The Lifecentre Education Programme Aims:

According to the NSPCC, 20% of children under the age of 16 experience some form of sexual abuse ⁽¹⁾. In 2009 nearly a third of all reported serious sexual offences in West Sussex were committed on people aged between 14-17yrs.

These statistics are unsettling – they indicate that many of the students in our classes are battling with the ongoing effects of sexual abuse even as we try to teach them. Lifecentre workshops aim to raise awareness of issues surrounding unwanted sex and to provide links to services designed specifically to help Under 18s.

Beyond this, the pressure on our students is immense. They are encouraged to enter sexual relationships by the TV, magazines and each other; they share a common misconception that everyone is having sex and that there is something wrong with them if they are not. Young people are having sex simply because they think everyone else is doing it.

The Lifecentre Education Programme seeks to lift the lid on the pressure by busting the myths surrounding sex and young people, informing them of their legal rights within relationships and providing them with strategies to create and hold their personal boundaries. Lifecentre upholds the value of marriage and stable, loving and committed relationships and provides the opportunity for students to consider how to stay safe, both physically and emotionally, within those relationships.

Lifecentre Workshops are designed to meet the requirements of the PSHE curriculum and provide an age appropriate, engaging and interactive way of exploring a serious and challenging topic whilst giving students the opportunity to ask some difficult questions. Every workshop finishes with an introduction to the support that Lifecentre offers if the issues raised within the workshop have affected them.

To find out more about our Education Programme please contact our Education Co-ordinator by completing this online form:-

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⁽¹⁾ 1% of children aged under 16 experienced sexual abuse by a parent or carer and a further 3% by another relative during childhood. 11% of children experienced sexual abuse by people known but unrelated to them. 5% of children experienced sexual abuse by an adult stranger or someone they had just met.
Cawson et al. (2000) Child maltreatment in the United Kingdom: a study of the prevalence of child abuse and neglect . London: NSPCC. p.85 and 86.