Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE)/Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)
At Wootton Bassett Infants’ school, we aim to promote personal wellbeing and development through a comprehensive taught programme of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education that gives children and young people the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live healthy, safe, productive and fulfilled lives, both now and in the future.
Successful PSHE education can have a positive impact on the whole child, including their academic development and progress, by mitigating any social and emotional barriers to learning and building confidence and self-esteem. It also helps disadvantaged and vulnerable children achieve to a greater extent by raising aspirations and empowering them with skills to overcome barriers they face.
Recent changes
The Department for Education has made changes to relationships and sex education (RSE) following nationwide consultation which came into effect from September 2020 and all schools are required to comply with the updated requirements. The statutory guidance can be found at:
Consequently, from September 2020, RSE will be statutory and form part of the National Curriculum. As part of this process, the school consulted with parents, staff and governors that helped to inform our schools’ decisions on when and how certain content is covered.
This consultation enabled us to reach a general consensus and we made adjustments to our policy and curriculum based on this feedback. To help you understand the curriculum requirements, please look at the information below which provides more detail.
Please find below:
- The RSE consultation letter to parents/carers
- Our RSE policy
- A summary of what all pupils are expected to know by the end of KS1,
- The curriculum coverage of PSHE and RSE
- RSE FAQs
- Your parental rights
RSE Expectations by the end of KS1
How will the curriculum be delivered?
This guidance will form part of our school’s PSHE education programme which is taught throughout the school in every year group and is monitored and reviewed regularly.
We currently use the Twinkl scheme of work which ensures progression in knowledge, attitudes and values, and skills – including the key skills of social and emotional learning, known to improve outcomes for children.
Appendix 1 shows a brief overview of the topics covered in each year group.
All teaching in PSHE will take place in a safe learning environment and be underpinned by our school ethos and values. A variety of opportunities will be provided for pupils to ask questions to further their understanding and to find out more about what affects them personally.
We would also like to reassure you that the Department for Education has not introduced compulsory sex education at primary school. They are introducing Relationships Education at primary level, to put in place the building blocks needed for positive and safe relationships of all kinds. This will start with family and friends, how to treat each other with kindness, and recognising the difference between online and offline friendships.