Junior PHSE

What is PSHE in schools?

What does PSHE stand for? PSHE stands for Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education. The acronym PSHCE is also sometimes used, where the ‘C’ stands for Citizenship.

As a subject, PSHE aims to provide children with the knowledge and skills to keep themselves happy, healthy and safe, as well as to prepare them for life and work. PSHE aims to give children the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy and independent lives.

Navigating our complex world can be challenging, and parents and teachers play an essential role in preparing children for the future. As such, PSHE aims to equip pupils to:

• Take individual responsibility for their physical and mental wellbeing;
• understand the risks of drugs and alcohol and how to stay safe online;
• develop resilience, independence and responsibility;
• develop the personal and social skills required to succeed in commerce and industry;
• identify misleading information and be critical of misleading news or views they might encounter.

The three core elements of PSHE and Citizenship taught in primary schools are:

• Relationships
• Health and Wellbeing
• Living in the Wider World

During the Relationships unit, children will learn:

• How to develop and maintain a variety of positive relationships, within families and friendships.
• All about self-respect and respect for others, courtesy and manners.
• About stereotypes and being respectful of others who have different backgrounds or beliefs.
• About the importance of permission-seeking and giving in relationships.
• About different types of bullying and how to get help.
• All about online interactions and relationships and the associated risks.
• About the concepts of privacy and boundaries, and inappropriate contact (offline and online) and touch.
• How to respond to risky or negative relationships and ask for help.

Through the Health and Wellbeing unit, children will learn:

• What is meant by a healthy lifestyle?
• How to make informed choices about mental and physical health and wellbeing, and where to get help with this.
• About self-care techniques.
• How to recognise and talk about different emotions.
• About internet safety and harms, including negative impacts on physical and mental health, cyberbullying and where to get help with issues online.
• About drugs, alcohol and tobacco and the associated risks.
• About illnesses, personal hygiene and vaccinations.
• How to look after our bodies in different ways, such as protecting our skin from the sun, getting enough sleep and taking care of our teeth.
• How to respond in an emergency and basic first aid.
• All about the changing adolescent body, including physical and emotional changes, and menstrual wellbeing.

The Living in the Wider World unit will teach them:

• About respect for themselves and others, and the importance of responsible actions and behaviour.
• About rights and responsibilities as members of families, other groups and citizens.
• About different groups and communities.
• To respect equality and diversity, and how to be a productive member of a diverse community.
• About the importance of respecting and protecting the environment.
• About where money comes from, keeping it safe, and the importance of managing it effectively.
• The part that money plays in people’s lives.