The CARE (Communicating and Re-Educating) Schools Programme

If you read any teen magazines or watch TV, you will find that it is the ‘norm’ to be sexually active.  As a consequence, in a class of 30 thirteen to fourteen year olds there is a whole range of sexual experience.  Research shows that the average age for losing virginity is getting younger and younger.  We believe that if pupils are better informed about the risks of sexual behaviour, they may delay this activity until a better time in their lives and reduce unwanted pregnancies and the incidence of STI’s (sexually transmitted infections).

The aim or our programme is not to give the ‘right’ answers but to make pupils think and to make a choice for themselves based on the evidence that we present.  This is shown in the form of a ‘life line’ activity, videos and a variety of acetates.  We have also developed a role-play activity showing the consequences of sex and STI’s.  We have been invited into the PSHE (Personal, Social, and Health Education) lessons of 5 schools and we teach an age range of 12-15 year olds.  In the autumn of 2004, we ran a schools training programme for 9 women whose hearts are still at the cutting edge of helping young people make wise choices about their sexual behaviour.  We now have a team of 16 and our vision is to reach as many schools and church groups as the size of our team will allow, sowing seeds of ‘wise choices’ to hundreds of young people across Gloucestershire!

Heather Kerks
Schools Co-ordinator