PSHE at Stretham Community Primary School:

~~~~Intent~~~~

At Stretham Community Primary School, we think PSHE education is a key subject through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy, safe and prepared for life and work. Our curriculum is based upon the PSHE Association framework, and the Cambridgeshire PSHE Service’s Primary Personal Development Plan and meets the statutory guidance for SRE and Health Education. The subject is divided into 4 areas – Healthy and Safer Lifestyles; Myself and My Relationships; Citizenship and Economic Wellbeing. Where possible we teach the same area in the same term across the school; this means that in Years 1 to 6 we run a two-year rolling curriculum. Key vocabulary is built-on and developed throughout the pupils’ time in school. Teaching and learning are underpinned by our desire to be a mentally and physically nurturing school, which equips children now and for the future.

Our overall intent is that all pupils, regardless of background, gender, ethnic origin or additional needs,

• cultivate an understanding of their emotions and behaviours and develop a sense of empathy and respect for others

• are equipped with the skills to become healthy, independent and responsible members of their class, school and ultimately their village and wider community

• value themselves as individuals and grow in confidence, resilience and self-worth by playing a key role in contributing to school life and the wider community

Our aim is for children to develop an understanding of the ever-changing world in which we live, develop the skills necessary to take an active role in their community and manage their life effectively; we have an active School Council. We aim to encourage mutual respect, resilience, pride, independence and foster self-esteem in a welcoming and nurturing atmosphere.

ithin our teaching of PSHCE we also cover a range of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural teaching in order to prepare our children our children for life in Modern Britain. Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing is supported through the curriculum, staff training and special days, such as; kindness week. 

At Stretham, we use the Cambridgeshire scheme of work for all aspects of PSHC education. We will therefore be teaching lessons taken from this scheme for RSE. Our policy and scheme of work is reviewed by governors and staff.

Stretham Community Primary School's Progression and Vocabulary Map for PSHE

Relationships Sex Education at Stretham Community Primary School

What do children and young people think?

Children and young people want to talk to their parents/carers about sex and relationships, but that can be daunting for a parent/carer.

One group of 10-16-year-olds came up with these helpful pieces of advice for parents/carers:

• Take responsibility for talking to us. Don’t just wait for us to ask.
• If we ask you things, always tell the truth. Don’t put if off or say ‘I’ll tell you when you’re older’.
• Don’t be angry and try not to be embarrassed.
• Don’t save it all up for a one-off ‘birds and bees’ lecture. We’d rather you talked naturally, little and often.
• Wait until we’re at home and on our own together to avoid embarrassment.
• Make sure we know what you’re talking about and let us ask you questions.
• If we ask what a word means, ask us what we think the word means first.
• Don’t laugh at us or spread gossip about what we have been talking about.
• If you don’t know something, be honest and say that you don’t know.
• Give us books or leaflets, but talk to us too.
• Don’t expect school to tell us everything – we want to hear from our parents/carers as well.

For more information

If you’d like more information about PSHE or RSE or if you would like to withdraw your child from the Sex Education elements of these, please make an appointment with the school office.

To read the government guidance for Primary parents on RSE follow this link: Understanding Relationships and Health Education - a guide for primary school parents (publishing.service.gov.uk)

For some ideas on how you might want to answer your children’s questions go to www.bbc.com/teach/class-clips-video/pshe-ks2-the-big-talk/zn8f7nb

For information on talking about RSE to your children, try

www.fpa.org.uk/advice-parents-and-carers/how-start-talking-about-it

www.bigtalkeducation.co.uk/parents/how-to-talk-about-sex/

www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/healthy-sexual-behaviour-children-young-people/

For a short film to introduce importance of privacy and not taking or sharing sensitive images search for ‘NSPCC Share Aware’.

What have we been learning about in our PSHE sessions at Stretham this year?

Pupil Voice: