PSHE

Our school is committed to promoting the health and well-being of the whole school community and fully recognises the important relationship between
well-being and learning.

Through PSHE and the wider curriculum we promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and work to prepare pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. British Values are explicitly taught in PSHE - find out more on our British Values page. 

PSHE education is extremely important to us, is at the heart of our school ethos and is embedded throughout all areas of the wider curriculum.

We use the Kapow Primary scheme of work to give our pupils the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to navigate the complexities of modern life.

Our curriculum goes beyond academic learning, significantly contributing to personal development by covering statutory Relationships and Health Education and wider PSHE.

Intent

Our Intent at Swaffield for PSHE is that we are: Kind, Safe and Responsible, which aligns with our three school rules:
Kind- we strongly emphasise emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health
Safe – we promote online safety and healthy eating
Responsible – we help children understand and value how they fit into and contribute to the world. 

‘Today’s children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities but also challenges and risks. In this environment children and young
people need to know how to be safe and healthy and how to manage
their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way’.

DfE Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and
Health Education Statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors,
headteachers, principals, senior leadership teams, teachers. 

Implementation

At Swaffield we use the Kapow PSHE and RSE Scheme of Work to teach PSHE from Reception to Year 6.
There are different themes which are followed by every year group: 
               • My healthy self
               • Connecting with others
               • The online world
               • Staying safe
               • Health protection
               • Citizenship and growing up

These are our first ‘Mini First Aiders’ who have

attended an after school club run by Mr Butcher. 

He has taught the children how to use bandages,

clean injuries .... and even how to do CPR! 

Each year group covers content related to each theme, ensuring that a spiral programme is in place: one that revisits themes, gradually extending thinking, expanding knowledge and developing skills. Where possible we make cross-curricular links between PSHE and other subjects, for example Science and PE.
PSHE learning comes in many different forms: through whole-class teaching, group activities, individual tasks, assemblies, outside speakers, cross-curricular lessons and discrete lessons. During PSHE sessions children are encouraged to both ask and answer questions, to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

Impact

Bronze Award for rail safety
covered in PSHE lessons

By the time children leave Swaffield, they will have met the objectives from all the different strands of our PSHE curriculum and will be able to draw upon and utilise their learning within the different situations and environments that life brings. We hope our pupils feel confident, empowered and part of a community. We hope they can deal with and support others as well as know where to look for support if they need it.  

We hope our pupils can recognise their feelings and have strategies to rely on. PSHE education at our school will ensure that our pupils are role model citizens for the present and future.

Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural Development - SMSC

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

Spiritual: The opportunity to explore beliefs, experience and faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity and reflect on experiences.
Moral: The opportunity to learn what is right and wrong and respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues and offer reasoned views.
Social: The opportunity to use a range of social skills to participate in the local community and beyond; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict.
Cultural: The opportunity to explore and appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain’s parliamentary system; participate in cultural opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

The document below shows how the teaching of Personal Development, SMSC and British Values are mapped out in the Kapow Scheme of Work:

• overview document download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineoverview document

Assembly themes and Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural events:

• Themes for the year download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineThemes for the year

Physical health and mental wellbeing in primary schools

The physical health and mental wellbeing part of the new PSHE curriculum will teach the children how to:
    • Make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing.
    • Recognise issues in themselves.
    • Recognise issues in others.
    • Seek support as early as possible when issues arise.

By the time children finish primary school, they will have been taught about the following:
    • Mental wellbeing
    • Internet safety and harms
    • Physical health and fitness
    • Healthy eating
    • Facts about drugs, alcohol and drugs and the risks associated with them
    • Health and prevention of illness
    • Basic first aid
    • Changes to the adolescent body, including puberty

Government Guidance

Follow this link to see the current Government guidance:  

Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)

At our school, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is taught as part of our wider Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum. We follow the Kapow Primary RSE & PSHE scheme of work, which is carefully designed to meet the Department for Education’s statutory guidance for Relationships Education and Health Education, including the updated requirements coming into effect from September 2026.
Link to September 2026 guidance

Our curriculum ensures that all children receive clear, age-appropriate and progressive learning about relationships, health, safety and wellbeing. It supports pupils to develop the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe, build positive relationships and make informed choices as they grow.

Our approach

Through RSE within PSHE, pupils learn about:
    • How to form and maintain healthy, respectful relationships
    • Families, friendships and how relationships can change
    • Emotional wellbeing, self-awareness and managing feelings
    • Online safety and respectful behaviour in digital spaces
    • Respect for themselves and others, including diversity and inclusion
    • Growing and changing, including puberty
    • How to recognise and respond to unsafe situations and seek help

Teaching and delivery
RSE is taught as part of PSHE lessons, alongside other key areas such as health and wellbeing, citizenship and economic understanding. Lessons are carefully structured to be inclusive, supportive and sensitive, creating a safe environment where children feel confident to ask questions and express their thoughts.
Overview of RSE: 

• Overview of RSE units download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineOverview of RSE units

NSPCC Talk PANTS 

In Early Years and KS1, we use the NSPCC Talk PANTS resources to support our teaching about personal safety in an age-appropriate and child-friendly way. Through these lessons, children learn important messages about body safety, privacy, consent and speaking to a trusted adult if they are worried or feel unsafe. The PANTS programme helps children understand that their body belongs to them and encourages them to develop confidence in keeping themselves safe.

Introduction video for parents:

Can parents withdraw their children from the RSE Curriculum?

Parents cannot withdraw their child from any part of the Relationships and Health Education or Science aspects of the RSE curriculum. It is important for all children to be taught the content on such essential matters like friendships and keeping safe.

Sex education is separate from the Relationships and Health curriculum and parents can withdraw children from some or all of the lessons on Sex Education. Sex Education lessons are only taught in Year 6. If a parent/carer wishes to withdraw their child from Sex Education lessons then they need to put their request in writing to the Headteacher, Ms Hamilton. She will then contact the parent/carer for a discussion.

Before making a request, parents should:

Remember that the Science and Health curriculums in all maintained schools includes content on human development including changes to the adolescent body, and that there is no right for a parent to withdraw their child from the science curriculum.

Details of lessons are available on request. 
A charge may be made for photocopying, as stated in our Charging and Remissions Policy.

Uesful Links

Link to overview from Kapow

You can read our RSE Policy here