What is this toolkit/guidance?
This is an online toolkit intended to help design a new programme or review an existing programme on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). It brings together and distils evidence on effective CSE programmes and points to relevant resources to refer to for different stages of CSE programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. CSE is the globally used term, but countries use many different names for programmes, for example, life skills, relationship and sexuality education, family life education, HIV education, among others.
Who is it for?
This toolkit is for National Programme Officers at UNESCO Field Offices who are tasked with providing technical support for CSE programmes to ministries of education. It is also for staff of civil society organisations, local area governments or school authorities that want to design or review CSE programmes.
How to use this toolkit/guidance?
The toolkit provides information that would be useful for designing a national level CSE programme as well as local or school level CSE programmes. There are indications through the toolkit of what aspects are relevant only at a national level and what only at local or school level.
There are four main parts to the toolkit:
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Getting Started provides an overview understanding of CSE, why it is needed, what are the characteristics of effective CSE, the respective roles of the education and health sectors, barriers to implementation and UNESCO’s role in national CSE programmes.
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Programme Design, Management and Assessment gives detailed guidance on doing readiness assessments and analysis, curriculum review and adaptation, coordination and partnerships with complementary actions, monitoring and evaluating CSE programes, planning for sustainability and scale up, and how to document and communicate results from a CSE programme.
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Engaging the Community explains what community engagement involves, how to analyse stakeholders and power, and some practical issues on engaging different kinds of community members, i.e. school leaders, parents, faith leaders, the media, health service providers and young people.
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Training and Supporting CSE Teachers illustrates who should be teaching CSE, explains pre-service and in-service training, online professional development in CSE, outlines the challenges to teacher training, and how to do teacher assessments.