PSHE and RSE

At Abacus our aim for PSHE and RSE has always been to make sure that all of our pupils, regardless of their vulnerabilities have access to the best curriculum that helps them to deal with whatever challenges they encounter in a robust and positive manner, whilst knowing that their voices will always be heard. With the right teaching approach, our pupils will develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. These skills and attributes will help them to stay healthy, safe and prepare them for life and work in the outside real world. We strive to provide our pupils with age appropriate information, explore attitudes and values and develop skills in order to empower them to make positive decisions about their health-related behaviour. This should take place with consideration of the qualities of relationships within families.

 

“As soon as children become curious about the world, they should be able to turn to the adults around them who feel equipped to respond in a positive and confident manner, with the facts, so that we normalise experiences of healthy relationships (including those with friends and family) both off and online, from an early age. To do otherwise is to risk keeping children ignorant of the facts, instead relying on potentially unreliable sources of information from friends or online.” Harriet Gill, Managing Director of Education & Wellbeing at Coram Life Education (CLE)

 

PSHE gives children knowledge, understanding, and skills and helps them explore and develop attitudes and values to live healthy, safe, fulfilled and responsible lives. It helps them manage feelings, learn about how to be healthy and safe and understand about relationships. It covers physical health, emotional health and well being, drug education (including medicines, alcohol, tobacco, volatile substances and illegal drugs), sex and relationships education, citizenship, anti-bullying, safety (including online safety and anti-bullying), personal finance education, careers and the environment.

 

Citizenship education provides ‘knowledge, skills and understanding’ to ‘play a full and active part in society’, helping children:

• explore and develop attitudes and values to become informed, active and responsible citizens
• develop political literacy and explore social and moral issues,
• distinguish right from wrong and to make a positive contribution to their local, national and global communities.

 

It covers rights and respect for rights, democracy, pupil participation in school life, the rule of law, respecting difference and local and global communities and how to prevent prejudice and discrimination.

Our PSHE and Citizenship programme is based on the 3 themes from the Camden Scheme of Work: Health and Wellbeing; Living in the Wider World; Relationships. We want pupils to gain knowledge and information, explore attitudes and values and develop skills to help them live healthy, safe, fulfilling and responsible lives.

 

Our curriculum has been planned in a way that allows the child to relate to their own experiences. There are lots of opportunities to allow the child to see the world through an inclusive lens, where they can learn about different cultures, genders, people and families of different sexual orientations. RSE is taught as explicit lessons through the PSHE and science curriculums but is also embedded in other areas of the curriculum and day-to-day life of the school. 

Our scheme of work is based on the Camden Scheme of work, which we have adapted to reflect the needs of children at the school. It covers key topics that are explored at different levels as relevant to different years. PSHE and Citizenship is taught through a range of planned opportunities across the curriculum, a weekly lessons and weekly Circle Time sessions. 

 

PSHE is also covered by other subjects. For example healthy lifestyles and nutrition in PE, DT Cooking and Science; aspects related to relationships, families and different faiths and beliefs in RE; financial capability in Maths; Citizenship work about different communities and looking after the environment in Geography; E-safety and relationships online in Computing.

All class teachers teach PSHE and Citizenship and where relevant, outside visitors support and enhance the curriculum, such as parents/carers, school nurses, police, fire service, health professionals and theatre in education. All teachers have a good understanding of the new revised curriculum. Staff follow our tailor-made whole school scheme to plan their lessons. This is based on the Camden scheme of work whilst ensuring the statutory RSE curriculum is taught in the Summer Term.

Please click on the attachments below to explore the PSHE and RSE overviews for each year group.

Assessment

PSHE and RSE assessment is gathered from pupil voice and discussions within sessions. Teachers use this information to support children's learning and adapting where necessary to address current events. Key questioning and evidence of learning is celebrated in PSHE floor books which covers children's learning in PSHE, additional circle time lessons and specific RSE lessons.

THRIVE-ing in PSHE

"PSHE helps us to learn our values." - Year 2 pupil.

"Teachers ask us good questions and everyone gets to share their ideas." - Year 2 pupil.

"In PSHE we recap what we learnt in the last lesson." - Year 4 pupil

"In PSHE we learn to use money wisely." - Year 5 pupil.

"In class, we can add to the worry box or chat to our teacher to get support." - Year 6 pupil.

Children in reception investigate PSHE and RSE through the prime area 'personal, social and emotional development'.

Through focus groups, circle times and free-play activities in the learning environment, children are taught to create relationships with others, looking after their own personal hygiene (washing hands, zipping coats etc) and how to keep healthy. Children are supported in developing their own self-worth and how to express their own feelings as well as empathy for others. Children are taught how to stay safe online, when using the roads, if they are lost and personal boundaries using the NSPCCs 'Pants Rule'. Children are encouraged to speak up and explain and are taught who to speak with if they are worried or something does not feel right to them.

Children are also visited by the school nurse in Reception so please look out for communication from the nurse in the Autumn term.