At Sarum Hall School we work hard to give our pupils an education that prepares them for life’s opportunities and challenges.
PSHE Education has come a long way since I was educated in the 1980s. Back then, it didn’t even have a name. Thankfully, the Government published new guidance for schools in the year 2000 and it because compulsory in all schools. It stands for Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education. It’s a broad subject that aims to provide children with the knowledge and skills they need to live healthy, independent and confident lives. I’m passionate about it, and glad to be the PSHE lead at Sarum Hall.
I would imagine that most readers of my age (full disclosure: I’m due a very big birthday in January) found that it was tacked onto a PE or biology lesson as part of their senior education. I’m glad to report that things have dramatically improved. At Sarum Hall we aim to develop the natural talents and potential of each individual and prepare them all for a full, happy, healthy, active and productive life. PSHE Education is a critical part of this.
We teach our children implicitly and explicitly about the importance of a healthy diet, physical activity and good sleep. It also means teaching children from a very young age about mental wellbeing and how to recognise and discuss emotions. From Nursery, we teach the words to describe feelings. After all, if we don’t have the right words, how can we explain how we are feeling to others?
Relationship education is now compulsory in schools. That means children learn about different types of relationships, the characteristics of family life, commitment to each other, and the importance of spending time together and sharing each other’s lives. It also means we teach children that other people’s families sometimes look different from their own, but that they should respect those differences and know that other children’s families are also characterised by love and care.
While relationship education is compulsory for all primary aged children, parents still have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of the sex education part of the curriculum. Our sex education aims to allow sensitive discussions to take place, help pupils develop self-respect, learn and understand physical development such as puberty, comprehend human reproduction, and understand permission and consent.
It's not all about relationships and sex though! This broad subject.is now tackling online safety as well. That means teaching children that the same principles apply to online relationships as to face-to-face relationships, as well as the importance of respect for others online including when we are anonymous.
PSHE Education is vital in helping to shape well-rounded, informed, and resilient young people. Pupils benefit enormously from it and it should run through the veins of any good school. Those of us educated in the 1980s should look back enviously!
- Andrew Laws is a teacher and head of PSHEE at Sarum Hall School. For more information about Sarum Hall School: sarumhallschool.co.uk, Instagram: @kuliracharity @sarumhallschool
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