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Curriculum

PSHE and RSHE

At St Mary’s, our Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) & Relationships, Sex, and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum across the school seeks to prepare children for the rich, diverse and sometimes difficult lives they will face both in school and in the wider world.

PSHE and RSHE Intent

Our values based curriculum will give our pupils the opportunity to develop their own self-worth, recognise the attributes of others and to feel empowered to make the next steps in their educational journeys, when they leave us.

Through our ‘Sunshine 6 Values’ (the roots of our curriculum) we provide children with the knowledge they need to show respect to all members of their diverse communities, whilst also developing a profound sense of self-esteem.   Using the knowledge and values learnt through our PSHE and RSHE curriculum our children will be prepared to recognise a variety of issues, such as unhealthy relationships, bullying, peer on peer abuse or mental/physical health. We aim to enable them to seek appropriate support and safeguard themselves from any difficulties they may face.

PSHE and RSHE Implementation

We implement our RSHE and PSHE curriculum by mapping learning sequentially throughout the year, using our St Mary’s RSHE progression framework. By carefully sequencing the PSHE learning strands across the school, we make sure our pupils confidently build the knowledge and understanding they need to thrive, stay safe and build healthy relationships.

Our PSHE curriculum draws on a range of short stories and texts to place learning into a context, learning through the eyes of characters and illustrations in an age and stage appropriate way. We delve into these narratives, applying the messages in them to our own lives and choices. We have planned this curriculum to meet the needs of the children in our community and to spark their interest and curiosity about different viewpoints and experiences. 

For some PSHE and RSHE learning, we draw on resources from other places, including the NSPCC, the NHS and the No Outsiders curriculum. We weave these resources into our sequences to bring expert knowledge to topics such as water and road safety, basic first aid, healthy eating and what to do in an emergency. For some topics, we bring learning to life with visitors and workshops, including a visit from the Fire Service in Year 4 and from local nurses in Year 1. We make the most of opportunities to explore healthy food by preparing and cooking savoury dishes and using songs and art work to find new ways to communicate our feelings. 

Some elements of the RSHE curriculum are embedded within our wider curriculum. Our curriculum projects in the Summer term provide opportunities to celebrate who we are, understand what makes us feel safe and happy in our families and friendships and find new ways to express our feelings. Within our Science learning, we find out more about healthy lifestyles, the benefits of physical movement on our bodies and what is and isn’t safe to eat and drink. 

Each half term, year groups have a focus on: No Outsiders and  Online Safety.

No Outsiders – Enables us to deliver the requirements of Equalities Act 2010.

 

Online Safety

Our children are growing up in an increasingly online world. Equipping them with the knowledge and tools to stay safe online has never been more important.

We follow the iCompute online safety scheme, updated to align with the 2026 RSHE curriculum, to ensure our pupils have the understanding of the risks they could face online and how to manage these and seek support. These lessons include:

  • Knowing what is and isn’t safe to share online and what is meant by ‘personal information’
  • Understanding how it feels to be online and what to do if something feels uncomfortable
  • Knowing that people online may not be who they say they are and how to stay safe playing games 
  • Learning what is meant by ‘consent’ and what the consequences can be of sharing information or images without consent. 
  • Knowing that not everyone can be trusted, how to spot concerns and who to talk to about them
  • The impact of advertising online and why it can be hard to avoid
  • Understanding that not everything we see online is accurate or true and learning ways to check the validity of information we find online 
  • Knowing what is meant by cyberbullying, how to recognise it and how to seek support
  • Understanding how to be responsible, respectful and kind users of the internet