PSHCE

PSHCE & RSHE at Ashwell School

Working Together to Support Children’s Wellbeing, Relationships and Life Skills

At Ashwell School, we believe that children thrive when schools and families work together. Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic Education (PSHCE) and Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) play a vital role in helping children develop the knowledge, skills and values they need to stay safe, healthy and happy both now and in the future.

In 2025, the Government reviewed and updated the statutory guidance for Relationships, Sex and Health Education. In response to these changes, we have reviewed and updated our curriculum and lesson content to ensure that, from September 2026, our teaching fully reflects the requirements of the new guidance whilst continuing to meet the needs of our pupils and community.

As part of this process, we are committed to working closely with parents and carers. We know that families play the most important role in children's personal development, and we want to ensure that you are well informed about what is being taught in school so that learning can be reinforced through conversations and experiences at home.

Each year, we seek feedback from parents and carers on our PSHCE and RSHE curriculum. This annual consultation helps us ensure that our approach remains relevant, appropriate and responsive to the views of our school community. We greatly value your feedback and see parent voice as an essential part of developing our provision.

What is PSHCE?

Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic Education (PSHCE) is an important part of every child's education. It helps pupils develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to navigate life successfully and become positive, active members of society.

Through PSHCE, children learn how to:

Look after their physical and mental wellbeing
Build positive friendships and relationships
Develop resilience and self-confidence
Understand and manage their emotions
Stay safe both online and offline
Make informed and responsible decisions
Appreciate diversity and treat others with respect
Develop an understanding of citizenship, rights and responsibilities
Prepare for life and work in modern Britain

PSHCE supports children to become confident, respectful and responsible individuals who are equipped to thrive in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.

What is RSHE?

Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) forms a statutory part of our PSHCE curriculum.

RSHE helps children develop the knowledge and understanding needed to form healthy, respectful relationships and to keep themselves safe. The curriculum provides age-appropriate learning about:

Families and caring relationships
Friendships and respectful behaviour
Personal boundaries and consent
Physical and emotional wellbeing
Online relationships and online safety
Recognising unsafe situations and seeking help
Puberty and growing up
Preparation for the physical and emotional changes children experience as they mature

Our aim is to ensure that children leave Ashwell with the knowledge and confidence needed to make safe and informed choices, seek support when needed and build healthy relationships throughout their lives.

How Do We Teach PSHCE at Ashwell School?

We follow the Kapow Primary PSHCE Scheme of Work, which provides a carefully sequenced curriculum with clear progression from Reception through to Year 6.

Lessons are taught weekly by class teachers and cover a broad range of themes, including:

My Healthy Self

Physical health, mental wellbeing, resilience and healthy lifestyles.

Connecting with Others

Families, friendships, relationships and understanding others.

The Online World

Staying safe online and becoming thoughtful, responsible users of technology.

Citizenship

Communities, democracy, rights and responsibilities, careers and economic wellbeing.

Staying Safe

Recognising risks, understanding personal safety and making safe choices.

Growing Up

Understanding physical and emotional changes, self-care and personal development.

Sex Education (Year 6)

Learning about how people become parents and carers in a factual, age-appropriate way.

Learning is carefully planned to be developmentally appropriate and builds progressively from year to year. Children are given regular opportunities to discuss, reflect upon and apply their learning to real-life situations.

In addition to our planned curriculum, we remain responsive to the needs of individual year groups and current issues through assemblies, themed events and targeted learning experiences.

Supporting Learning at Home

We recognise that parents and carers may have questions about PSHCE and RSHE and want to understand what their child is learning.

Kapow provides a dedicated Parent Zone designed to help families:

Understand what is taught as part of the PSHCE and RSHE curriculum
Learn about the benefits of PSHCE and RSHE education
Find answers to frequently asked questions
Understand parental rights relating to sex education
Support their child's learning and development at home

RSE & PSHE Parent Information | Kapow Primary

We strongly encourage parents and carers to explore these resources and continue conversations at home.

Curriculum Enrichment

Children's learning is enriched through a range of special events and themed weeks throughout the year, including:

Feeling Good Week
Anti-Bullying Week
Diversity Week
Safer Internet Day
Road Safety activities delivered in partnership with the Hertfordshire Safe and Active Travel Team
Year 6 visit to the Houses of Parliament

These experiences bring learning to life, promote inclusion and respect, strengthen children's understanding of how to keep themselves safe and encourage them to become active citizens within their communities.

Working in Partnership with Parents

We believe that successful PSHCE and RSHE education is built on strong partnerships between school and home.

To support this, we provide:

Clear information about what is taught and when
Access to curriculum overviews and policy documents
Opportunities to view lesson materials and ask questions
Annual consultation opportunities to share feedback on the curriculum
Ongoing communication and support from school staff

We value the important role that parents and carers play in children's development and welcome feedback at any time.

Parents retain the right to withdraw their child from the non-statutory sex education elements of RSHE (other than those included within the National Curriculum for Science).

Together, we can ensure that children receive consistent messages about relationships, health, safety and wellbeing, helping them to grow into confident, respectful and responsible young people.

Further Information

You can view the Department for Education's guidance here:

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE): Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education - GOV.UK
Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE): Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education - GOV.UK

PSHCE Downloadable Documents

The following documents are to help parents understand what we teach, when we teach it and why we teach it.

To view the National Curriculum Programme of Study for KS1 and KS2 please see here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-social-health-and-economic-education-pshe/personal-social-health-and-economic-pshe-education