PSHE/RSE
'Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.'
Ryunosuke Satoro
'I love how everybody cares and respects everybody in this school' - Sylvie
*Please note that we are currently in the process of reviewing and updating our curriculum progression documents - finalised versions will appear soon.*
Intent
At Princes Risborough Primary School, we believe the personal, social, health and economic education of the children in our school is vital in providing the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future. PSHE (which includes Relationship and Sex Education) is at the heart of our school ethos and underpinned by our school values, whereby pupils develop the qualities and attributes to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. Our PSHE curriculum places a strong emphasis on the importance of emotional wellbeing and mental health and links closely with SMSC and British Values within the school.
We strive to provide a PSHE curriculum that delivers accurate, balanced and relevant knowledge. Children are given opportunities to explore, clarify and, if necessary, challenge, their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities on a range of topics. As a result, children develop positive personal attributes such as resilience, self-confidence, self-esteem and empathy. Children learn how to identify and manage risk, make informed choices and understand what influences their decisions, resolve conflict, manage their emotions and communicate positively in different contexts.
We provide our pupils with a secure understanding of diversity both within the school community and in the wider world. We strive to help our children value the positive impact they can have and the contributions they can make throughout their school journey and beyond in their future lives.
Implementation
Our curriculum takes a thematic approach to PSHE provision covering three core themes - Health and Wellbeing; Relationships; and Living in the Wider World - over the school year, with three topics per term. This approach allows different year groups to work on similar themes at the same time, building a spiral programme year on year. Teachers are expected to use the long-term overview and their year group progression document to carefully plan lessons with clear objectives and learning outcomes. Topic areas are adapted to meet planning requirements, pupils’ stage of development and needs and also to reflect the context of the school and local community.
Our PSHE curriculum builds on the statutory content already outlined in the national curriculum and in statutory guidance and includes Relationships Education and aspects of Health Education. These areas are taught alongside non-statutory content to form part of a broad, high quality PSHE provision, and include topics such as sex education and economic wellbeing.
We provide a broad and balanced curriculum for our pupils that also involves a comprehensive RSE (relationships and sex education) and Health scheme of work. RSE lessons are taught from EYFS up to Year 6 and follow the Christopher Winter Project (CWP) resource ‘Teaching SRE with Confidence in Primary Schools’. This programme reflects the recent developments in RSE and the Science National Curriculum and has been quality assured by the PSHE Association.
Discrete PSHE lessons are taught weekly for a minimum of 45 minutes – 1 hour. Children are given regular opportunities to reflect on and identify what they have learned and what they need to learn next. There may also be times that additional sessions occur due to an issue in a particular class or within the school or global community. Teachers gauge pupils’ progress and make informed improvements to their learning as and when required. Initial assessment activities for each new topic or series of lessons are also carried out. This gauges pupils’ starting point in terms of their existing knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs, and further informs teachers’ planning. An end assessment is also planned to demonstrates the progress pupils have made since the baseline activity. Assessment therefore is an integral part of the teaching and learning in PSHE lessons, as it is in all subjects.
Enrichment days/activities, such as Anti-bullying week, the NSPCC ‘Speak Out, Stay Safe’ programme and the Health Tech First Aid programme, are also incorporated in order to develop and extend the school’s PSHE provision.
Our PSHE curriculum also forms an important part of whole school and celebratory assemblies where children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural curiosity is stimulated, challenged and nurtured through the coverage of key events, including National and Global news events. PSHE is integral to the development of children’s values in order for them to become positive citizens in an ever-changing world.
Impact
All children at Princes Risborough Primary School will develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy, safe and prepared for life and work. They will understand what constitutes a healthy relationship and what it means to be a positive member of a diverse, multicultural society. The skills, language, strategies and understanding our children develop through PSHE education will help them to go on to live healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced lives.