Intent

At New Silksworth Academy, our priority is that each child experiences a loving, caring and stimulating environment in which they feel secure, and where they can develop academically and socially. We want all of our pupils to feel respected and to have a voice. We encourage and promote respect for everyone. At New Silksworth Academy, we believe that PSHCE is a way of finding out about, and developing, the many aspects required to become a well-rounded and knowledgeable individual who can contribute positively to society and their community. In New Silksworth Academy, our PSHCE/RSE curriculum ensures pupils are given appropriate learning opportunities so they develop the skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives, in order to become informed, active, responsible and engaged citizens within an increasingly changing world.

Implementation

At New Silksworth Academy, PSHCE/RSE follows a thematic curriculum designed in line with guidance from the DfE and the PSHE Association to ensure our children have access to a curriculum which progressively builds upon prior foundations to continually challenge our pupils and support them in deepening their understanding about the wider world around them and their place within it. Units are revisited across a pupil’s time at New Silksworth Academy to ensure retention of key skills and knowledge, and to ensure the development of learning allowing for the introduction of new topics and information at an age-appropriate time. Under the guidance issued by the DfE, from September 2020, Relationships Education at primary school is compulsory. We believe that, to be effective, RSE should always be taught within a broader PSHCE education programme. All pupils receive relationships education as per section 34 of the Children and Social work act 2017. Biological aspects of RSE are taught within the science curriculum and pupils received stand-alone sessions from a trained health professional around puberty.

There are three broad themes which are covered from our Early Years Foundation Stage through to Upper Key Stage 2. These are Relationships, Living in the Wider World and Health and Wellbeing. Within Relationships, pupils learn about families and friendships, safe relationships and respecting ourselves and others. In Living in the Wider World, pupils learn about belonging to a community, media literacy and digital resilience and money and work. During Health and Wellbeing units, pupils will focus on physical health and mental wellbeing, growing and changing and keeping safe. This can be seen more clearly in our PSHCE progression map. Staff are trained on the delivery of PSHCE/RSE as part of their induction and it is included in our continuing professional development calendar.

PSHCE is taught weekly on a discrete basis from Year 1 to Year 6 with learning being recorded in a range of ways. As class teachers deliver the curriculum, this allows for adaptations to be made so that all learners can access the curriculum in a way which is appropriate for their needs. As well as discrete lessons, PSHCE is embedded throughout our curriculum and environment through cross-curricular links, special events and celebrations, assemblies, displays around school and our work on British values, protected characteristics and rights respecting schools.

Parents and carers can access overviews of our PSHCE curriculum through our website and units of work to be covered are clearly communicated through our half-termly overviews. Parents and carers do not have the right to withdraw their child from health or relationships education. If parents or carers do have any concerns, they should contact the school in order to discuss these or to ask any questions.

Impact

The delivery of PSHCE/RSE is monitored by our PSHE Lead and SLT through: planning, scrutiny of work/book looks, learning walks and pupil discussions. Pupils’ development and progress in PSHCE/RSE is monitored using a range of assessment methods by class teachers as part of our internal assessment systems.