“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." Timothy 1:7
Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education is an area of the curriculum through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. It helps our children and young people to stay healthy and safe, while preparing them to make the most of life and work.
Most of PSHE education became statutory for all schools from September 2020 under the Children and Social Work Act 2017. This includes
Human Relationships Education at Key Stages 1 and 2 (HRE)
RSHE Policy 2022
At St Joseph's, we know that our children need guidance and support as children so that they can learn to build healthy, respectful relationships with everyone they meet as they move through life. Whether this be friendships, interactions with wider society, online interactions or loving relationships - our children are given opportunities to talk, question, discuss and learn about how to navigate human relationships, personal health, mental wellbeing, life choices, finances and their own uniqueness. Our intent is that our children will be prepared for all that life brings so that they have the strength, resilience, independence and confidence to be all that they can be.
At St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, PSHE is taught in three strands
CORE THEME 1: HEALTH AND WELLBEING – including work on healthy lifestyles, mental wellbeing, growing and changing and keeping safe.
CORE THEME 2: RELATIONSHIPS - including Statutory HRE taught through a scheme, approved by Liverpool Diocese called ‘A Journey in Love’ for Yrs R-6 which covers friendship, families and positive relationships, respect for self and others and bullying.
CORE THEME 3: LIVING IN THE WIDER WORLD – including work on shared responsibilities, communities, digital resilience, economic wellbeing, aspirations for work and careers
Have a look at how we teach our Core Themes across the whole school:
PSHE Whole School Overview
Adding to our bespoke PSHE curriculum, we work closely with carefully chosen partners to ensure that our children can grow into well-rounded citizens who have the power and confidence to change the world for the better! For example:
The DebtAware Foundation deliver lessons on money management to Years 5 & 6. This covers aspects such as credit and debit, wants and needs, debt and budgeting so that our children understand how to manage their finances.
My Happy Mind is a comprehensive mental health and well-being programme for schools, which has been funded by the NHS for trial in 400 primary schools. It has been proven to have huge benefits with an average 43% reduction in CAMHS referrals and 67% reduction in pupils requiring SENDCo support, which is why we applied for funding at the earliest opportunity! The focus is to create a culture of positive mental wellbeing using mindfulness and journalling to really focus on a positive sense of self for every individual in our school.
Kidsafe UK provides a comprehensive safeguarding programme. Delivered in an age-appropriate, child-centred way, it aims to help our children recognise and speak out about any situation which is having a negative impact on their mental health and emotional well-being.
City of Sanctuary builds a culture of hospitality for people seeking sanctuary in the UK. We were delighted to be awarded School of Sanctuary status in September 2021 in recognition of our ongoing commitment to engage with and celebrate the positive contribution of refugees and asylum seekers in our community.
Unicef Rights Respecting Schools provide bespoke resources to help teachers to talk to children of all ages about the big issues facing the world today, from the refugee crisis to climate change. Together young people and the school community learn about children’s rights, putting them into practice every day. The Award is not just about what children do but also, importantly, what adults do. In Rights Respecting Schools children’s rights are promoted and realised, adults and children work towards this goal together.
In addition, our Throne of Words is our unique way of allowing our children to meet and interview aspirational people from all walks of life. We want our children to see that our lives take us down many paths through our unique experiences and the choices we make. We want them to hear stories of adversity, persecution, joy, resilience and hardship so that they know that anything is possible and all can be overcome...
In teaching our children about British Values, we believe that they go hand-in-hand with the core Gospel Values and as such they are woven through all that we do in school. The following document shows how we teach British values to our children to improve their spiritual, moral, social, and cultural (SMSC) development.
The British Values underpin what it is to be a British citizen in what is a modern and diverse Britain, and promote moral and cultural understanding that celebrates the diversity of the UK.