Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) including Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)

 At Montrose, we aim to give children the knowledge , skills and attitudes that they need to effectively navigate the complexities of life in the 21st century. Our curriculum covers key areas which will support children to make informed choices around their health, safety, wellbeing, relationships and financial matter - now and in the future. It will support them in becoming confident individuals and active members of society. 

We use the KAPOW Primary's RSE/PSHE scheme of work that covers the Relationships and Health Education statutory guidance (as set out by the Department for Education), including the non-statutory sex education.  Children's learning through this scheme significantly contributes to their personal development and promotes the four fundamental British values which reflect life in modern Britain: democracy; rule of law; respect and tolerance and individual liberty. Our curriculum introduces and revisits idea of personal boundaries, consent and communicating our boundaries with other. This prepares pupils for the challenges and responsibilities they will face in the future.

Our scheme covers the key areas:

EYFS

• self-regulation
• building relationships
• managing self

KS1 and KS2

• Family and relationships (including emotions, feelings,. bullying, friendships, trust and loss)
• Health and wellbeing (including positive habits, self-esteem and mental health)
• Safety and the changing body (including online safety, appropriate contact, changes and first aid)
• Citizenship (including British values)
• Economic wellbeing (including attitudes to money and carers and aspirations)

Each area is revisited to allow children to build on prior learning and provide a progressive programme. A range of teaching and learning activities are used, including stories, scenarios and video clips, to provide the opportunity for children to engage in real life and current topics in a safe and structured way. There are meaningful opportunities for cross curricular learning in particular with computing for online safety and science for growing, nutrition, teeth, diet and lifestyle. 

Relationships and Sex Education

High quality Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) ensures children and young people are equipped with the knowledge, understanding, skills and confidence to cope with the many pressures and challenges of modern society. It enables pupils to develop essential life skills for building and maintaining positive, enjoyable, respectful and non-exploitative relationships. Pupils are equipped with the information and skills that they need to understand about themselves, their peers and people they meet in the wider community. RSE explores risks, choices, rights, responsibilities and attitudes. 

Our KAPOW scheme covers the statutory requirements for RSE and has been carefully planned to be age appropriate, giving children the opportunity to revisit topics in different year groups. Some of the areas covered within each KAPOW scheme (dependent on year group) are:

Family and Relationships

• importance of family
• different types of families
• online relationships including staying safe

Health and wellbeing 

• mental health and wellbeing
• dental health
• first aid

Safety and the changing body

• physical and emotional changes during puberty
• understanding their body
• online safety

The Department for Education requires that we teach RSE to all pupils. There is non-statutory sex education content in two year 6 lessons (“Safety and the changing body” unit: lesson 5, conception and lesson 6, pregnancy and birth). Families will be notified beforehand to allow them to consider the content of these lessons and to withdraw their child if they so wish. For more information, please see our Relationships Education policy on the policies page. 

The aims of Relationships Education are further supported by interventions, extracurricular and enrichment activities we provide. For example, children’s learning is enriched through educational visits, our Forest School, visitors, sporting opportunities, music, art and cultural events and links to the local area.  At Montrose, we give children the best possible start and build on their early skills preparing them for each stage of their education, raising their aspirations and demonstrating possibilities for their future lives.