complete an opt-out form. This form will be sent to parents via the Parents Gateway at the start of the year. The completed form is to be submitted by 21 March 2022 (all levels).
Parents who wish to opt their children out of the eTeens programme need to complete an opt-out form. This form will be sent to parents via the Parents Gateway at the start of the year. Parents are to respond by 21 March 2022 (Year 3 and Year 4 only).
Parents can contact the school at rgss@moe.edu.sg or call 6737 1845 for discussion or to seek clarification about the school’s sexuality education programme.
Parents who wish to attend the school sexuality education programmes should contact the school to make the necessary arrangements.

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