PSHE Statement of Intent

With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)

At St Michael with St John CE Primary School, we firmly believe that our PSHE curriculum enables pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives successfully, both now and in the future. Our curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop healthy, respectful and positive relationships;
• understand how to maintain good physical and mental health;
• know how to stay safe in the real world and online;
• recognise, manage and communicate their emotions effectively;
• develop resilience, confidence and independence;
• understand diversity, equality, inclusion and respect for others;
• appreciate different families, communities and cultures;
• develop financial awareness and economic understanding;
• understand their rights, responsibilities and the importance of contributing positively to society;
• are well prepared for the next stage of education and later life.

Our curriculum is fully aligned with the statutory Relationships and Health Education guidance (July 2025) and has been designed using guidance from the PSHE Association. We fully respect the religious and cultural heritage of our families and have taken the decision that sex education will not be taught as part of our PSHE curriculum at St Michael with St John. Below are the topics that will be taught as part of our curriculum:

Learning is carefully sequenced across the Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 so that children revisit key concepts, deepen their understanding and build progressively on prior learning. Below are details of the units that are taught to deliver health, relationships, economics and careers education:

Early Years Foundation Stage

• Managing self
• Building relationships
• Health and self-care
• Self-regulation

Key Stage 1

• Mental health and wellbeing
• Keeping safe online     
• Me, my body and staying safe
• Safety at home  
• Safety outside the home
• Celebrating me, you and our families
• Making friends: playing and learning together
• Being healthy
• Showing kindness to ourselves and others
• Money and work
• Looking back and moving on

​​​​​​​

Lower Key Stage 2

• Mental health and wellbeing
• Making choices online
• Me, my friends and belonging
• Keeping safe out and about
• Exploring ways to manage risks
• Families and growing together
• Forming respectful relationships       
• Building healthy habits
• Looking out for each other
• Money matters and news literacy
• Developing our AI literacy      

Upper Key Stage 2

• Mental health and wellbeing
• Safe connections online         
• Friendships, stereotypes and bullying
• Respecting boundaries
• Drug education: assessing risk and managing influences
• Me, my body and growing up (Autumn Term Year 5)
• Changes in puberty (Autumn Term Year 5)
• Embedding healthy habits and learning first aid
• Managing money and online spending        
• Positively engaging with our world    
• Looking to the future

​​​​​​​

At St Michael with St John, we recognise the right for all children to have access to PSHE education which meets their learning needs. Our PSHE provision considers the children’s age, ability, readiness and cultural background to enable all children to access learning.  We ensure that children with SEND receive the same PSHE curriculum as all other pupils.  Depending on the level of need, the content and/or delivery of the lesson may need to be adapted with differentiated activities and additional adult support provided as required.  We do not exclude access to PSHE for any pupil by withdrawing them from lessons as we firmly believe that children’s personal and social development are as important as their academic development.

In addition, we promote social learning and expect our children to show a high regard for the needs of others by demonstrating mutual respect.  We use PSHE, particularly RHE, as a vehicle to teach about diversity and to ensure equality for all. Our pupils are taught about the fundamental British Values and Protected Characteristics as part of PSHE and these are reinforced in Collective Worship.

The majority of our pupils have English as an additional language and therefore, a strong focus is placed on oracy and language development.  We also provide exciting first-hand learning experiences.

Language Development

Key vocabulary and definitions are shared at the start of each lesson. The key vocabulary is woven into the lesson, developing pupils’ understanding of this language further. Language development is also supported by accompanying visual representations where appropriate. This is presented to pupils during lesson delivery and in coversheets at the start of a unit.

Oracy

The nature of PSHE is such that there are copious opportunities for discussion throughout each lesson. This allows for rich oracy development in the form of group discussions, paired talk and whole-class debates.

Learning Experiences

PSHE lessons are further enhanced by our school’s personal development and wellbeing programme which includes special events, visitors and themed weeks. Often, these are in-line with key PSHE themes e.g. safety (Safety Week), mental health (Children’s Mental Health Week), economics (Aspirations Week), physical health (Active and Healthy Me Week). Other examples include visits from dental professionals, first-aid workshops, charity events and online/cyber learning workshops.

We nurture and inspire our children to achieve their very best, in the knowledge that ‘with God, all things are possible’.  We therefore consider our PSHE curriculum as a curriculum for life.