PSHE
Aims of our programme:
- To support the personal and social development of every student in the school.
- To promote healthy lifestyle choices and habits both physically and mentally.
- To develop the economic literacy essential for successful living.
- To understand career options and how to access career pathways.
- To deliver Relationships and Sex Education in appropriate year groups and Key Stages in
- accordance with the Statutory Guidance and National Curriculum.
- To promote the school values of care and courage.
- To provide education on important age-appropriate safeguarding issues.
- To provide reassurance to parents that the school works closely with the parent body and local community to ensure that the right topics are being taught, at the right age, with the right emphasis.
Our Statutory requirements
As a maintained secondary school, we must provide PSHE to all students as per the Children and Social work act 2017.
In teaching PSHE, we must have regard to Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education (2020) statutory guidance
As a maintained secondary school, we have our Equalities objectives and the statutory guidance Equalities Act (2010) at the centre of all we do. In teaching PSHE & RSE, we are required by our funding agreements to have regard to guidance issued by the secretary of state as outlined in section 403 of the Education Act 1996.
At King Edward VI School we teach PSHE, as set out in our policy.
As a Church of England school, we will teach PSHE in a manner compatible with liberal Church of England values.
Our PSHE Curriculum
The curriculum covers the statutory government guidance on the following broad categories:
- Health Education
- Mental wellbeing
- Internet safety and harms
- Physical health and fitness
- Healthy eating
- Drugs alcohol and tobacco
- Health and prevention
- Basic first aid
- Changing the adolescent body
- Relationship and Sex Education
- Families
- Respectful relationships including friendships
- Online and media
- Being safe (including consent, harassment and domestic abuse)
- Intimate and sexual relationships, including sexual health
Teaching the law in relation to the above topics is part of PSHE and it is important that all students learn these basic laws as part of their compulsory general education.
In addition to the above economic literacy and careers form part of the programme under the following topics:
- Personal finance (including how to save and invest)
- Enterprise
- Learning about a wide range of careers
- Learning about educational choices needed to pursue different pathways
The curriculum is constantly under review with yearly programmes of study published on the website.
Informing and consulting parents
Parents are invited to discuss any matters of concern with either KS4 PSHE Coordinator or KS3 PSHE Teacher.
Parental right to withdraw from sex education
See Section 7 of the PSHE Policy document.
Delivery of PSHE Education
We teach our PSHE programme using the following:
- Weekly tutor sessions on a range of PSHE topics
- Assemblies
- Drop down days for KS4
- Direct teaching to reduced class sizes in KS3
- Within subjects which are most appropriate (i.e. basic sexual reproduction is taught in Biology)
We are members of the PSHE Association and use Association accredited materials such as Unifrog, as well as additional local providers used for assemblies, online sessions and workshops such as Turning Point, SOS – St Giles Trust, Suffolk Young Carers and Suffolk Police.
