CSE Learner Guide GRADE 7
Since 2000, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has been offering HIV prevention and Sexuality Education (SE) through the Life Orientation (LO) curriculum, HIV and AIDS Life Skills Education Programme and co-curriculum activities. However, the high rates of learner pregnancy and HIV infection indicate that there has been no change in the behaviour of learners and many educators feel uncomfortable teaching sexuality education.
In 2011, the DBE initiated a process to strengthen its SE programme. One of the key steps was a review of the LO curriculum against International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (ITGSE); an evidence-informed approach for schools, teachers and health educators (ITGSE, 2009) from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), as well as a meta-analysis of characteristics of effective sexuality education programmes internationally.
The DBE has developed Scripted Lessons Plans (SLPs) for Grades 4 to 12 through a collaborative and consultative process, including a writing team of curriculum and sexuality education experts, as well as a review team from the DBE and provincial structures.
SLPs are designed to assist educators to teach SE within the CAPS Life Skills and Life Orientation curricula in the classroom. This will be complemented by appropriate Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) and teacher training and development programmes to facilitate optimum teaching and learning.
An educator’s guide is intended to assist educators with the provision of content, effective teaching methods and tools for measuring what learners have absorbed. This guide will ensure that engagement with learners on SE is age-appropriate and relevant to each grade.
The DBE strongly advocates abstinence among young people. As the first defense against teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, learners are encouraged to delay engaging in sexual activities. In addition, the Basic Education Sector is committed towards contributing to the prevention and management of HIV, sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs), and Tuberculosis (TB) by ensuring that learners, educators, officials and parents are informed and equipped to decrease risky sexual behaviour and gender-based violence (GBV) among young people.
The DBE is grateful to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for providing the financial support that made the development of this guide and the related SLPs possible.
