At St. Mary’s, Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. We provide opportunities to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our PSHE curriculum is intended to support and enhance our teaching of Catholic values, which underpin everything we do.

Our PSHE curriculum is closely matched to the needs of our children and the diverse society that they are growing up in. It is regularly monitored to ensure that the topics taught explore the demands of modern life. PSHE is a vital tool to ensuring that children develop emotionally as well as academically and therefore is held with high regard by all within our school. The PSHE curriculum within our school allows children to develop their confidence and self-esteem which in turn allows them to recognise their own worth; whilst also ensuring that our children are well equipped with the skills of collaborative learning. In addition to this we prepare our children to play active roles as citizens within the wider society; allowing them to develop positive relationships and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We hope that through our PSHE education we equip the children with the ability to ask questions; having the confidence to challenge when they think something is wrong. 

The national requirements for PSHE are covered through RE , worship and RHE as well as through discrete PSHE lessons.

Through the PSHE curriculum, children are taught…

1. to develop their self-esteem, confidence and self-awareness to make the right choices. 
2. to develop their social skills and social awareness.
3. tomake sense of their personal and social experiences.
4. to maintain responsible attitudes towards the maintenance of good physical and mental health, supported by a safe and healthy lifestyle.
5. to develop effective interpersonal relationships and a caring attitude towards others. 
6. to develop a caring attitude and sense of responsibility about the environment.
7. to manage and understand their feelings. 
8. to understand how society works and the rights and responsibilities involved.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Assessing children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary.
• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.
• Images and videos of the children’s practical learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.
• Marking of any written work.
• Termly assessment against key skills.