PSHE

RHE Information for Parents & Carers – Please click on the link to read the RHE Information for Parents & Carers

Vision:

Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) is centred around the school’s vision of encouraging children to flourish to achieve their potential. We want to provide opportunities through PSHE for children to learn about themselves and how they can achieve well and become the best that they can be. We promote the development of social skills so the children can be understanding and respectful of others. We teach children about what it means to be a confident citizen and a member of a diverse society and we discuss cultural issues that are a part of growing up. In PSHE the children learn about their own mental health and wellbeing to develop strategies that they can then use in the future to support their resilience through life. Relationships & Health Education (RHE) is an important aspect of PSHE and is taught through a sensitive framework so children can learn and explore key themes throughout their time in school.

Intent:

We aim to provide opportunities for each child to develop their personal and social skills. Through learning about their mental health and wellbeing we aim for children to develop positive behaviours which will see them achieve well. Research carried out by Public Health England highlighted how promoting health and wellbeing in schools has the potential to improve children’s educational outcomes and their health and wellbeing outcomes.

The aims of PSHE education at our school are to:

Give pupils the knowledge and develop the self-esteem, confidence and self-awareness to make informed choices and decisions;
Encourage and support the development of social skills and social awareness;
Enable pupils to make sense of their own personal and social experiences;
Promote responsible attitudes towards the maintenance of good physical and mental health, supported by a safe and healthy lifestyle;
Enable effective interpersonal relationships and develop a caring attitude towards others;
Encourage a caring attitude towards and responsibility for the environment;
Help our pupils understand and manage their feelings, build resilience and be independent, curious problem solvers;
Understand how society works and the laws, rights and responsibilities involved.

The aims of RHE at our school are to:

Provide a framework in which sensitive discussions can take place;
Prepare pupils for puberty, and give them an understanding of development and the importance of health and hygiene;
Help pupils develop feelings of self-respect, confidence and empathy;
Create a positive culture around issues of relationships
Teach pupils the correct vocabulary to describe themselves and their bodies.

Implementation:

We follow a whole school approach to PSHE through the resource SCARF, which is provided by Coram Life Education. SCARF stands for Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience and Friendship. SCARF provides a systematic spiral curriculum. Each Year group follows six recurring suggested half termly units with teachers adapting the scheme of work where necessary. The six recurring themes units include:

Me and My Relationships
Valuing Difference
Keeping Myself Safe
Rights and Responsibilities
Being My Best
Growing and Changing

Lessons are taught by the class teacher, within a safe learning environment so that children feel comfortable to learn about a wide range of topics. The SCARF lesson plans list the specific learning objectives for each lesson and provide support for how to teach the lessons. There is planned progression across the SCARF scheme of work, so that children are increasingly and appropriately challenged as they move up through the school. We have selected SCARF as our approach to PSHE and RHE as it ensures in-depth coverage of important topics in an engaging way.

Impact:

Our children are encouraged to engage in activities that promote an understanding of themselves as growing and changing individuals, and as members of a wider community. Activities also encourage pupils to understand how their choices and behaviours can affect others, their own health and wellbeing and their environment.

My name is Nicole and I am the PSHE Ambassador.

I think it is important that everyone gets involved and feels safe around school. In PSHE, we learn important skills like how to work as a team, how to look after our wellbeing, and how to make good choices. I help my classmates by reminding them to be kind, to include others, and to talk to an adult if they are worried about something.

I also share ideas with teachers about how we can make our school an even better place.

Being a PSHE Ambassador is important to me because I want everyone to feel valued and know they belong.

Watch what our student ambassadors say about PSHE at Pickhurst.

Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Relationships & Health Education (RHE) are separate areas of the curriculum; however they have many overlapping areas and are therefore managed by one person at Pickhurst Academy.

Children at Pickhurst Academy are also encouraged to develop their social awareness through a variety of charity days throughout the year. These occur at least once every half term and vary from local/school charities to international help and are always well supported.