PSHE and RSE Curriculum Intent

At Highfields, our aim is to provide a rich engaging PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economics education) and RSE (Relationships and Sex education) curriculum. We do this by using the SCARF Programme from Coram Life Education (CLE). It is mapped to national DfE standards and to the PSHE Association programmes of study.  We deliver a high quality level of teaching providing the children with engaging and interesting lessons. PSHE is a popular subject amongst pupils because they explore real life issues of direct relevance to them and participate in active debate. The children become familiar with the SCARF core values of Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience and Friendship from Foundation Stage to Year 6. The lessons are brought to life through the characters of Harold the giraffe and his friends. The children learn about PSHE and RSE  in Reception to Year 6 and think about the health of our minds and bodies, relationships and living in the wider world. We aim for children to understand why they are being taught PSHE and be able to talk about their PSHE teaching.

Rationale for sequencing of teaching

We aim for consistency across the school so that cycles of skills and knowledge can be built on from one year to the next using a spiral teaching progression.

The SCARF programme divides the year into 6 themed units:

1. Me and My Relationships: includes content on feelings, emotions, conflict resolution and friendships.
2. Valuing Difference: a focus on respectful relationships and British values.
3. Keeping Myself Safe: looking at keeping ourselves healthy and safe.
4. Rights and Responsibilities: learning about money, living the wider world and the environment.
5. Being My Best: developing skills in keeping healthy, developing a growth mindset (resilience), goal-setting and achievement.
6. Growing and Changing: finding out about the human body, the changes that take place from birth to old age and being safe.

Part of the “Growing and Changing” units include learning about First Aid, for which we resources provided by the Red Cross called “ First Aid Champions”. This teaching starts from Year 1 and follows through to Year 6.

Children are encouraged to engage in activities that promote an understanding of themselves as growing and changing individuals, and as members of a wider community, based on their own first hand experiences. These activities also encourage pupils to understand how their choices and behaviours can affect others. They are encouraged to play and learn alongside – then collaboratively with – their peers. They may use their personal and social skills to develop or extend these activities. Children are also given the opportunity to make choices about their health and environment and are encouraged to develop a caring attitude towards others.

At Highfields, we provide high quality teaching using creative and engaging resources ensuring that the teaching is accessible to all children. In terms of assessment, we aim to have the same high expectations of the quality of pupils’ work in PSHE as for other curriculum areas. We will implement a rigorous assessment rotation including pre- and post-assessment of each half-termly unit as well as teacher assessment to benefit children’s self-reflection and knowledge cycle.

We welcome the contributions that parents bring to the school and encourage parent engagement. In relation to the 2020-21 curriculum changes, Relationships, Health and Sex education we consulted with relevant stakeholders about PSHE and RSE teaching across the school and as a result adjusted some lesson scheduling.  We engender an open and trusted relationship with parents sharing materials and the learning progression with them so that we can have a joined up approach across school and home. We ensure that teaching and materials are appropriate having regard to the age and religious backgrounds of pupils as well as recognising the significance of other factors, such as any special educational needs or disabilities of pupils.

From 2020-21 Highfields started to teach sex education to the Year 6 children in line with our joint PSHE and RSE policy. Relationships are taught across all year groups from Foundation Stage to Year 6. There is an alignment of teaching the PSHE and RSE curriculum with our Science curriculum. 

We support our children from all backgrounds to achieve their potential. We aim to boost their cultural capital knowledge and emotional intelligence through their PSHE learning. One of the ways that we do this is live sessions with our SCARF educator, either online or in person.  We wish to enable pupils to be equipped to make ambitious life choices knowing that they can make a difference, understanding how to open the doors that lay ahead of them and how to be supported in their journey by trusted adults.

We aim to deliver excellence in PSHE & RSE learning delivery, fulfilling our statutory requirements and building future citizens that have the life skills and confidence to achieve their full potential.

PSHE at Highfields

Although PSHE was not specifically mentioned in last report it was clear from the comments made that the  values and learning from PSHE were in evidence across the school. (Ofsted rated Highfields "Outstanding")

In July 2016 OFSTED found that in Highfields...

• Compassion is one of the key values of the school.
• Compassion underpins the way that adults approach their duty of care to pupils and is a distinctive feature of relationships at Highfields.
• Pupils are clear that they can approach any adult if they have any worries. They are rightly confident that support is in place to help them resolve issues that might arise.
•  Each pupil spoken to explained that they were happy and safe at school. Pupils said that ‘bullying is not something we are used to here’.
• Every one of the parents who responded on Parent View agreed that their child is safe and happy.
• Pupils are very courteous, polite and mix together extremely well. They move around the well-maintained school corridors cheerfully and maturely.
• At break and lunchtime they make energetic use of the well-supervised school grounds. 
• Topics are well chosen to enable pupils to delve deeply into differing cultures from Britain and around the world. Pupils talk with confidence about how this information is helping them to ‘understand what other people experience’ and ‘to respect different cultures’.
• The curriculum is vibrantly enriched by a wide range of opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. One pupil explained that ‘we have lots of chances here’. 
• Through skilful encouragement, a key stage 2 pupil was able to speak enthusiastically and confidently about the ‘unifying effect of the equal rights movement’ in 20th century America.
• ​Through taught lessons, visiting speakers and special assemblies, pupils are able to develop strategies to keep safe in a variety of settings. For example, pupils explained how to keep safe online or near water, roads or rail.

British Values at Highfields Primary School

The DfE have reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on

all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.’ The Government set out its definition of British Values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and these values have been reiterated by previous Prime Ministers Secretaries of State for Education.

These values are:

• Democracy
• Rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect
• Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

Schools, through their curriculum, are legally bound to actively promote the fundamental British Values and to ensure their pupils leave school fully prepared for life in Modern Britain.