RSHE Curriculum Offer

Intent

Our RSHE curriculum offer is designed to support children’s emotional needs, develop their social skills and help them empathise with children around them, who may have different experiences. Learning about the emotional, social and physical aspects of growing up will give children and young people the information, skills and positive values to have safe, fulfilling relationships and will help them take responsibility for their own well-being. We want all children to grow up healthy, happy, safe, and able to manage the challenges and opportunities of modern Britain.

Our Aim High, Be Kind ethos is supported by our mindful approach to RSHE as each lesson will progress through key qualities and skills that children of Abbey Gates need to succeed. Our 5Cs (Care, Compassion, Courtesy, Cooperation and Confidence) are key themes that underpin all lessons. Our vision is to equip our pupils with key skills, knowledge and confidence to understand themselves and the world around them. Throughout the year, our RSHE ‘Talking Points’ programme that as a school we are following fulfils all the requirements for the statutory Relationships and Health Education requirements: Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Furthermore, it is our intent to provide our pupils with a rich and broad understanding of themselves and others around them.

Implement

RSHE is at the heart of the Abbey Gates curriculum. It is taught both through discrete lessons based on the ‘Talking Points’ scheme but is also woven across the curriculum through our ‘Big Questions’ which are set each term as part of our Discover, Explore and Create projects. Our curriculum is built upon our school ethos (Aim High and Be Kind – to ourselves/each other/the environment) and our 5Cs (Care, Compassion, Courtesy, Cooperation and Confidence). The RSHE curriculum is a spiral-based curriculum, meaning that the objectives taught to each year group are age-appropriate and progressive, building upon previous learning and taking into account the age and maturation of the children.  This means that topics are revisited in greater detail as children progress through school.

Statutory content will be embedded across our curriculum and may be taught through:

• Discrete ‘Talking Points’ RSHE lessons
• Our ‘Big Questions’
• Our existing curriculum subjects (e.g. science, RE, computing, PE etc)

• Sticky Questions which are set for homework and discussed in class each week
• Specific ‘themed’ days and weeks
• Themed assemblies
• External providers and visitors (e.g. NSPCC etc)
• Through individual, group or whole-class sessions with a member of staff in school (including our pastoral care lead, Lizzie Allsop and our Assistant SENDCO Amy Smith. These sessions are reviewed regularly by our ‘STEP team’.
• Sex education in KS2 is delivered by a specialist RSE Consultant from Nottinghamshire County Council and is supported/followed up by teaching staff

Curriculum Content

Through an effective and creative curriculum and by the end of primary school, pupils should know about;

• Families and people who care from them. 
• Caring friendships
• Respectful relationships
• Online relationships
• Being safe

Physical health and mental wellbeing

Our pupils will be taught about the characteristics of good physical health and mental wellbeing of the benefits and importance of daily exercise, good nutrition and sufficient sleep, and that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health.  Within the curriculum and by the end of primary school, pupils should know about;

• Mental wellbeing
• Online behaviour and safety
• Physical health and fitness
• Healthy eating
• Drugs, alcohol and tobacco
• Health and prevention
• Basic first aid
• Changing adolescent body

Further details of our RSHE curriculum plans can be found by visiting the RSHE page on the school website

Sex Education

The DfE continue to recommend that all primary schools should have a sex education programme that is tailored to the age and maturity of the pupils.

In the Summer Term, workshops that support our learning in Relationships, Health and Sex Education are delivered by an external specialist across Key Stage 2, covering the content below. The parts in green indicate areas that are non-statutory and parents will be offered the opportunity to withdraw, prior to the sessions taking place.

All other areas are statutory as part of the Science curriculum or Relationships / Health Education and children cannot be withdrawn from these areas.

Impact

The impact of our RSHE offer is measured through our monitoring cycle. This includes book looks, learning walks, pupil voice, planning scrutiny and curriculum intent reviews. Alongside working with colleagues from our school, the subject leader liaises with other local schools to ensure our RSHE offer is effective, relevant and gives our children the best start. Teachers use pre-assessment and post-assessment activities for each Talking Point unit to see how they have developed socially and emotionally. The children understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy, different relationships and how their bodies will change. These will run throughout school meaning each year their understanding will deepen.