PSHE:

At Medstead, PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) is at that heart of all we do. Our School Values of Hope, Trust, Courage and Resilience, underpin all our learning throughout school.

As a subject, PSHE aims to provide children with the knowledge and skills to keep themselves happy, healthy and safe, as well as to prepare them for life and work. PSHE gives children the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy and independent lives.

Since September 2020, it has been a statutory requirement for primary schools to provide the Relationships Education and Health Education aspects of PSHE education. This content makes up the majority of the PSHE teaching and learning.

RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health Education) is taught within the personal, social, health and economic education curriculum. Biological aspects of RSHE are taught within the science curriculum, and other aspects are included in religious education (RE).

The three core elements of PSHE taught in primary schools are:

• Relationships
• Health and Wellbeing
• Living in the Wider World

We have developed the RSHE curriculum in consultation with parents, pupils and staff, taking into account the age, needs and feelings of pupils. If pupils ask questions outside the scope of this policy, teachers will respond in an appropriate manner, so they are fully informed and do not seek answers online.

Relationships education focuses on teaching the fundamental building blocks and characteristics of positive relationships including:

• Families and people who care for me.
• Caring friendships.
• Respectful relationships.
• Online relationships.
• Being safe.

These areas of learning are delivered within the context of family life, taking care to ensure that there is no stigmatisation of children based on their home circumstances. The term ‘families’  includes single parent families, LGBT parents, families headed by grandparents, adoptive parents, foster parents/carers amongst other structures. Lessons are planned to sensitively reflect that some children may have a different structure of support around them (for example: looked after children or young carers).

Primary sex education will focus on:

• Preparing boys and girls for the changes that adolescence brings.
• How a baby is conceived and born.

Pupils will receive stand-alone sex education sessions, delivered by appropriate staff who are known to the children.

We use a variety of resources for sex education, and these are with parents before any input. We allow children to ask questions confidentially and share anything relevant with parents.

British Values: