Ground Rules

Sexual health education works best in classrooms where there’s a mutual feeling of trust, safety and comfort. Ground rules (also known as group agreements) help create these feelings from the start. Ground rules that work are:

• appropriate for your students’ age and developmental stage
• agreed upon by everyone
• well explained so that students are very clear about what’s expected
• posted clearly in your classroom
• referred to at the beginning and throughout the sexual health unit

Make your ground rules list with your class.

Ground rules work better when students are involved in creating the list. The list doesn’t have to be long. You can use 5 or 10 bullet points that are broad enough to cover the key messages you want students to remember. Some examples you can use as a guide are:

• no put downs
• respect each other
• no personal questions
• it’s okay to pass
• questions are welcome
• use scientific terms for body parts and activities 
• use inclusive language
• listen when others are speaking
• classroom discussions are confidential
• speak for yourself
• respect personal boundaries
• we will be sensitive to diversity, and be careful about making careless remarks
• it’s okay to have fun