Sunnyfields Primary School

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE)

"PSHE is a school subject through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe, and prepared for life and work." The PSHE Association.

What we want to achieve

Our PSHE education aims to develop skills and attributes to ensure our pupils lead positive, confident, healthy and responsible lives as individual members of the school and wider society. Through the positive work we do in PSHE, our children are taught the importance of resilience, self-esteem, risk-management, team-working and critical thinking skills, in the context of the three themes of health and well-being, relationships and living in the wider world. The relationships and health aspects of PSHE education have been compulsory since September 2020.

PSHE is embedded within all that we do at Sunnyfields and is closely linked with our commitment to Building Learning Power, promoting British Values and our focus as a Rights Respecting school. Through our approach we aim to help our children grow by increasing their confidence, helping them to keep safe, building on their sense of identity, developing their self-understanding as well as empathy for others, and by helping them to develop positive and productive relationships throughout their lives.

How we will achieve it

We deliver PSHE using a combination of discrete teaching, cross-curricular learning, circle time, themed days and assemblies. The content of our PSHE is based on the Barnet Schools HEP and is outlined in the curriculum map below.

Click here to view our school curriculum map.

Many of the PSHE objectives are also covered through Assemblies and other areas of the school’s curriculum e.g. RE, Online safety lessons, Science and Maths and reiterated through the attitudes and expectations of behaviour promoted by adults in the school.

We also develop PSHE through whole-school events e.g. themed days and School Council activities. In addition, we encourage all children to take part in a range of events that promote active citizenship such as charity fundraising. Value based and themed assemblies also encourage children to consider their rights, values and choices.

Sex and Relationships Education

Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) is taught explicitly according to the policy which has been agreed by the Governors (please refer to the SRE policy for details). Parents are given the opportunity to meet with the class teacher delivering a Sex Education programme in order to have a clearer understanding of the content and resources used. Parents are informed that they have the right to withdraw their children from Sex Education in consultation with the head teacher but not from Relationship Education or the Science Curriculum.