St Michael's Primary, DA16

St Michael's C of E Primary School

'Loving learning, learning to love... A small school, part of God's big family.'

PSHE at St Michael's

 

PSHE PowerPoint Parents Consultation

PSHE and RSE Policy

 

 PSHE at St Michael’s

The National Curriculum states that Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is an important and necessary part of all pupils’ education. All schools should teach PSHE, in order to support pupils to gain the knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe, to help them achieve their academic potential and to equip the with skills they will need throughout later life.

 

Aims

The aim of PSHE education is to provide pupils with:

  • accurate and relevant knowledge
  • opportunities to turn that knowledge into personal understanding
  • opportunities to explore, clarify and if necessary challenge, their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities
  • the skills, language and strategies they need in order to live healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced lives

 

Intent

At St Michael’s, we want our children to learn the skills and knowledge that they need for their spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development. We believe this will prepare them for opportunities, responsibilities and experiences both now, and in later life.

Through our PSHE lessons, and the wider curriculum, we want children to develop aptitudes, such as teamwork, communication and resilience, which will help them to thrive in the modern world. We also believe it is important for our pupils to  know how to be safe and to understand and develop healthy relationships both now and in their future lives.

Implementation

  • As a school, we have implemented a scheme of work that is in line with the National Curriculum (SCARF). The PSHE scheme of work contains three core learning themes:

 Health and Wellbeing

 Relationships

 Living in the Wider World

 

  • Our teaching within each of these themes is designed to provide the children with excellent learning opportunities and experiences to support their wider development.
  • PSHE is taught as a discrete subject to ensure the national curriculum skills are delivered as fully as possible but it is also embedded throughout all subject areas. For example, looking at themes of friendship and kindness through our English reading and writing, and keeping ourselves safe online, in Computing.
  • We have introduced class PSHE books to allow us to record our learning; pupils have the opportunity to contribute to these regularly and can look through them to revisit previous learning.
  • We believe that PSHE should not just be confined to the classroom; it is important to ensure that the children have opportunities to gain ‘cultural capital’. This means that they should undertake a wide range of experiences and encounter a wide range of voices that provide them with a broader understanding of the world.
  • We celebrate events and undertake shared whole school projects, which build upon our PSHE lessons. For example, collectively marking key national events such as Children’s Mental Health Week, Black History Month and Internet Safety Day.
  • We have whole school assemblies where we collectively share and build upon the themes that we have been learning in PSHE.

Impact

  • Children will know more and remember more about PSHE and will develop skills and knowledge that will help them to achieve their potential by supporting their wellbeing.
  • Children will be able to tackle issues that affect their ability to learn and thrive, such as anxiety and unhealthy relationships.
  • Children will develop aptitudes, such as teamwork, communication and resilience that are crucial to navigating challenges and opportunities in the modern world.
  • Children will demonstrate a healthy outlook towards school – attendance will be at least in-line with national and behaviour will be good. The large majority of children will achieve age related expectations across the wider curriculum in addition to the core subjects.
  • Children will develop positive and healthy relationship with their peers both now and in the future.

 Our Statement for Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) 

Our School Vision is to - Ensure that every child feels valued and knows what it is to be part of a safe, nurturing Christian family, whilst also respecting their individual beliefs. Inspire a love of learning through a broad and balanced curriculum, encouraging every child to use their God given talents. Work in partnership with home, the church and the wider community, to increase the children’s knowledge and understanding of the world and the part they play in God’s big family.

 

A Definition of Personal, Health and Economic Education and Relationships, Sex and Health Education for Church Schools
As a Church of England school, we view Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) and Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (RHSE) as important and necessary parts of achieving our vision. PSHE is non statutory but at St Michael’s C of E Primary School we consider it an essential part of helping our pupils to grow and flourish. RSHE is a statutory requirement helps our pupils to navigate the changing world and live fulfilled lives. Both subjects are taught within the context of Christian beliefs about human dignity (e.g. Genesis 1:26-27) and the need to love your neighbour as you love yourself (e.g. Mark 12:30-31).

 

PSHE and RSHE are about the emotional, social and physical aspects of growing up, understanding more about ourselves and our relationships with others, dealing with change, keeping ourselves safe and healthy, and learning about sex and human sexuality. It is also about the spiritual and moral aspects of our relationships with ourselves, others and the world. Through PSHE and RSHE in church schools, pupils will have the chance to learn about how to ensure that they treat themselves and others, at all times and in all contexts, with dignity and respect.

 Through PSHE children learn about:
Themselves and their relationships
How to value difference and include others
Keeping themselves safe
Their rights and responsibilities in their communities and the wider world
Being their best
Growing and changing

 Through RSHE children learn about relationships, diversity, respect, healthy lifestyles, safety, the body and how it changes, reproduction and birth in a sensitive and age-appropriate way. This is aimed at building the foundation of skills and knowledge that will be developed further at a secondary level.

 Relationships Education is learning about how to:

  • be appreciative of existing relationships
  • to form new healthy relationships
  • to enjoy strong positive, non-exploitative, caring relationships online and in person.
    This will particularly reference family relationships including marriage, friendships and relationships with peers and adults.

 In this school any content that might be regarded as Sex Education: learning about human body parts, growth, puberty and reproduction will be taught primarily through the Science Curriculum. Parents do not have the right the excuse their children from this aspect of the curriculum. Additional aspects of puberty are taught as part of RSHE in years 4 and 5 and reproduction is also taught as part of RSHE in Year 6. We believe that our teaching of this is a partnership between the school and parents and there will be information and consultation with parents regarding the content of RSHE before it is taught. You will find further information about our intent for parent collaboration and how to provide feedback, in sections 7 and 8 of this policy.

At St Michael’s C of E Primary School, we will ensure that any sex education programme designed and implemented, is age appropriate and is tailored to the physical and emotional maturity of the pupils. Our key aim in providing PSHE and RSHE is to safeguard our pupils. Pupil will learn key knowledge and skills to help keep them safe and prepare them for adult life.