Aveton Gifford Primary School

PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) Policy

(including Relationships and Health Education and our position on Sex Education)

Context and Vision All schools must provide a curriculum that is broadly based, balanced and meets the needs of all pupils. Under section 78 of the Education Act 2002 and the Academies Act 2010, a PSHE curriculum: 

• Promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society.
• Prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. 

At Aveton CE Primary School we aim to create a happy, purposeful and supportive environment where children are enabled to become successful learners, develop their full potential and achieve the highest educational standards. Our school motto supports our children to do their best in order to Aspire, Flourish and Achieve in all aspects of their lives. Our whole-school vision statement reflects a passionate commitment to learning and recognition of the uniqueness of individual learners. It is driven by our desire to offer the best possible education for our pupils in partnership with parents, the Church and the local community. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE), Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) and all areas of Personal Development are central to the school’s ethos, supporting children in their development, and underpinning learning in the classroom, school, and in the wider community.

Our aim is that our PSHE/RSHE curriculum equips children with the knowledge, understanding, skills and strategies required to live confident, healthy, safe, responsible and fulfilled lives. It encourages them to be independent, and supports them in making positive choices and effective transitions in order to be confident and responsible citizens. A critical component of PSHE and RSHE education is providing opportunities for children to reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes, and explore the range of values and attitudes they encounter now and, in the future, which will help them to be good citizens. PSHE and RSHE are key components in all six of our curriculum drivers (see school website) and therefore we aim to have them included in all aspects of school life such as assemblies, playtimes and wider community. We embrace the many additional opportunities to explore this area of the curriculum outside of the discrete lessons that link with other areas of learning and school life.

A key area of importance at our school is to equip our children with the emotional literacy that will enable them to communicate their thoughts, emotions and feelings with confidence. There will be a focus on using vocabulary associated with subject knowledge and emotions, as well as creating a supportive and trusting environment for our children to express their thoughts and feelings freely through our oracy strategies.

We believe that it is important that we tailor these areas of the curriculum to our locality, context and wider society. This means that what we deliver is relevant to the lives of the children at Aveton Gifford and therefore impacts them as they move on to secondary school and beyond