Personal, Social and Health Education at CCCS
PSHE is one of the smallest subjects in terms of the amount of timetabled time but I would argue that it is one of the most important. PSHE is about how we relate to ourselves, to our families and school, and to the wider world. It has a timetabled lesson slot once a week from Form 1 to Form 8 and is always taught by the form teacher, so that he or she understands how the pupils are thinking and feeling and can continue to support them throughout their school life. (There is no need for a specific lesson in Nursery or Reception, as Personal, Social and Emotional Development runs through everything they do.)
PSHE can be quite a difficult subject to explain because it covers so many areas: relationships, health, online safety, finance, careers, sex education and much more. A lot of what we teach is defined by the government and, of course, we want to respond to what the pupils themselves are experiencing and feeling. Fundamentally, we have a topic map showing what will definitely be covered in each year, and teachers supplement that with discussions about things in the news, things which have happened on the playground, and anything else the pupils want to discuss.
The topics of our PSHE curriculum are:
- Michaelmas 1: Wellbeing and Healthy Relationships (including understanding and managing your emotions; mental health; having and maintaining good friendships; and anti-bullying)
- Michaelmas 2: Healthy Choices (including physical safety; healthy living; alcohol, smoking, vaping and drugs; and first aid, medicines and vaccines)
- Hilary 1: Digital Lives (covering a wide range of online safety topics including protecting personal data; when and what is safe to share; finding a balance between online and other activities; healthy relationships online; identifying what is real and what is fake; avoiding scams; echo chambers; misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories; and online wellbeing)
- Hilary 2: Aspiration and Money (including starting to think about what jobs they might like to do in the future, and financial management)
- Trinity 1: My Body and Me, and further Healthy Relationships (including the nature of caring families; challenging negative influences; having control over our bodies; how bodies change during puberty; and from Year 6, sex education)
- Trinity 2: Identity and Community (with a focus on understanding and valuing people who are different, and how we all come together to make communities locally and globally; pupils also learn about the Equality Act, British Values and challenging stereotypes and discrimination)
A large part of PSHE is Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE). The government often talks about this as though it were a separate subject, but its three strands fit into our broader PSHE. We teach about relationships and health throughout the school, with sex education starting in Year 6.
There is new statutory guidance about RSHE coming into force this year, so all schools are being asked to review their policies and lesson resources and to consult with parents, staff and governors before implementing the changes. You will be receiving a letter with our new draft RSHE policy this week. If you would like to make any comments, please let me know by the end of this half term.
Meanwhile, please ask your child what they have been learning in PSHE. They often think deeply about the topics we are covering, and the more families talk about all these issues, the easier it is for the children to grow up as confident, kind and healthy people.
Mrs Anna Fairhurst
Deputy Head (Academic)
