Personal, Social, Health and Economic

The Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum at Deer Park School includes Relationship and Sex Education (RSE).

Intent

The PSHE curriculum at Deer Park School develops the resilience, focus, enquiry and creativity of pupils by equipping them with the knowledge necessary to prepare them to face challenges and opportunities both within and beyond their school career. Pupils are taught about making positive choices and positive choices are recognised and rewarded regularly. Building positive and respectful relationships with those around you is central to the way in which our schools create a strong, supportive school community. Our teachers set out to instil a strong sense of empathy in the pupils by starting from a position of empathy themselves. We seek to understand the challenges that pupils face as a way of building their resilience through positive reinforcement of their successes, achievements and individuality. We aim to give pupils a genuine sense of their place in the world, both on a local level, a national level and, ultimately as part of a global community.

Implementation

The PSHE curriculum is delivered through a combination of dedicated PSHE lessons, assemblies and enrichment opportunities. The expected knowledge content is clearly set out in our curriculum, and delivered through our explicit teaching pedagogy. The values that we believe in are constantly reinforced through our positive behaviour system and through the planning of engaging sequences of learning that link to issues in the world and in our communities. Many of the texts that pupils study are chosen to elicit discussions about the emotions of characters as a way into pupils being able to discuss their own issues and concerns. The topics and key constructs for our curriculum utilise the PSHE Association’s programme of study, and incorporates RSE using the Christopher Winter Project resources (more information on this topic can be found in our RSE policy). The chosen knowledge content links well with other areas of our provision at school, including specific units on mental health, and on e-safety. Extra-curricular provision at the school supports the content of the PSHE curriculum, with an established breadth of opportunities for representation and leadership, community engagement, and a strong mental health offer.

Impact

The impact of our enriched PSHE provision is assessed through pupil voice and low stakes formative assessments within each unit  Pupils at Deer Park understand the importance of positive interaction with all members of the school community and the responsibility that we all share to create a harmonious and purposeful environment. The positive behaviour system has instilled a strong sense of what it means to be a good learner and a positive member of the school community. By tapping into issues in the world, our pupils can also see the wider impact that they can have through their voices and actions. Our pupils learn the value of community, building mutually respectful relationships and employing positive choices. Though this programme, pupils learn to discuss and evaluate ideas and scenarios, and develop a strong knowledge of the ethical and moral principles that underpin their school and community. Through PSHE, our pupils gain a reflective understanding of their own physical and mental development, and build their knowledge of safe, ethical and informed strategies which will enable them to take their place in a global community.