PSHE:          Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and citizenship, promotes

pupils’ personal social and emotional development, as well as their health and well-being.

“Intertwining social and emotional learning and academics advances the ability of our students to adapt to change with the essential skills to effectively manage new challenges.” Dr Karen Burke

Our vision

At Freshfield, we value Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) as it supports our children in their social and emotional development as well as promoting their health and well-being. We believe that in order for our children to thrive, they need a secure understanding of how to manage their feelings and relationships and how to face challenges in their lives.

Through our PSHE curriculum, our children build the knowledge and understanding that they need to be positive citizens and to play an effective role in their community. Our lessons give children an understanding of the rights and responsibilities that are part of being a good citizen, which enables them to play an active and healthy part in the life of our school, their community and the world.

We strive for our children to be informed, thoughtful and responsible individuals who are aware of their rights and responsibilities.

RSE:            Relationships & Sex Education (RSE).  At Freshfield, our goal is ‘to

provide pupils with the knowledge, understanding, attitudes, values and skills they need in order to reach their potential as individuals and within the community.

Our vision

From September 2020, the new curriculum for Sex and Relationships Education is compulsory in English schools, ‘to provide pupils with the knowledge, understanding, attitudes, values and skills they need in order to reach their potential as individuals and within the community’ and we want to teach our children at Freshfield these valuable skills. We understand the importance of the role that parents and carers play in teaching RSE and we will continue to have informative sessions with our community as a result. Content that is covered in our RSE lessons varies from physical and mental wellbeing to forming healthy relationships, being safe online, and being active, democratic citizens. Some of these are also taught through PE, computing and science.

At Freshfield, we teach our pupils content in an age appropriate and developmentally appropriate way, ‘with respect to the backgrounds and beliefs of pupils and parents while always with the aim of providing pupils with the knowledge they need’. This is why we are confident that when we have discussions with our pupils, we do so in a safe, respectful and clearly thought out manner, ensuring that our pupil’s safety and wellbeing is at the forefront of our minds.

How we plan for and teach PSHE & SRE

We follow the PSHE Association’s framework supplemented by ‘1Decision’ online PSHE material and The Christopher Winter Project (CWP) lesson plans and resources which provides an integrated whole school approach.  Each class has a PSHE/RSE unit each half term to explore these themes. This subject is taught mainly with various hands-on activities, discussions, debates and circle time.

Our PSHE/RSE curriculum is embedded in our whole-school ethos where we celebrate difference and values of respect, tolerance and equality.

At Freshfield we aim to provide experiences that will have maximum impact on learning through developing confidence, encouraging an active role and developing good, respectful relationships. Teaching methods are designed to encourage sharing ideas as part of a group and listening and respecting the views of others.

We implement the three core themes of the PSHE Association Programme of Study; Relationships, Living in the Wider World and Health and Wellbeing. These have been carefully designed as a context through which to develop the concepts, skills and attributes set out below. Although the specific content of PSHE education will constantly evolve as the world changes, these concepts are timeless.  It is not enough to simply teach children about the issues covered in the suggested subject content.  It is vital that children have the opportunity to explore their attitudes, values and beliefs about these issues and to develop the skills, language and strategies necessary to manage such issues should they encounter them.  When planning a scheme of work for PSHE education, we ensure there is a balance of these overarching concepts.

Christopher Winter Project Curriculum Overview for RSE:

Overarching concepts developed through the Programmes of Study:

• Identity (their personal qualities, attitudes, skills, attributes and achievements and what influences these; understanding and maintaining boundaries around their personal privacy, including online);
• Relationships (including different types and in different settings, including online);
• A healthy (including physically, emotionally and socially), balanced lifestyle (including within relationships, work-life, exercise and rest, spending and saving and lifestyle choices);
• Risk (identification, assessment and how to manage risk, rather than simply the avoidance of risk for self and others) and safety (including behaviour and strategies to employ in different settings, including online in an increasingly connected world;
• Diversity and equality (in all its forms, with due regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010);
• Rights (including the notion of universal human rights), responsibilities (including fairness and justice) and consent (in different contexts);
• Change (as something to be managed) and resilience (the skills, strategies and ‘inner resources’ we can draw on when faced with challenging change or circumstance);
• Power (how it is used and encountered in a variety of contexts including online; how it manifests through behaviours including bullying, persuasion, coercion and how it can be challenged or managed through negotiation and ‘win-win outcomes);
• Career (including enterprise, employability and economic understanding)

To supplement this learning further we have introduced Emotion Works, an education programme designed to help children learn emotional language, develop emotional understanding and manage their feelings and behaviours.  As well as forming part of our PSHE curriculum, it will also be used more widely to support the children to make connections across the curriculum, adding depth to our drama, art, reading and writing activities.

Further detail about Emotion Works at Freshfield including a Parent Guide can be found here.

How we evaluate learning in PSHE & RSE

The impact of our PSHE/RSE curriculum is evident in the confidence our children demonstrate when expressing their feelings and managing their friendships. Children at Freshfield learn use their voice to express their emotions and to use words to solve problems. We also see the impact of this learning in our children’s engagement with their community and their care for others. The choices our children make to keep themselves safe and healthy also reflect the impact of our PSHE curriculum.

Please click here for more information on about PSHE & RSE learning in each year group.

Please click here for vocabulary lists to support our PSHE learning.