Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education
PSHE Strands
Our PSHE curriculum covers the following strands
- Myself and My Relationships
- Healthy and Safer Lifestyles
- Citizenship and Economic Wellbeing.
There are also enrichment units on topics such as
- Body Image
- E-safety
Relationships and Sex Education
At Park Street, Relationships Education and Sex Education are rooted in our school values, the Christian faith and the needs of our individual children. The Church of England Education Office has issued this advice, which summarises our approach to this:
‘Everyone will be treated with dignity as all people are made in the image of God and loved equally by God. All pupils have a right to an education which enables them to flourish and is set in a learning community where differences of lifestyle and opinion (within that which is permissible under UK law) are treated with dignity and respect; bullying of all kinds is eliminated; and where they are free to be themselves and fulfil their potential without fear.’ (The Church of England Education Office, 2019)
Please see also the Charter for Faith Sensitive and Inclusive RSE, compiled by the Church of England.
Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in primary schools teaches the fundamental building blocks and characteristics of positive relationships, with particular reference to friendships, family relationships and relationships with other peers and adults. It provides lifelong learning about physical, sexual, moral and emotional development, developing understanding of the importance of stable and loving relationships, respect, love and care, as well as, at the appropriate age, puberty, conception, reproduction and birth.
At Park Street, we believe children should learn about relationships (as well as the emotional, social and physical aspects of growing up, human sexuality and sexual health) in an age-appropriate way. We use the Cambridgeshire PSHE Service materials as our curriculum, which have been revised to include all the statutory content. Some aspects of RSE are also delivered through Science lessons. Please see the Cambridgeshire PSHE Service leaflet for parents, which outlines what is taught when. There is also some advice on this ‘Relationships’ leaflet, for speaking to children about this subject. As you can see here, this goes beyond learning about relationships, to include, for older children, puberty, how a baby is conceived and born, body ownership, and safeguarding.
There are aspects of the RSE curriculum that are non-statutory. Parents have the right to withdraw their child/ren only from lessons about conception, including sexual intercourse and IVF. In this instance, parents are asked to discuss their feelings with the PSHE leader Mrs Shankland and Mrs Hawker before coming to any decision.
Relationship and Sex Education is taught by the class teacher and ground rules are set at the beginning of each session. Staff are responsive to the needs of our pupils and will adapt planning accordingly. Whilst teachers may answer most of the questions that arise in a sensitive and considered approach, we may feel it necessary to refer children to their parents in some instances. Any safeguarding concerns will be passed on to the DSL in the normal way.
To provide effective learning in this area, communication and partnership with parents is paramount. A consultation with parents regarding our draft policy and approach outlined above is an important part of implementing this new policy and scheme of work for us. As a result, we would like to invite you to give your views. Please follow the link to find our Policy, and should you wish to share any concerns, please email the office.
Physical Education
At Park Street, we follow the schemes of work for physical education provided by Cambridgeshire Sport and Education Partnership. Details of this can be found here
National Curriculum Aims
The national curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that all pupils:
- develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
- are physically active for sustained periods of time
- engage in competitive sports and activities
- lead healthy, active lives