Personal, Social & Health Education
This core theme covers Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE), including sex and relationship education and drug education (including alcohol, tobacco and volatile substance abuse).
In November 2008 the National Healthy Schools Programme issued PSHE education guidance. The introduction to this document explains that PSHE education encompasses Personal, Social and Health Education at Key Stages 1 and 2, and Personal, Social, Health and Economic education at Key Stages 3 and 4.
PSHE provides pupils with the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes to make informed decisions about their lives.
While PSHE is possibly the most challenging of the four core themes, it provides much of the foundation for Healthy Schools status.
The aim of our work to support you to gain HS status is to challenge you to go much further in extending and strenthening PSHE.
We also encourage you to join the campaign to get PSHE made compulsory in schools (although we do understand the pressures on curriculum time - we think this is just too important to leave to chance!)
PSHE can contribute significantly to the school's work around Every Child Matters.
There is an increasing body of practical guidance and support from the QCA to develop and improve PSHE across all the Key Stages.
The PSHE Association was formed to raise the status, quality and impact of PSHE, and to provide help and support to teachers and other PSHE professionals.
SEAL and PSHE
A full, timetabled, whole school implementation of Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) can provide a substantial part - but not all - of a planned programme of PSHE. The PSHE programme needs to include more of the knowledge aspects of drugs, alcohol and tobacco education, Sex and Relationships Education, healthy living, staying safe and Citizenship.
SEAL helps children and young people to develop skills and attitudes of confidence, self-esteem, risk awareness and risk management, assertiveness and awareness of their feelings and how to deal with them appropriately and effectively. All of these skills can help them make informed and strong, safe choices including those around drugs, alcohol, sex and relationships and risky behaviours now and in the future.
Our 'mini-sites' for Drugs and SRE cover these aspects of PSHE in more detail.