PSHE, RSHE and Personal Development
“Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” — Joshua J. Marine
At Abingdon, PSHE is central to our ambition to equip children with the knowledge, skills, confidence and understanding to keep themselves healthy and safe, build positive relationships and prepare for life and work in modern Britain.
We recognise that children achieve best when they feel safe, valued and able to participate. Our PSHE curriculum therefore contributes directly to our vision of a thriving, purposeful learning community where adults and children work together and where careful planning leads to high-quality teaching and learning.
PSHE is not simply about preparing children for the next stage of education. It is about preparing them for life.
A clear and progressive curriculum
Our PSHE curriculum is progressively sequenced from Reception to Year 6 and develops the knowledge, skills and attributes children need to navigate their lives with increasing independence.
It is organised around three core themes:
- Health and Wellbeing – physical and mental health, emotional wellbeing, healthy lifestyles, personal safety, resilience and risk management.
- Relationships – friendship, family, respectful relationships, boundaries, identity, difference, consent, kindness and seeking help.
- Living in the Wider World – citizenship, rights and responsibilities, financial awareness, careers, aspirations, community and society.
Across these themes, we deliberately develop resilience, self-esteem, risk management, teamwork, communication, independence and critical thinking.
In Reception, One Dimension provides a launchpad for discussion around PSHE challenges, connecting with our whole-school progression document. As children move through school, key concepts are revisited, deepened and applied in increasingly sophisticated ways.
Relationships, Sex and Health Education
Our PSHE curriculum incorporates the statutory requirements for Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) and is delivered in line with current Department for Education guidance.
Children learn age-appropriately about relationships, health, safety, boundaries, personal development and the changes they experience as they grow. We give children the vocabulary and confidence to ask questions, recognise risk, make informed choices and know when and how to seek help.
Our full RSHE Policy is available through the Policies section of our school website.
Inclusion and protected characteristics
Our PSHE and RSHE curriculum is closely aligned with our Inclusion Strategy.
The protected characteristics are explicitly taught in age-appropriate ways. Children learn to understand and respect difference, recognise stereotypes and prejudice, challenge discrimination and develop the language and confidence to talk respectfully about identity and diversity.
This learning is reinforced across the curriculum and through everyday school life.
We want children to understand that people may have different identities, cultures, beliefs, families, experiences, abilities and backgrounds, while recognising the fundamental dignity and worth of every individual.
For children with SEND, we recognise that some aspects of relationships, health, safety and personal development may require bespoke and highly specific teaching. We use PolEd, pupil voice, safeguarding information and professional knowledge to identify need and adapt provision accordingly.
Responding to our children and our community
A strong PSHE curriculum requires both planned progression and responsiveness.
We teach our planned curriculum, but we also respond to emerging needs at an individual, class, school, local, national or global level.
This may include age-appropriate teaching and discussion around:
- water safety;
- knife crime and the risks associated with carrying weapons;
- drugs and substance misuse;
- antisocial behaviour;
- community disorder and riots;
- online harms;
- exploitation and personal safety;
- domestic abuse and healthy relationships;
- mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Our links with Middlesbrough and Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service provide additional expertise around safety and risk. We also use trusted organisations such as the NSPCC, including PANTS and resources designed specifically to support children to understand personal safety.
We do not wait for an issue to affect a child before teaching them about it. Prevention, knowledge and knowing how to seek help are central to our approach.
National awareness and community events
We participate in appropriate national awareness days and campaigns where they strengthen or enrich our planned curriculum.
These may provide opportunities to explore themes such as mental health, anti-bullying, online safety, road safety, equality, diversity, safeguarding, healthy lifestyles and environmental responsibility.
These events are not isolated activities. Where used, they connect to our planned progression so that children can understand, discuss, apply and revisit important knowledge and ideas.
Parents as partners
We recognise that parents and carers are their children’s first educators. Their knowledge of their child, their experiences, values and perspectives are invaluable to us.
We do not simply seek parental support for PSHE and RSHE; we actively value parental inclusion and partnership in helping children understand themselves, their relationships and the diverse world in which they live.
We recognise that some content may feel challenging or may sit differently from individual family or cultural perspectives. Our responsibility is to deliver the curriculum in line with statutory guidance, while working respectfully, openly and sensitively with families.
Our shared aim is for every child to become a well-rounded individual who can participate confidently in a diverse society, understand difference, challenge prejudice and treat others with dignity and respect.
We want children to leave Abingdon equipped to encounter difference with curiosity rather than fear, and with understanding rather than prejudice.
Spotlight on Belonging
Our Spotlight on Belonging assemblies give children opportunities to share the experiences, identities and interests that make them who they are.
Children explore what makes us the same, what makes us different and what makes each of us unique. They listen to one another, ask questions, develop understanding and celebrate the richness of our school community.
These assemblies give children a genuine voice in shaping our culture of belonging. They help us recognise that difference is not something to overcome; it is something to understand, value and learn from.
This is inclusion in action:
Every child has a story.
Every child has something to contribute.
Every child deserves to feel that they belong.
Positive relationships and wellbeing
Positive relationships are central to our PSHE and RSHE curriculum.
Our work with My Sisters Place, a local domestic abuse service, reinforces learning around healthy relationships, respect, boundaries, safety and seeking help.
Children also have opportunities to lead our wellbeing culture. Groups such as our HeadStarters actively promote positive wellbeing and mental health, giving children opportunities to communicate, lead and support others.
Our School of Sanctuary commitment further strengthens this culture. Sanctuary Buddies in every class welcome children who are new to our school, including those arriving from different countries and educational systems. They help children understand routines, build friendships, join in and feel that they have a place.
Aspirations and life beyond Abingdon
PSHE helps children understand that they have a future and that there are many possible pathways into it.
Our annual Careers Fair provides children with opportunities to meet people from diverse professions, backgrounds and pathways. It broadens their understanding of what is possible and challenges assumptions about who can succeed in particular roles.
Our work with IntoUniversity strengthens our links with Teesside University and raises aspirations by helping children see higher education and future opportunities as possibilities for them.
These experiences help children develop the confidence to think:
“People like me can do this.”
Listening, identifying and responding
Our PSHE curriculum is informed by more than a written programme.
We use pupil voice, PolEd, safeguarding information, pastoral knowledge, family engagement and staff expertise to identify emerging needs and shape provision.
This enables us to maintain a clear curriculum entitlement while responding intelligently to the children and community we serve.
Living our ARCH through PSHE
PSHE provides daily opportunities to live our values:
- Aspirations – developing confidence, ambition and an understanding of future possibilities.
- Resilience – learning how to manage challenge, change, disappointment and difficulty.
- Harmony – building respectful relationships, valuing difference and contributing positively to our community.
- Commitment – taking responsibility for ourselves, our choices, our relationships and our wider community.
We teach children the knowledge they need. We give them opportunities to practise the skills. We create safe spaces to discuss difficult issues. We listen to their concerns. We respond when needs change.
Preparing children for life
At Abingdon, PSHE is both planned and responsive.
It gives children the knowledge, language, confidence and practical strategies to understand themselves, understand others, recognise risk, make informed choices, build positive relationships and participate confidently in a diverse society.
Our ambition is that every child can leave Abingdon able to navigate the world with confidence without arrogance, difference without prejudice, independence with responsibility and resilience with compassion.
PSHE is therefore fundamental to our wider inclusion strategy and our vision for every child:
Belong → Understand → Feel Safe → Make Informed Choices → Participate → Flourish → Thrive → Achieve.
PSHE and RSHE Progression Document
Please find the link to the PSHE programme of study https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/20248256/Programme%20of%20Study/PSHE%20Association%20Programme%20of%20Study%20for%20PSHE%20Education%20(Key%20stages%201%E2%80%935)%2c%20Jan%202020.pdf?hsCtaTracking=d718fa8f-77a8-445b-a64e-bb10ca9a52d8%7C90ef65f6-90ab-4e84-af7b-92884c142b27
