PSHE

Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education and Relationships and sex education (RSE)

At Moordown St John's, we aspire for all pupils to ‘be the best me’ through a broad and balanced curriculum, which provides rich learning opportunities to develop subject knowledge alongside fundamental skills. We believe that a comprehensive and effective PSHE (Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education) and RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) curriculum is essential in equipping our children with the knowledge, skills, and understanding necessary to navigate the challenges and opportunities of their lives. By providing a strong foundation in PSHE and RSE, we aim to empower our students to become their blossoming best version of themselves, promoting their emotional well-being, resilience, and positive relationships.

Intent: What we expect children to learn

Our intent is to deliver a comprehensive PSHE and RSE curriculum that supports the holistic development of all pupils across the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Key Stage 1 (KS1), and Key Stage 2 (KS2). We recognize that the developmental needs and capabilities of pupils vary at different stages, and thus our curriculum is tailored to be age-appropriate, progressive, and responsive to their changing needs.

In the EYFS, our primary focus is on nurturing pupils' personal, social, and emotional development. We provide a nurturing environment that promotes positive relationships, self-confidence, and emotional resilience.

As pupils progress into KS1, our curriculum expands to encompass a wider range of topics and themes. We introduce pupils to concepts such as healthy lifestyles, relationships, and diversity. We aim to develop their understanding of personal well-being, including physical health, emotional well-being, and mental health.

In KS2, we build upon the foundations established in earlier stages, addressing more complex issues and challenges that pupils may encounter as they transition into adolescence. Our curriculum covers topics such as consent, personal identity, financial literacy, and the importance of making responsible choices.

Implementation: How we teach the subject

To achieve our intent, we adopt the PSHE Association Thematic Approach to planning our PSHE and RSE curriculum, ensuring that it is engaging, relevant, and age-appropriate for all pupils. This thematic approach to primary PSHE education, covers all three core themes of the Programme of Study (Health and Wellbeing; Relationships; and Living in the Wider World) over the school year, with three topics per half term. This approach allows different year groups to work on similar themes at the same time, building a spiral programme year on year, whilst offering flexibility in terms of medium term planning.

We utilize the SCARF (Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship) programme as a framework to guide our teaching. In addition to the SCARF program, we supplement our curriculum with a range of high-quality resources, including interactive materials and guest speakers. We strive to create an engaging and interactive learning environment, incorporating a variety of teaching strategies such as class discussions, role-playing, case studies, and multimedia resources. These approaches ensure that pupils actively participate in their learning, encouraging critical thinking, self-reflection, and empathy.

PSHE is afforded a high priority in our school and it promotes opportunities to link British Values and Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural (SMSC) responsibilities. Along with our broad and balanced curriculum, there are overlaps with other subjects, for example Computing (E-safety), Science (recycling, healthy bodies), PE (leading healthy active lives). Therefore, flexibility in the timetable needs to be accounted for as objectives for PSHE education will be met outside of the allocated timetable slot.

Flexibility in the timetable is also important to allow us to respond to local/national/global events that may occur and allow us to respond to any such event in an age-appropriate way. Curriculum coverage complements key campaigns throughout the year, such as Anti-Bulling Week, Safer Internet Day and Mental Health Week.

We foster strong home-school partnerships, ensuring that pupils receive consistent messages and support regarding their personal, social, and emotional development.

Impact: How we evaluate the knowledge and skills they have learnt

Regular monitoring and assessment of pupil progress enables us to evaluate the impact of our PSHE and RSE curriculum. Through ongoing reflection and feedback, we ensure that pupils are acquiring the knowledge, skills, and understanding outlined in our Blossoming Best Curriculum. We celebrate and recognise the achievements of our pupils, both academically and in their personal growth, fostering a positive and inclusive school culture that values their well-being and development.

Moreover, our PSHE and RSE curriculum have a wider impact on the school community, contributing to the promotion of a positive school culture and the well-being of our staff and pupils. By equipping our pupils with essential life skills, knowledge, and attitudes, we empower them to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally, enabling them to lead fulfilling and purposeful lives both now and in the future.

Progression Map: