Fostering Healthy Relationships

International Women’s Day is celebrated at Brisbane Grammar School in March. The event highlights the role BGS boys can play in moving towards a gender-equal world through celebrating women’s achievements, raising awareness against bias and acting for equality.

BGS takes a whole-school and evidence-based approach to developing programs that support and encourage positive masculinity.

The Student Wellbeing curriculum explicitly addresses respectful relationships and sexuality education, including consent, through an age-appropriate program. Healthy sexual decisions are grounded in awareness about healthy relationships and good decision making.

Earlier this year, the School invited external expert, Dr Tessa Opie from inyourskin, to evaluate respectful relationships and sexuality education components of the Student Wellbeing curriculum. Her findings and recommendations ensures BGS wellbeing programs remain best practice.

The Student Wellbeing curriculum provides information on a range of relationship topics to enable boys to act with integrity and treat others with dignity and respect.

• Our younger students (Years 5 and 6) learn about good manners, managing emotions, respectful interactions with others and making good decisions.

• Year 7 students learn about the management of physical, emotional, and social challenges associated with puberty.

• In Year 8, concepts of identity and agency are introduced, and the boys are challenged to own choices and actions. There are carefully constructed lessons about sexual identity and sexual curiosity. There are also clearly articulated details around the risks associated with sexting, and the ways in which individuals’ actions can negatively affect others.

• In Year 9, the information becomes more focused on broadening boys’ understandings of manhood, and there is a heightened focus on relationship values, attitudes, and expectations. It is at this point that the issue of consent is plainly addressed, particularly in the context of substance use and parties.

• The Student Wellbeing curriculum revisits these topics in more detail in Years 10 to 12. Boys engage in lessons about alcohol, drugs, parties, healthy body image, and consent. Sexual health, pornography, healthy and unhealthy romantic relationships are also discussed.

At all year levels, the School engages expert presenters to provide age-appropriate information on gender and health-related issues.

• Dr Tessa Opie follows up classroom discussions with presentations on gender, sexuality and relationships, pornography, masculinity, consent and coercion, and sexual health and wellbeing.

• Paul Dillon (Years 10 to 12) focuses his presentations on alcohol and drug education and discusses issues associated with consent.

• Peer Power seminars address many aspects associated with respectful relationships, peer pressure, leading self, healthy manhood and pornography.

The BGS Gender Respect Project Group, formed in 2015, is another opportunity for young men to discuss gender issues and differences. This forum allows older students to lead their peers by modelling healthy and respectful behaviours.

Through the School’s committed partnership with parents and caregivers, together we can equip boys with the skills they need to assist them in developing healthy, respectful relationships now and into the future.

Image: The BGS Gender Respect Project Group, formed in 2015, provides an opportunity for young men to discuss gender issues and differences. The boys in this photo from 2017 participated in the Listen to Her campaign.