PHSE

RSHE at Sacred Heart Catholic School 

The school recognises its responsibilities towards the children in this area of their development. We use a range of resources from Ten:Ten and Votes for Schools and programmes to equip pupils with a sound understanding of risk and provide them with the knowledge and skills necessary to make safe and informed decisions. We also promote and foster links with other subject areas, where appropriate, for example, through teaching around exercise and a healthy diet in science lessons and through internet safety in computing lessons.

Our curriculum is underpinned by a focus on the importance of positive mental health and emotional well-being. We expose children to ongoing opportunities in school that facilitate emotional self-awareness and support the development and learning of children’s resilience and well-being. We look at ways across the school year that we can provide teaching and learning opportunities that link with PSHE as well as providing discrete PSHE lessons, for example, celebrating Kindness Week, a monitor system, Faith Ambassadors, Reading Champions and charity work. We offer strong links with our faith teaching and promotion of the Values and Virtues and work on the children’s UNICEF rights.

Each year group follows a map of skills which offers progression year on year, in areas and objectives such as: trying new things, metacognition and improving and understanding others. The Votes for Schools scheme we use allows children opportunities to discuss and debate relevant, challenging current issues. There is also an online voting platform to capture pupil voice.

In addition to this, we teach a programme of Relationships, Sex and Health Education in line with advice from Birmingham Diocese and the DFE guidance document ‘Relationship and Sex Education and Health Education.’ We utilise resources from the ‘Life to the Full’ scheme of work by Ten:Ten. Our focus is on teaching the fundamental building blocks and characteristics of positive relationships, with particular reference to friendships, family relationships, with other children and with adults and fostering self-esteem, confidence and respect. This includes the topics of families and the people who care for me, caring friendships, respectful relationships, online relationships and being safe. (See RSHE policy for further detail.)
 
Health Education

The school seeks to support and promote attitudes, practices and understanding conducive to good health. The emphasis which the school gives to the general care and well-being of pupils in fostering social skills, self-esteem and sense of responsibility is an essential context for the development of the more organised elements of health education. That is, the provision of the knowledge and skills that will enable pupils to understand their own bodies and how to keep them healthy, and to have regard for the health of the community. We aim to help children to understand how to make informed choices necessary to avoid life-styles that increase the risk of disease, disability and accident and encourage those which promote mental and physical health.

Safety Education

The school actively supports the development of positive attitudes towards safety. This will be achieved though the integration of appropriate themes and topics into the curriculum. With the support of outside agencies, we aim to promote an awareness of the strategies and precautions necessary to avoid accidents or harm in the home, on the streets and in or near water. 

At Sacred Heart, we follow both the National Curriculum for core subjects and for our foundation subjects. Our curriculum is designed to excite our children; ensuring that they develop a love of learning as well as achieving high standards in all that they do.