Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education (PSHE)

PSHE Intent:

At St Mary’s C of E Primary School, we aim to provide pupils with the knowledge, understanding, attitudes, values and skills they need in order to reach their potential as individuals and within the school and wider community. As pupils move through the school the learning opportunities provided allow them to reflect on their own thoughts, feelings and actions in order to become more self-aware and reflective. Within our spiralling curriculum, the themes of Relationships, Living in the Wider World and Health & Wellbeing allows children to revisit themes, build upon prior learning and tackle subjects at a deeper level as they mature.

Our PSHE curriculum includes all areas of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) requirements. RSHE is about understanding the importance of family life, stable and loving relationships and respect for others, love and kindness. At St Mary’s we take care to ensure there is no stigmatism of any child based on their home circumstances and we do not use RSHE as a means of promoting any form of sexual orientation. Our teaching is underpinned by the message that we are all ‘made in God’s image’ and RSHE lessons focus on informing about the world around us. 

Our pupils learn to understand and respect our common humanity, diversity and differences, so that they can go on to form effective and fulfilling relationships that are an essential part of life and learning.

What are our aims for our pupils in PSHE?

  • To be happy, confident and enthusiastic young individuals who feel ready to transition into secondary school and ambitious about the next stage in their lives.
  • To leave us equipped with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe and to prepare them for their future.
  • To know how to keep themselves happy and motivated so that they are better able to engage in their learning across all subjects.
  • To know how to keep themselves and others safe and ensure they understand how to seek support when it is needed.
  • To understand what a healthy relationship is and to know the signs of an unhealthy relationship to enable them to build secure foundations with friendships. 

At St Mary’s, we use guidance and resources from the PSHE Association to build our programme of PSHE education.

The whole school overview below gives an outline of the learning covered within each year group across the three overall themes of Relationships, Living in the wider world, Health and Wellbeing

Please note: Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of the sex education delivered as part of RSHE. The school will inform parents when specific classes are timetables to receive sex education lessons and we would encourage parents to approach us for a discussion to gain clarity around what their child can/cannot be withdrawn from.

We lead an annual information meeting for parents about RSHE which all parents are invited to attend. Please see below for the most recent presentation and look out for future dates in the school diary.