Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is the school subject through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. PSHE education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society.

PSHE education is compulsory in independent schools, and the majority of the subject is now compulsory in all schools (including maintained, academies and free schools) since September 2020.

Relationships Education is now compulsory at key stages 1 and 2; Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is compulsory in key stages 3 and 4, and Health Education at from key stage 1 to 4. Statutory guidance outlines what schools must cover, but not all that should cover as part of broader PSHE provision that also includes economic wellbeing and careers education. PSHE education was already a requirement in independent schools.

The Department for Education (DfE) considers PSHE education ‘an important and necessary part of all pupils’ education and says that the ‘All schools should teach PSHE’. Section 2.5 of the national curriculum also states that all state schools ‘should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), drawing on good practice'.

Under section 78 of the Education Act 2002 and the Academies Act 2010, schools must provide a ‘balanced and broadly-based curriculum’ which promotes ‘the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life’. PSHE education makes a major contribution to schools fulfilling this duty.

Schools also have duties in relation to promoting pupil wellbeing and pupil safeguarding (Children Act 2004) and community cohesion (Education Act 2006).

Statutory guidance on Keeping Children Safe in Education states that ‘Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure that children are taught about safeguarding, including online safety. Schools should consider this as part of providing a broad and balanced curriculum’. PSHE education may therefore cover safeguarding issues such as child sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse, sharing of sexual images, the impact of online pornography on pupils, the dangers of extremism and radicalisation, forced marriage, honour-based violence and female genital mutilation.

The Equality Act 2010 places duties on schools to both address prejudice-based bullying and to help prevent it from happening, and in doing so to keep protected characteristic groups safe. PSHE education, with its focus on identity and equality, can help schools to fulfil this duty.

We use a recommended scheme of work devised from the PSHE Association Guidance for Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) This will be published on our website. We update our policies and send staff on revised training, subject leader days and briefings on the changes as needed. Resources used have also received PSHE Association accreditation.

Children and young people need regular opportunities to reflect on and identify what they have learned and what they need to learn next. Teachers also need to gauge pupils’ progress and make informed improvements to their learning if required.

PSHE education cannot however be assessed in the same way as most other subjects. It would be inappropriate for assessment in PSHE education to imply passing or failing for instance, as this might imply passing or failing ‘as a person’, given the subject’s personal nature. It is however, possible to recognise and evidence progress and attainment in PSHE education knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes.

All of our Pupils carry out an initial assessment using a ‘Landscape of the Mind’ Questionnaire. This gauges pupils’ starting point in terms of their personal attributes and attitudes, and informs teachers’ planning. An end assessment then demonstrates the progress pupils have made since the baseline activity. Ongoing assessments are also used within lessons and units of work to ensure that children acquire new knowledge.

Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) is part of a lifelong learning about physical, moral and emotional development. At St John’s, RSE is centred on personal safety, caring for others and building strong relationships. This is coupled with teaching students about the human body and its changes during puberty, including information about reproduction, control of fertility and sexual health, sexuality and sexual relationships. 

Effective relationship and sex education is essential if young people are to make responsible and well informed decisions about their lives. We aim to inform pupils, presenting relevant facts in an objective and balanced manner. St John’s C of E Middle Academy will help young people learn to respect themselves and others, enabling them to move with confidence through childhood and the beginning stages of adolescence, empowering them with the knowledge and confidence to prepare them for their journey to adulthood. 

St John’s C of E Middle School have worked in partnership with the other schools in the local area to produce a policy to support our implementation of the Department of Education's new statutory guidance on Relationships & Sex Education (RSE).

You can find a copy of this policy on our policies page or request a copy from the school office.

RSE Parent Consultation - This can be found through Parentmail under forms.

Relationships and Health Education (including puberty and menstruation) will be compulsory in all primary schools in England and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) will be compulsory in all secondary schools. This is in response to the growing risks children and young people may face through online activities and the need to support them to be safe and healthy, and manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way.

* Update - Due to COVID -19 an amendment was made to ensure that Schools needed to begin teaching from the new guidance commencing in the Summer Term 2021.

The aim of Relationship Education is to teach the fundamental building blocks and characteristics of positive relationships, with particular reference to friendships, family relationships, and relationships with other children and adults. This aim is to create opportunities to ensure children are taught about positive emotional and mental wellbeing and how friendships can impact on this. Children will also be taught, in an age appropriate way, to recognise and report different types of abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual. This will include focusing on boundaries and privacy so that children understand that they have rights over their own bodies and know how to seek advice when they suspect or know something is wrong. There will also be opportunities to teach children about boundaries with their peers, including when they are online, and ensuring they learn that where abuse takes place it is never the fault of the child who is abused.

The aim of RSE is to give young people the information needed to develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds, not just intimate relationships. Effective RSE does not encourage early sexual experimentation but teaches young people to understand human sexuality and respect themselves and others.  Knowledge about safer sex and sexual health remains important to ensure young people can make safe, informed and healthy choices as they progress to adult life. Pupils should also be given opportunities to understand how healthy relationships can benefit their own mental wellbeing and self-respect.

There should be opportunities for pupils to learn about the laws surrounding sex, sexuality, sexual health and gender identity which should be delivered in an age appropriate and inclusive way. The laws around a variety of other issues should be considered which include: marriage, consent, pornography, abortion, radicalisation and gangs.

There should also be opportunities to learn about grooming, sexual exploitation and domestic abuse which should include addressing coercive and controlling behaviour. The physical and emotional damage that can be caused by female genital mutilation (FGM) should also be addressed. Schools should continue to work closely with parents when planning and delivering RSE.

Although sex education is non-statutory in primary schools, we choose to teach some aspects of sex education within year 5 and 6 which go beyond the existing, compulsory national curriculum for science and we will continue to do so. Ahead of these lessons, we inform parents/carers of what we will cover and give you the opportunity to discuss this. These lessons are matched to the age and physical maturity of the pupils and you have the right to withdraw your child from these lessons.

Yes. In primary schools, parents and carers can withdraw their child from any of the sex education delivered, other than as part of the science curriculum. 

In secondary schools, parents and carers will have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of the sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE which, unless there are exceptional circumstances, should be granted up to three terms before their child turns 16. At this point, if the child themselves wishes to receive sex education, the school should make arrangements for this to happen in one of the three terms. Before granting any such request it would be good practice for the head teacher to discuss the request with parents and carers and, as appropriate, with the child to ensure that their wishes are understood and to clarify the nature and purpose of the curriculum. Schools will want to document this process to ensure a record is kept.  

For SEND pupils, the head teacher may want to take a pupil’s specific needs into account when making decisions about whether a pupil may be excused or whether adapted materials would be beneficial.

The head teacher will normally discuss with parents and carers the benefits of receiving this important education and any detrimental effects that withdrawal might have on the child. This could include any social and emotional effects of being excluded, as well as the likelihood of the child hearing their peers’ version of what was discussed in class, rather than what was directly discussed by the teacher (although the detrimental effects may be mitigated if parents and carers propose to deliver sex education to their child at home instead).

There is no right to withdraw from Relationships Education at primary as the contents of these subjects – such as family, friendship, safety (including online safety) – are important for all children to be taught and compulsory from Summer 2021.

St John’s consult with parents/carers when developing and reviewing our policies for Relationships Education and RSE. These policies will be published online, and will be available to any individual free of charge. We will also ensure that, when we consult parents and carers, we will provide examples of the resources we plan to use. Click Here to view some examples of these resources.

Relationships Education and RSE must be accessible for all children. Teaching will be differentiated and personalised to ensure accessibility. As part of our SEND duty ‘preparing for adulthood’ outcomes, we take extra care to ensure that this essential area is supported by our PSHE and Relationship Education. Where needed, we will always tailor content and teaching to meet the specific needs of pupils should and ensure that teaching is sensitive, age-appropriate, appropriate to development and delivered with reference to the law.

The subjects are designed to help children from all backgrounds build positive and safe relationships, and to thrive in modern Britain. When planning and teaching these subjects, the religious background of pupils is taken into account so that topics are appropriately handled. In developing these subjects, the DfE have worked with a number of faith organisations and representative bodies to ensure they are inclusive

Pupils should be taught about the society in which they are growing up. These subjects are designed to foster respect for others and for difference, and educate pupils about healthy relationships. RSE should meet the needs of all pupils, whatever their developing sexuality or identity – this should include age-appropriate teaching about different types of relationships in the context of the law.

Pupils should receive teaching on LGBT relationships during their school years. Secondary schools will be expected to include LGBT content and primary schools can cover age appropriate content also. This would be delivered, for example, through teaching about different types of family, including those with same sex parents.

At the heart of Relationships Education and RSE, there is a focus on keeping children safe and the role that schools can play in preventative education.

At St John’s, all of our teachers are aware of the risks in teaching about sensitive subjects and give particular considerations to planning around these issues and ensuring material is focused on prevention rather than being instructional. These lessons give children an open forum to discuss potentially sensitive issues in a safe, controlled environment.