Curriculum Content – PSHE / RSE

PSHE / RSE

The acting subject leader for PSHE / RSE is Mrs Suzanne Binks

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education is a subject that goes beyond the academic and encompasses the whole child to develop responsible, respectful and active citizens. At St. Anne’s, we follow a spiral curriculum so that children can build upon and further develop previous knowledge and skills. Our education prepares children to use these skills and apply them in this ever- changing, fast- moving world. We draw upon the British Values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance. We provide a PSHE education as it contributes to the statutory duties, outlined in the Education Act 2002, to provide a balanced and broadly-based curriculum whilst adhering to the compulsory teaching of relationships and health education.

At St. Anne’s, we strive to do the best for all our pupils. We aim to ensure that our PSHE education is sensitive to the different needs of individuals, is inclusive and promotes equality. Our children receive an engaging and relevant education drawing upon the community and other opportunities to build richer experiences for our children. Teachers will explore age- related topics such as Relationships and Sex Education, Mental and Emotional Health, Keeping Safe, Healthy Lifestyles and Living in the Wider World engaging them in discussions and debates as well as reflecting on their own experiences. Our holistic approach to PSHE underpins everyday life and builds to a stronger future. Therefore, although is it taught discretely, it is also delivered through other subjects which will reinforce skills and knowledge gained through PSHE lessons.

Throughout their time at St. Anne’s, we hope to ensure children use these skills and knowledge and draw upon a broad, rich set of experiences, in order to achieve aspirational goals. Children will develop their own self-awareness and be able to self-regulate as well as problem solve and utilise resilience. Through the promotion of equality as well as the celebration of diversity, pupils will thrive together. They will develop their character and be able to make sensible and informed decisions later in life. We aim to contribute to developing responsible, respectful and active citizens who are able to keep healthy and safe.

Relationships and Sex Education

In 2020, the Government introduced a statutory requirement for Relationships and Sex Education (including health) to be taught in schools. RSE enables children to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to form and maintain healthy relationships, to respect others and to keep themselves safe and healthy. Equality and diversity are promoted. As part of RSE, children will learn about:

Families and people who care for us
Caring friendships
Respectful relationships
Online Relationships
Being safe

In Primary Schools there is no requirement for Sex Education though this is included in our curriculum. There are two lessons within the Year 6 programme of study which focus on conception, pregnancy and birth. Parents / Carers have the right to opt out of these lessons for their child if they wish. Parents / Carers should inform the school of their intent to opt out prior to the start of the summer term in Year 6. These are the only 2 lessons within the curriculum that Parents / Carers can opt out of

Our Curriculum

We have a combined curriculum for PSHE and RSE which meets the needs of our pupils and meets the statutory requirements for RSE provision.

A spiral curriculum is in place which means that all classes have the same unit titles but knowledge and skills are developed at an age-appropriate pace across the school. Prior learning is built upon year-on-year so that children have solid building blocks upon which they can face increasingly challenging learning and complex issues, have a deeper understanding of the curriculum content and be able to apply their knowledge in varying contexts.

The content of our curriculum can be found by accessing the long term plan which is available at the top of this page.

Pupil Wellbeing

Mental wellbeing is an important and normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health is. At school we teach the children that there is a normal range of emotions – happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, nervousness – and a scale of emotions that all humans experience in relation to different experiences and situations. As we mature, we become more able to manage these different emotions effectively.

Occasionally, children need additional support to maintain positive wellbeing. This may be due to circumstances in their life. Our staff are trained to notice changes in children’s behaviour and mood and will speak to parents if they have any concerns. If you have concerns about your child, please speak to us about it; there are a number of ways in which we can offer support:

The teacher may simply keep an eye on your child and check in with them regularly.
We can support children to make friends, provide a buddy or structured games at playtime.
We can include your child in a nurture group.
We can do ‘Draw and Talk’ social stories or comic strip conversations with your child to help them to work through or understand something that has happened.
We can provide scheduled ‘time to talk’ sessions with an adult.
We have introduced the Thrive Programme for the children with a trained in-house Thrive practitioner who can deliver appropriate bespoke programmes

If, following these school-based interventions, there are still concerns about the child’s wellbeing, more formal action can be taken. The two school SENDCOs may observe your child at work and play to see if any social, emotional or mental health intervention is needed. Alternatively, the safeguarding team can advise on any Early Help interventions that could support the whole family with different aspects of life.