Intent

Our aim at Joseph Hood Primary School is to provide children with a Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum which:

• provides a framework in which sensitive discussions can take place and allows them to communicate effectively,
• helps pupils develop feelings of belonging, self-respect, confidence and empathy and
• creates a positive culture for understanding themselves and others.

 Our PSHE / RSHE curriculum is focused on the children of today. Today’s children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also challenges and risks. In this environment, children and young people need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way. The subject is put in place to coincide with the rest of the curriculum as well as being the key building blocks of healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships, in all contexts, including online. This will sit alongside the essential understanding of how to be healthy. 

 The spiritual, physical and emotional well-being element focuses on effective communication which supports our children to hear and see that they are valued and important. Our children should be enabled to express their feelings, beliefs, show empathy and be aware of their own physical and emotional well-being. 

 The progression model of the subject also focuses on knowledge, skills and understanding. Our children will become confident communicators who aspire to read widely, develop maths fluency, and are able to articulate their knowledge across a wide range of subjects. In an ever-changing world our children will understand and use digital platforms with sensitivity, intelligence and full awareness of technology’s power to enhance communication. 

 The curriculum also focuses on belonging: both local and global. Our children will learn that good communicators develop an appreciation of others; their needs, beliefs, values and cultures. This empowers them to challenge stereotypes, bias and discrimination. Our children therefore learn to understand the ways in which communication can be used to contribute positively to the local and wider community. Pupils need knowledge that will enable them to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships and to build their self-efficacy. Pupils can also put this knowledge into practice as they develop the capacity to make sound decisions when facing risks, challenges and complex contexts. 

Implementation

 All learning follows the progression map which allows the children to develop and deepen their previous learning, along with allowing teachers to understand what they have been taught previously. This will be scaffolded to support children to recall previous learning and make connections. Staff will model explicitly the subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the learning to allow them to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts.

 Planning and learning is supported by the PSHE association. Teachers use the pre and post unit assessments to gather a baseline of their students’ understanding as well as using it to inform any future teaching. It provides an opportunity to see the progress that has been achieved at the end of the unit. Teachers use these resources to plan and resource their lessons to best suit the needs of their class as well as following the progression map. The lessons are planned for, resourced and assessed just as any other lesson in the curriculum would be. 

 All PSHE lessons are taught by teachers. However, at Joseph Hood we understand the value and importance of visitors and specialists speaking and doing workshops about their specialist subject. 

 Assessment of both the students and the world they live in is ongoing which allows us to update and adapt our PSHE curriculum. Our students will be given a variety of experiences both in and out of the classroom where appropriate to create memorable learning opportunities and to further support and develop their understanding.

Impact

 At Joseph Hood pupils are confident to ask questions and voice their opinions.

They are able to recognise trusted adults and know who to talk to if they have concerns.

They can talk about what they have learnt using vocabulary specific to the subject and can refer to it when learning about other areas of the curriculum.

Children are able to recall their learning over time and can reflect back on how what they have learnt previously has developed.

Pupils are able to put their learning into practice both in and outside of school, allowing them to increase their independence and safety over time.