About
Before we introduce ourselves, we’d like to explain our motivation. Our primary interest is not to tell you what to think or to convince you of some ideology or to believe what we believe. Instead, it is very simple: what can we, as safe adults, say in a classroom or a conversation with young people that will make them think and, most importantly, come back to us and ask for help, if and when they need it?
Far too often, the messages young people received from safe adults, while well intentioned, actually create distance and barriers that prevent young people talking to the adults in their lives about their worries, questions or experiences. They can feel afraid that they will be in trouble or will be judged and shamed.
We are interested in making it easier to have challenging conversations with the young people you work with and ultimately, in bridging the gap between what safe adults can offer and what young people need.
Everything on this website is based on our research and experience of working with and talking to young people. That is what we want this site to be – a hub where you can come for evidence-informed advice, best practice and the latest research in RSE. We have over 20 years’ experience in facilitating challenging conversations with children, young people and the adults who support them both at home and school. This site is a place where you can make the most of that expertise.
Projects
Podcasts
Blogs
Opening doors…
Teachers today are under unprecedented pressure. Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is increasingly tasked with addressing a vast array of issues—from consent to online harms, the impact of social media and pornography, along with controversies over gender identity to managing young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. When most teachers only signed up to teach Maths or Geography!?! Nevertheless, as discourses around sex, relationships and identity evolve, the question of what it means to be ‘healthy’ for young people is more complex than ever.
Yet, in the face of this complexity, many educators are handed prescriptive guidance focused on facts and learning objectives, leaving them wondering: How do I actually engage students in these conversations? Too often, RSE focuses on transferring facts, leaving educators feeling unprepared to tackle the complexities of real-world sex and relationships.
It is OK to feel out of your depth. We are in a strange situation where adults are expected to talk to today’s children and equip them with all of the information, they need to navigate an ever-changing – and increasingly digitally-mediated – world of sex and relationships and help them to go on to have happy, safe, mutual and respectful relationships and sexual encounters. That is a tall order, especially when most of us never received quality RSE ourselves. It is difficult to impart wisdom and facts when we are still trying to work things out for ourselves and may struggle to manage our own relationships and emotions. Communication in relationships is hard, and you do not need to pretend you have all the answers. In fact, we would argue that this is in itself, an important lesson to teach young people – it is OK not to know… when it comes to sex and relationships, things are rarely black and white. Indeed, some of the most rewarding and important conversations happen when we make space for the grey areas.
At the heart of our work is the concept of safe uncertainty— learning to be comfortable in, or with, ‘the grey’. We have developed a dynamic, facilitative approach that empowers educators to navigate the nuances of RSE without the need to feel like you have all the answers. This isn’t about delivering rigid facts or what the law states in black and white – it’s about creating space for open conversations, equipping teachers with the confidence and skills to hold uncertainty and to enable meaningful – and sometimes challenging – conversations.
To find out more about safe uncertainty and its application to RSE, check out our quick explainer guide below:
Team
Dr Emily Setty
Welcome! I’m Dr. Emily Setty, an Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Surrey. My research focuses on young people’s intimat and sexual relationships, sexual consent, online harms and peer-on-peer sexual abuse. I’m particularly passionate about exploring how education can help young people to practice and develop critical thinking and reflection, enabling them to navigate the complexities of sex and relationships.
The ’Reimagining RSE’ project is a reflection of my commitment to developing evidence-based practice and policy for RSE. It’s designed to support educators in creating engaging, reflective and impactful approaches to RSE that move beyond simply conveying information to inspiring genuine critical reflection and dialogue with and among young people.
I believe that education must engage with the conditions of healthy and positive relationships with young people, going beyond a deficit-model of risk and harm avoidance. The research I’ve done with young people suggests that they cannot just be told about what constitutes healthy and positive relationships and what they are and are not allowed to ‘think’ or ‘do’. Instead, they must actively participate in identifying what ‘healthy’ and ‘positive’ mean and the socio-emotional skills, literacy and outlooks they need to live and act as ethical, responsible citizens in their relationships and peer cultures, both online and offline.
For more about my research and academic work, visit my University of Surrey profile.
Jonny Hunt
I have always had a particular passion for youth participation, and much of my work is specifically focused on ensuring young people have a voice in the policy and practice that most affects them. This includes trying to bridge the gap between young people and the adults in their lives. If you are interested, you might enjoy my book Sex Ed’ for Grown-ups: how to talk to children and young people about sex and relationships.
In recent years, much of my work has focused on online harms; mobile phones; sharing nudes; pornography and sex media; and digital citizenship. I also have a particular focus on harmful sexualised behaviours and cultures which is how I came to be working with Emily. The Reimagining RSE project is the culmination of our work in an effort to bring you all along for the ride. We know there are so many educators out there who are desperate to have impactful conversations with young people, offering the support and answers they deserve.
This project, and all the underlying research on which the project is based, have been subject to institutional research ethics and governance policies and review. We hold enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates, relevant for working in schools and with young people.
