Terrible video on puberty that school wanted to show

[Indecisivelurcher]

I'm a bit ragey so wanted to share! Went to a meeting at school this evening to show parents what the yr3 & yr4 kids will be covering in terms of pshe sex ed. They played us the most awful videos that they were going to show on puberty! They were all cartoons and American, words we don't use here etc. The boys one featured a boy with a bag over his head and a giant spot with waving arms and face, then a huge growth spurt that featured large balls dropping, set in a basket ball uniform and changing room. The girls one started with her waxing her arm, after which she pronouncing herself a real woman, she was shut into a house where her growth spurt caused her breasts to stick out the windows. Wtaf!!! I mean I guess they were going for humour, ho ho yes it's embarrassing but it happens to us all. But surely there's something less out dated, derogatory and more body positive out there!

Bump! Had anyone come across any good videos I could share with school?

This rings a bell I might've seen it on Youtube, can you link?
Which 3rd party provider is your school using for the PSHE S&R content?

The video sounds awful and off putting. There is so much crap targeted at our children. Shame the school can't see anything wrong with it. Anyway, why do they have to use a video?

If you can't influence what they show to your dc, speak to your dc about it and say how ridiculous it is and that it's only one way of representing it and that they went for exaggerated humour. Get them some decent books about puberty.

Annoyingly I cannot find it anywhere online. Maybe because it's a service school pays for. It's scarf by corum life education.

School have said if the parents collectively don't want the video shown then they won't show it. Unfortunately only about 10 parents were at the school meeting and only 2 from my dc's yr. So I plan on speaking to other parents and sending an email to the head. Be good if I could point them at any better vids!

Sounds terrible and actually quite scary! Why are girls shaving their arms? Or do you mean armpits?

No, the first 'scene' of the girls video is a cartoon girl waxing the top of her lower arm, complaining that it hurts, but now she's a woman!

So a video is telling girls that once puberty hits they need to start removing body hair? That is appallingly sexist and on that reason alone it should not be used.

I think as you cannot access the videos now, I would make a list of the things that you feel are inappropriate and why, eg the meassage about removing body hair, and then send it to the head.
Possibly send it to other parents and ask for another chance for parents to see the videos.

I used ot teach year 4 and we did sex ed. The old videos weren't greta, but they sound better than these!

What the hell 😂 her boobs burst out of the house? That’s not a part of puberty I remember! I’d probably have a chat to the school about it to be honest. It’s a time to be very careful with what you’re telling kids, not a time to tell them daft things that will stress them out.

also the vocab is worrying.

One of the reasons for teaching sex ed is so that children have correct language to talk about their bodies.
Having the language is essential when thinking about consent and about understanding abuse, and being able to talk about their bodies and how they work. Using American words instead of the actual words they will encounter in playground etc is not helpful.

When I was teaching there was always a group of kids, usually muslim girls, for whom this was the ONLY time they would get any information as it was not something talked about at home, and so it was key for them that they had good sex ed.

And the poor boys thinking they are going to get colossal balls - overnight!

Twinkl girls

Twinkl boys
y

I like these.

boys
y

Thanks for the vids! Interesting that they are aimed at year 5. The chat at school was for years 3 and 4.

when I used to teach this we touched this subject 3 times
year 1 - context = my family, brothers and sisters, where babies come from - my baby brother grew in mummy's tummy etc very simple
year 4 - context how the body works, so they were learning about digestive system, skeleton, etc and the reproductive system, so where babies come from but with the science, and some towards how the body changes and grows
year 6 - puberty, very much about how I am going to change in the coming years

Having taught this at year 4, only about half the class are ready for the full puberty talk, and some years evern fewer than that. I think most of them woudl have been uncomfortable with the videos you describe