Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)

Intent

Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE), including Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), is central to our school’s values and ethos and underpins all aspects of school life. Our curriculum is designed to support children in becoming healthy, safe, independent and responsible individuals, equipped to manage the opportunities and challenges of an ever-changing world. Through PSHE, we help pupils develop a strong sense of self, empathy for others, and the skills needed to work collaboratively and build positive, respectful relationships. We promote equality, tolerance and respect for all.

We encourage pupils to develop their self-worth by contributing positively to school life and the wider community. Children are taught about their rights and responsibilities and gain an understanding of what it means to be an active and valued member of a diverse society. Our curriculum supports pupils in exploring the moral, social and cultural issues they may encounter as they grow up in modern Britain.

PSHE also plays a key role in supporting pupils’ physical and mental wellbeing. Children learn to recognise and manage their emotions, develop resilience and confidence, and understand the importance of maintaining both physical and mental health. As pupils progress through the school, they are given the knowledge and skills needed to support their transition to Middle School. We aim to inspire all pupils to believe in themselves, aspire to achieve their best, and develop ambitions for their future, with an understanding of the steps needed to reach their goals.

Implementation

We believe that nurturing a growth mindset helps children develop resilience, independence and confidence. It encourages them to embrace challenge, develop a lifelong love of learning and supports their overall wellbeing and happiness. This approach is embedded through our Rockcliffe Learning Super Powers and the consistent, purposeful language used in the classroom. We celebrate children’s soft skills and use positive, reflective language to help them adapt their thinking and persevere.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is taught through regular, timetabled lessons, planned using our whole-school PSHE and RSE curriculum, which followed the updated 2026 guidance. This is based on the PSHE Association Programme of Study and is organised around three key themes: Relationships, Health and Wellbeing, and Living in the Wider World. Our PSHE curriculum follows a spiral structure, with topics revisited in increasing depth as children progress through the school, ensuring content is age-appropriate and matched to pupils’ maturity. Lessons are adapted to meet the needs of individual classes and pupils and to respond to issues as they arise. Teaching approaches are varied and inclusive, creating a safe environment that encourages participation while developing critical thinking and relationship skills. 

PSHE learning is further supported through assemblies, themed days (such as Friendship Day and Children's Mental Health Week), educational visits, our Pupil Leadership team and visiting speakers. We work closely in partnership with parents, keeping them informed about what their children are learning and, where appropriate, signposting resources that can be used at home.

We promote safe, equal, caring and enjoyable relationships and discuss real-life issues in an age-appropriate way. These include friendships, families, consent and online safety. Pupils learn about their bodies using honest, medically accurate information and terminology, taught with sensitivity to their age and stage of development. There will also be lessons that are more centred around beach safety and metro safety due to our school’s locality. We aim for our lessons to be open and discussion based to allow children to think, respond and reflect.  We use Big Books to record the opinions, reflections and knowledge our children acquire through a unit. The children then use these books to refer back to, and reflect on, previous thoughts and learning.

Assessment 

We aim to ensure that children meet Age Related Expectations from our milestones and develop critical thinking to apply this to other areas of the curriculum. We aim to ensure that children meet Age Related Expectations from our milestones.  We assess pupils’ progress using an ongoing process of observation, listening and questioning, supplemented by discussions, written activities and quizzes, as appropriate. At the end of each year, summative assessments are. These are used in the following year in planning appropriate activities and adaptations which meet the needs of all pupils. 

Impact

We firmly believe that a meaningful PSHE curriculum is key to children becoming confident, tolerant and well-rounded adults. By the time our children leave Rockcliffe First School they will:

·         Be able to approach a range of real-life situations and apply their knowledge and attributes to help navigate themselves through modern life

·         Be on their way to becoming healthy, open-minded, respectful, socially and morally responsible, active members of society.

·         Be able to appreciate difference and diversity, recognise and apply the British Values of Democracy, Tolerance and Mutual respect

·         Be able to understand and manage their emotions and be able to look after their own mental health and wellbeing

·         Be able to develop positive, healthy relationships with their peers both now and in their future

·         Understand the physical aspects of RSE at an age-appropriate levels

·         Have respect for themselves and others