PSHE and RSE

At Gossops Green Primary School, we truly believe in the importance of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education and the overarching role it plays in developing our pupils into healthy, independent, and responsible individuals who are prepared for life and work.

Across the school, we use SCARF (Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship), a comprehensive whole-school scheme of work for PSHE, which has been carefully designed by experts to ensure a progressive and supportive curriculum, which aims to ensure that all children acquire the life skills needed to thrive. SCARF’s whole-school approach supports us in promoting the children’s positive behaviour, mental health, wellbeing, resilience and achievement.

PSHE is always taught by the class teacher or a member of staff that the children know and trust. The children work though a series of lessons that build upon their prior learning and are age appropriate. The lessons are adapted by teachers to ensure that they are sensitive to the needs of individual children. The SCARF scheme of work covers the statutory requirements that all children in state schools legally must be taught. Parents do not have the right to withdraw their child from any of the SCARF lessons (with the exception of Sex Education in Year 6, although we strongly advise against this).

The SCARF scheme of work is organised into six half-termly units, which are revisited each academic year. An overview of these units, and the key points covered in each year group can be found by clicking the picture below

PSHE Curriculum Intent

In terms of DELIVERING EQUITY, we envisage by the end of Year 6 that our pupils will be respectful of the rights of everyone to live safe, respectful and fulfilling lives. They leave Gossops Green mentally and physically healthy, equipped with the strategies to manage adversity and challenge with resilience and kindness towards others and themselves. Our pupils possess tolerant, inquisitive minds and attitudes and are willing to step up and take responsibility for making the world a fairer and more inclusive place for everyone.

Our curriculum builds upon the children’s first stages of development in EYFS through progressive and sequenced topics, which revolve around three key themes: Relationships, Health and Wellbeing and Living in the Wider World. Within the study of PSHE, our children develop the knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future.

The characteristics and qualities of what it is to be a respectful, resilient and responsible citizen and member of the community is woven through our PSHE curriculum and ensures children develop awareness and tolerance of the diverse society in which they live. Pupils develop fully as:individuals as they focus on their own personal development; believing in themselves, building resilience, developing habits to lead a healthy life.members of families and social communities; understanding how to relate to others and adopt teamwork skillsmembers of economic communities; developing their awareness of the part that they play and how to live responsibly.

It is essential that we teach PSHE to provide the link between pupils’ health and wellbeing, and their academic progress. We recognise the relationship between academic achievement and mental wellbeing. These two elements are inter-dependent, and this is why we place great emphasis on promoting positive behaviour, developing self-regulation strategies and embedding wellbeing education. A mentally healthy child will be empowered to achieve and meet their personal potential.

PSHE Curriculum Implementation

To achieve our intent, the SCARF programme divides the year into 6 themed units:

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

Children are encouraged to engage in activities that promote an understanding of themselves as growing and changing individuals, and as members of the wider community of Gossops Green and of Crawley, 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.

PSHE Curriculum Impact

At Gossops Green we seek to ensure that the PSHE that we teach improves the physical and social well-being of pupils. Through our PSHE education, we believe we can enhance children’s education and help them to become caring, respectful, aspirational and confident individuals.

It will:

Give pupils the knowledge and develop the self-esteem, confidence and self-awareness to make informed choices and decisions
Encourage and support the development of social skills and social awareness
Enable pupils to make sense of their own personal and social experiences
Promote responsible attitudes towards the maintenance of good physical and mental health, supported by a safe and healthy lifestyle
Enable effective interpersonal relationships and develop a caring attitude towards others
Encourage a caring attitude towards and responsibility for the environment
Help our pupils understand and manage their feelings, build resilience and be independent, curious problem solvers
Ensure they understand how society works and the laws, rights and responsibilities involved

Relationship and Sex Education

All children at Gossops Green are provided with sensitively taught Relationship and Sex Education (RSE). Much of this is taught as part of Science and PSHE and takes place progressively throughout the school. An outline of what the children are taught is below. Please speak to your child’s class teacher, in the first instance, if you have any concerns or questions. Although parents have the right to withdraw their children from some parts of Sex and Relationship Education lessons in Year 6, they are strongly advised against this as it can lead to misconceptions based on half-truths. Parents must discuss this fully with the Principal before taking such a step.

Reception

Children are helped to develop a positive sense of themselves and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups and to have confidence in their own abilities.

Year 1

Children identify, name, draw and label the basic parts of the human body and say which part of the body is associated with each sense, e.g. ears for hearing, eyes for seeing.

Year 2

Children describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amounts of different types of food, and hygiene
Children will be introduced to the processes of reproduction and growth in animals. The focus at this stage should be on questions that help pupils to recognise growth; they should not be expected to understand how reproduction occurs.

Year 3

Children will explore the part that flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants, including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal

Year 4

Through videos and discussion children will learn about the differences between boys and girls; how we got here – explaining that babies are made from a mum and a dad – all scientific explanations are shown using drawn ‘cartoons’ on video; and growing up – looking at how animals grow quickly and become independent and how dependent a human baby is, as well as the different stages of childhood from baby through to the end of primary school.

Year 5

Children will learn about change – from moving home and/or school to changes in families with new babies being born. They will also have a girl talk where they learn about the menstrual cycle and a boy talk where they will learn about changes in the body and the increase of hormonal activity. They will understand the importance of personal hygiene.
Children will also watch videos on how babies are made and how babies are born. Again, through careful discussion and the ‘cartoon drawing’ on video, the children will learn about conception and the emotional and physical effects of having a baby. These areas are carefully addressed and it is stressed that it is within a loving relationship.

Year 6

Children will repeat the videos on how babies are made and how babies are born. This often brings new discussion as they are already aware of what the videos show. They will also have a session on ‘Let’s talk about sex’. This involves different relationships e.g. heterosexual, gay relationships etc.
Children will also see how the media addresses sex – in the charts, in newspapers etc. In the summer term, children will look at transition, preparing them for the transfer to Secondary School and the changes they may come across.