Personal Social Health Education
PERSONAL SOCIAL HEALTH EDUCATION
Intent
At St John’s, we believe that every child is unique and valued by God. All we do is underpinned by our Christian values which are linked to the fruits of the spirit. We are a supportive community which seeks to nurture each individual child as they grow. Every member of our school community is encouraged to respect and value each other. Wherever possible we make close links between our values, worship, PSHE and RSE curriculum.
PSHE and RSE education are an important and necessary part of all pupils’ education. Through a planned programme of learning, we aim to provide our pupils with the knowledge, understanding and skills that they need in order to manage their lives both now and in the future. As part of a whole school approach, we aim to develop the attributes our pupils need to thrive as individuals, as part of a family and as a confident member of the wider community.
Our school is committed to serving its community and surrounding areas. We recognise the multicultural and multi faith nature of the United Kingdom, and those we serve. We also understand the vital role we have in ensuring that groups or individuals within the school are not subjected to intimidation or radicalization by those wishing to unduly, or illegally, influence them.
At St John’s, we embrace the British Values of: Democracy, The rule of law, Individual liberty, Mutual respect and Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. We want our children to learn to understand and respect our common humanity, diversity and differences so that they can go on to form the effective, fulfilling relationships that are an essential part of life and learning.
We undertake to follow the principles in the Church of England Charter for faith sensitive and inclusive relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education (RSHE).
We follow the Equalities Act 2010 www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
Implementation
We are members of the PSHE Association and use this and 1Decision to plan and deliver our PSHE curriculum to KS1 and KS2. https://pshe-association.org.uk/
1Decision uses interactive resources which encourage children to consider a range of real life scenarios. The resources focus on how children respond to and manage different influences and pressures. https://www.1decision.co.uk/
Through the PSHE Association and 1Decision, we cover all of the statutory content from the DfE statutory guidance on PSHE and RSE. This coverage is assured by a mapping document.
https://www.1decision.co.uk/images/1decision-mapping-document-rse-he-updated-2020-Version4.pdf
To make our curriculum bespoke and meet the needs of our pupils, we use additional programmes. These are:
Votes for Schools
Votes for schools provides weekly resources to prompt discussion on current issues. This supports the PSHE curriculum and covers Prevent, British Values and the SMSC Curriculum. Pupils vote and comment on a discussion topic. National results are collated on the Votes for Schools website. The three principles of Votes for Schools are:
- Be informed
- Be curious
- Be heard
NSPCC Speak Out Stay Safe KS2
This is a safeguarding programme which helps children understand:
- abuse in all its forms and how to recognise signs of abuse
- that abuse is never a child’s fault and that they have the right to be safe
- where to get help and the sources of help available to them, including our childline.
NSPCC PANTS and Pantasaurus KS1
The age appropriate resources which include the friendly pantasaurus dinosaur help children to understand that their body belongs to them and they should tell someone that they trust if anything makes them upset or worried.
Healthy Mind, Happy Me
This resource supports positive mental health and emotional well-being by understanding the role that a positive psychology approach can play. This is used for targeted group work and 1:1 intervention.
Impact
We want our children to develop self-awareness, positive self-esteem and confidence, enabling them to:
- Have a sense of purpose
- Value self and others
- Form healthy and positive relationships
- Make and act on informed decisions
- Communicate effectively
- Work with others
- Respond to challenge
- Be an active partner in their own learning
- Be active citizens within the local community
- Explore issues related to living in a democratic society
- Become healthy and fulfilled individuals
In a 2022 pupil survey, all pupils agreed or strongly agreed that they enjoy their PSHE lessons and learn a lot.
Pupils told us that activities within their PSHE lessons were interesting and they felt comfortable sharing their views.
“PSHE can be relatable and it teaches us the right path for a bright future.” Y5 pupil.
“The best thing about PSHE is how there can be different ways of answering a problem.”
“I likes the videos and I like the decisions.”
“I like choosing A or B in 1Decesion and I think I learn a lot in PSHE.”
In a staff survey at the same time, staff agreed or strongly agreed that they had a good understanding of how we teach PSHE and RSE. They felt confident to deliver all aspects of the PSHE and RSE programmes.
Staff recognised the importance of encouraging pupils to share their views and opinions and felt able to manage these discussions effectively.
PSHE in the Early Years:
PSHE sits within the areas of personal, social and emotional development and understanding of the world. In Early Years, our children learn to develop respectful communication and they are aware of the feelings and wishes of others.
IN EYFS, our curriculum and PSHE programme ‘SMILE’ helps children to build their confidence, resilience and self-esteem and to identify and manage risk. They develop the skills to make informed choices and understand what influences their decisions. It enables children to respect themselves, others and to celebrate diversity whilst managing their emotions and communicating effectively. Developing and understanding of themselves, empathy and the ability to collaborate with others helps children to form and maintain good relationships and better enjoy and manage their lives.
