Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE)

What is PSHE Education?

PSHE Education (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) is a planned programme of learning through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to successfully manage their lives – now and in the future. As part of a whole-school approach, PSHE Education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society.

What do schools have to teach in PSHE Education?

According to the National Curriculum, every school needs to have a broad and balanced curriculum that:

• promotes the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school;
• prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life;
• promotes British values.

In EYFS Statutory Framework 2021, states that children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives, and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. Children should be supported to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist and wait for what they want and direct attention as necessary. Through adult modelling and guidance, they will learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and manage personal needs independently. Through supported interaction with other children, they learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts peaceably. These attributes will provide a secure platform from which children can achieve at school and in later life.
From September 2020, primary schools in England also need to teach Relationships and Health Education as compulsory subjects and the Department for Education strongly recommends this should also include age-appropriate Sex Education.
Schools also have statutory responsibilities to safeguard their pupils (Keeping Children Safe in Education, DfE, 2019) and to uphold the Equality Act (2010).
Treales CE Primary School follows Coram Life Education and SCARF resources and planning to deliver our PSHE curriculum.

What is SCARF approach to PSHE, and how does it work?

Coram Life Education provide online resources that support primary schools in promoting positive behaviour, mental health, wellbeing, resilience and achievement, through the values of:

Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience and Friendship.

A child's health and wellbeing makes a difference to their academic progress. Crucial skills and positive attitudes are developed through comprehensive Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) and this is critical to ensuring children are effective learners.

We recognise how important these skills and attitudes are in unlocking pupils' potential, helping to raise achievement.

SCARF provides a whole-school approach to building these essential foundations – crucial for children to be safe, healthy and to achieve their best, academically and socially.

SCARF is a comprehensive and completely original PSHE Education programme (lesson plans and teaching resources) for the whole primary school from ages 3-11. It also includes all the statutory requirements for Relationships and Health Education, and Sex Education.

SCARF brings together PSHE Education, compulsory Relationships and Health Education, emotional literacy, mindfulness, social skills and spiritual development. It is designed as a whole school approach, with all year groups working on the same theme at the same time at their own level. There are six half-term units of work and each class is taught one lesson per week. All lessons are delivered in an age- and stage-appropriate way so that they meet children’s needs.

Due to the nature of our mixed-aged classes, we ensure teachers are supported by teaching assistants when delivering PSHE. This enables the class to be taught as a whole, where appropriate, and grouped by age-and stage- appropriateness where needed. 

SCARF lesson plans have a degree of flexibility and opportunities to differentiate built into them; we therefore teach on a rolling two year cycle. Because SCARF lessons form a spiral curriculum through the primary years, the suggested half-termly unit themes are the same for each year group and lesson plans are sequenced in a similar way for each year group, with similar themes and age-appropriate learning opportunities across each year group.

Within each mixed-age class some younger children will be ready for the older lessons; conversely, some older children will find the younger lessons match their needs better. Flexibility and using support staff to help manage the differentiation across two year groups means that this can be done effectively. 

This is with the exception of Reception, where the curriulum is delivered to only Reception aged chidlren each year. In addition, children in Year 5 and 6 are taught separately for lessons covering changes that occur at puberty. 

You can find lots of information about how you can help your child in the parents' section https://www.coramlifeeducation.org.uk/family-scarf 

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