Our Intent

Our intention is that, when children leave St John’s CE Academy, they do so with the knowledge, understanding and emotions to be able to play an active role in today’s society. We want our children to have high aspirations, a belief in themselves and realise that anything is possible if they put their mind to it. Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is an embedded part of our broad and balanced curriculum. We endeavour to maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more by completing their programmes of study for each year group. This involves the statutory guidance on Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education.

PSHE enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of a society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.

The curriculum starts in the early years and follows the children through to Year 6. The distribution of the lessons complements key campaigns throughout the year such as Anti-bullying Week, Internet Safety Week, Remembrance Day and Holocaust Memorial Day. We use the PSHE Association as a base for our PSHE planning and have adopted a thematic approach. This ensures children develop the knowledge and skills required for each year group.

Topics included are as follows:

• Families and Friendships
• Safe Relationships
• Respecting Ourselves and Others
• Belonging to a Community
• Media Literacy and Digital Resilience
• Finance and Employment
• Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing
• Growing and Changing
• Keeping Safe

Learning is contextualised and made relevant to the needs of our children. In addition to the PSHE Association planning, our Year 5 and 6 pupils take part in a local ‘Healthy School Questionnaire’ conducted by the Local Relationships and Sexual Health Advisor. This enables us to tailor the curriculum to meet the individual needs of our children.

All learning activities provide an opportunity for pupils to develop their skills, knowledge and attitude. We never underestimate the impact that debate, discussion; practising using language and  talking about feelings can have in developing key skills for the future.