PSHE

Intent

The National Curriculum states that ‘all schools should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), drawing on good practice.’

According to the Education Act 2002 and the Academies Act 2010, the PSHE curriculum should be a balanced and broadly-based curriculum which ‘promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and prepares pupils at the school for opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.’

Vision and aims: Therefore at St Monica’s, we want the teaching of PSHE to:

1. Be rooted in the Gospel values of respect, love, truth and justice.
2. Help pupils develop good social, personal and interpersonal skills that they need to succeed
3. Enable pupils’ to develop their dignity, self-confidence and self-responsibility and to cultivate their understanding of their own worth by building their self-esteem
4. Promote the full development of each person who is made in God’s image and uniquely loved by God
5. Encourage pupils to be healthy, to lead health lifestyles and to become independent and responsible, valuable members of society
6. Ensure that pupils are developing personally and socially by helping them understand and address the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up
7. Enable to use their social, personal and inter-personal to build positive relationships with others
8. Provide opportunities for pupils to develop their awareness of important issues which impact on their own lives and the lives of others
9. Enable pupils to learn to respect and value diversity and the rich multicultural nature of society 
10. Help pupils become valuable members of the school community and to prepare them to play an active role as citizens both now and in later life
11. Be clear and progressive, making relevant links between different areas of the curriculum

Relationships and Health Education

At St. Monica's, we follow the Life to the Full Scheme. This is taught with a spiral approach to learning in which pupils will revisit the same topics at an age-appropriate stage through their school life. The programme includes teaching about personal health, physical and emotional well-being, strong emotions, private parts of the body, personal relationships, family structures, trusted adults, growing bodies, puberty, periods, life cycles, the dangers of social media, where babies come from, an understanding of the Common Good and living in the wider world.

The entire teaching is underpinned with a Christian faith understanding that our deepest identity is as a child of God – created, chosen and loved by God. The programme is fully inclusive of all pupils and their families.