PSHE

What is PSHE Education?

PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) education is a planned, developmental programme of learning designed to help students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. 

PSHE provides positive experiences for all pupils by promoting pupils' spritiual, moral, social and cultural development through planned and coherent opportunities in the curriculum and through interactions with teachers and other adults. PSHE deals with real life issues which affect children and young people, their families and their communities, and engages with the social and economic realities of their lives, experiences and attitudes. 

Why is PSHE education important to children and young people?

PSHE education equips children and young people with knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live healthy, safe, productive, fulfilled, capable and responsible lives. PSHE education encourages them to be enterprising and supports them in making effective transitions, positive learning and career choices and in managing their finances effectively.  It also enables children and young people to reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes, and explore the complex and sometimes conflicting range of values and attitudes they encounter now and in the future.

How is PSHE taught?

All pupils, Year 7 – Year 11, receive one 50 minutes PSHE lesson each week.  This is delivered by the child’s form tutor.  The PSHE programme is supported by a wide range of outside speakers such as local sixth form and FE colleges, Connexions, The Adolescent Health Nurse and many more.

What are the aims of PSHE?

Pupils will gain a well-informed understanding of the options and challenges facing them as they move through the school and on to the next stage of their education and training. Pupils will develop the skills and attitudes to enable them to participate fully and positively in democratic modern Britain.

What is taught?

Personal wellbeing draws together personal, social and health education, including sex education and the social and emotional aspects of learning.

This helps young people embrace change, feel positive about who they are and enjoy healthy, safe responsible and fulfilled lives. Through active learning opportunities pupils recognise and manage risk, take increasing responsibilities for themselves, their choices and behaviours and make positive contributions to their families, schools and communities.

As pupils learn to recognise, develop and communicate their qualities, skills and attitudes, they build knowledge, confidence and self-esteem and make the most of their abilities. As they explore the similarities and differences between people and discuss social and moral dilemmas, they learn to deal with challenges and accommodate diversity in all its forms. The world is full of complex and sometimes conflicting values. Personal wellbeing helps pupils explore this complexity and reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes. They identify and articulate feelings and emotions, learn to manage new or difficult situations positively and form and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of people. Personal wellbeing makes a major contribution to the promotion of personal development.

Pupils will learn how to maintain physical, mental and emotional health. Pupils will understand the consequences of teenage pregnancy and parent hood. Pupils will learn how to manage risks to health and stay safe (including online safety). Pupils will also learn how to make informed choices about health matters including drygs, alcohol and tobacco and maintaining a balancing diet. Pupils will learn how to response in an emergency.

Pupils will learn how to develop and maintain a variety of healthy relationships within a range of social and cultural contexts. Pupils will be taught how to respect equality and be a productive member of a diverse community.

Economic wellbeing draws together economic understanding, careers education, enterprise, financial capability and work-related learning. 

This aims to equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and attributes to make the most of changing opportunities in learning and work. Through their learning and experiences inside and outside school, pupils begin to understand the nature of the world of work, the diversity and function of business, and its contribution to national prosperity. They develop as questioning and informed consumers and learn to manage their money and finances effectively.

Education for economic wellbeing and financial capability improves motivation and progression by helping pupils see the relevance of what they learn in school to their future lives. It expands their horizons for action by challenging stereotyping, discrimination and other cultural and social barriers to choice. It helps pupils to aim high. Pupils build a positive and realistic view of their needs and capabilities so that they can make effective learning plans, decisions and transitions. They become aware of changing career opportunities and develop the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about which learning programmes to take.

Pupils learn to be enterprising. They develop the ability to handle uncertainty, respond positively to change, and create and implement new ideas and ways of doing things. They learn how to make and act on reasonable risk/reward assessments and develop a ‘can-do’ attitude and the drive to make ideas happen.

The programmes of study support the statutory requirements for careers education and sex education at key stages 3 and 4 and work-related learning at key stage 4.

They are used flexibly to ensure that the PSHE education programmes are appropriate to pupils’ abilities and backgrounds. They provide opportunities to address real life and topical issues and show pupils that they can make a difference to their own and others’ lives.