Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education (PSHE)

Our PSHE Curriculum

Learning for life

Newman follows the PSHE Association Education Planning Framework for pupils with SEND, with learning adapted to pupils’ individual curriculum pathways.

The curriculum incorporates statutory Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education, alongside wider personal, social and economic learning.

Learning is revisited through curriculum cycles. Each time pupils return to an important area, they build upon previous knowledge and experiences, exploring concepts in greater depth and with increasing maturity.

This spiral approach helps pupils develop knowledge that can be understood, remembered and, importantly, applied within their everyday lives.

Six Key Themes

Important knowledge for life

Six overarching themes run throughout Newman’s PSHE curriculum.

Safety
Learning how to recognise risks, understand safe and unsafe situations and know when and where to seek help.

Relationships
Developing an understanding of friendships, families and different relationships, including respect, trust, boundaries and appropriate behaviour.

Healthy Lifestyle
Understanding the choices and habits that contribute to physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Confidence
Developing self-esteem, self-advocacy and belief in personal abilities while learning to make informed choices.

Identity
Exploring the qualities, beliefs, characteristics and experiences that contribute to our understanding of ourselves and others.

Change & Resilience
Developing strategies to manage change, cope with challenges and respond positively when circumstances are difficult or unfamiliar.

Learning Through Our Pathways

Engage

Experiencing and responding

Pupils engage with PSHE learning through appropriate stimuli, experiences and adult support.

Learning focuses on meaningful situations within pupils’ immediate environments, such as interacting alongside peers, responding to familiar adults, making choices and beginning to recognise what is safe and unsafe.

Discovery

Developing awareness

Pupils begin to understand key PSHE concepts and develop greater awareness of themselves, other people and their surroundings.

They explore healthy lifestyles, relationships and safety while learning to communicate with others, recognise familiar people and situations and make increasingly independent choices.

Develop

Building understanding

Pupils develop their understanding and begin applying PSHE knowledge within wider contexts.

They learn to think increasingly independently about respectful relationships, healthy lifestyles, emotions and safe and unsafe situations, developing the skills to communicate appropriately and make informed decisions.

Deepen

Applying learning to everyday life

Pupils deepen their knowledge and apply it across different situations and environments.

They develop greater independence in maintaining relationships, looking after their health and wellbeing, recognising risks and responding appropriately to situations such as bullying and other social challenges.

The emphasis increasingly moves from simply knowing something to being able to use that knowledge in real life.

A Curriculum That Develops Over Time

Newman’s curriculum cycles revisit six broad areas:

Self-Awareness • Self-Care, Support & Safety • Managing Feelings • Changing & Growing • Healthy Lifestyles • The World I Live In

The content becomes increasingly sophisticated as pupils mature. For example, keeping safe develops from identifying trusted adults and recognising safe situations towards online safety, personal boundaries and managing risks independently.

Similarly, learning about relationships develops from playing and working alongside others towards friendships, healthy relationships, consent and the complexities of adult relationships.

This structure allows important learning to be revisited, reinforced and applied at progressively greater depth.

Communication • Independence • Resilience

Newman’s three curriculum drivers are integral to PSHE.

Communication develops from using AAC, gestures, actions and objects of reference to communicate choices towards confidently expressing ideas, explaining opinions and navigating increasingly complex social situations.

Independence develops through making choices, recognising safe and unsafe situations, maintaining healthy relationships and progressively taking greater responsibility for personal health, safety and wellbeing.

Resilience develops as pupils encounter personal, social, health and relationship issues and learn strategies that help them manage change, challenge and unfamiliar situations in preparation for adulthood.

Preparation for Adulthood

Our golden thread

Preparation for Adulthood is described within Newman’s PSHE curriculum as a “Golden Thread for all learners”.

PSHE knowledge and Preparation for Adulthood skills work alongside one another to help pupils transfer classroom learning into practical everyday life.

As pupils develop, this can include skills and understanding around personal care, health, friendships, community participation, travel, money, independent living, employment, relationships and accessing adult services.

Progress is organised around developmental stages because Newman recognises that a pupil’s cognitive and physical abilities may not always sit within the same curriculum pathway.

The ultimate aim is not simply for pupils to know more, but for them to use their knowledge to become safer, healthier, more confident and increasingly independent young adults.

PSHE Across Newman

A curriculum that grows with our pupils

At Whiston, pupils follow the EYFS framework or the Key Stage 1–2 PSHE Association Education Planning Framework for SEND. Within EYFS, PSHE concepts are embedded throughout everyday practice, provision and high-quality interactions rather than being taught solely as discrete lessons.

At Dinnington, pupils follow the Key Stage 3–4 PSHE Association framework, with learning matched to the appropriate Newman curriculum pathway.

At NAR, pupils similarly follow the Key Stage 3–4 framework, with provision adapted to their individual curriculum needs.

The subject overview specifies one PSHE session each week across Newman’s sites, alongside the wider opportunities through which personal and social development is reinforced.

Self-Awareness & Identity

Understanding ourselves

PSHE helps pupils develop an increasingly strong understanding of who they are.

Learning explores personal strengths, interests and abilities alongside self-esteem, identity and the qualities that make each person unique.

As pupils grow older, they encounter increasingly complex issues including peer pressure, prejudice and discrimination, body image and the influence of social media.

Pupils are encouraged to recognise their own strengths, express their views and develop the confidence to make choices that support their wellbeing and future aspirations.

Relationships

Building positive connections

Understanding relationships is central to PSHE at Newman.

Pupils learn about friendships, families and relationships in ways appropriate to their age, developmental stage and individual needs.

Learning develops understanding of kindness, respect, trust, personal boundaries, consent and appropriate behaviour, alongside recognising relationships or behaviours that may be unhealthy or unsafe.

As pupils mature, the curriculum progressively addresses romantic and intimate relationships, sexual health, consent, contraception, long-term relationships and parenthood.

Health & Wellbeing

Looking after ourselves

Pupils develop the knowledge and practical understanding needed to look after their physical and mental health.

The curriculum includes areas such as healthy eating, physical activity, personal hygiene, dental health, sleep, medicines, mental wellbeing and recognising when we feel unwell.

Pupils also learn about emotions and strategies for managing feelings. As they progress, they explore increasingly complex issues around mental wellbeing, self-esteem and recognising when they or somebody else may need additional support.

Older pupils encounter age-appropriate learning around drugs, alcohol and tobacco, their associated risks and how choices can affect physical and mental health.

Staying Safe

Recognising risk and seeking support

An important aim of PSHE is enabling pupils to recognise when something may be unsafe and understand what they can do about it.

Learning progresses from identifying trusted adults and communicating worries towards understanding personal safety, public and private situations, bullying, harassment, peer pressure and other risks.

Pupils learn how to set appropriate boundaries, recognise unsafe behaviour and understand where, when and how to ask for help.

For older pupils, learning develops to include areas such as consent, exploitation, coercion and other situations in which personal safety and the ability to seek appropriate support are particularly important.

Life Online

Being safe and responsible in a digital world

Online life is embedded throughout Newman’s PSHE curriculum rather than treated as a separate issue.

Pupils learn about online relationships, social media, privacy, harmful content, cyberbullying, online gaming and sharing information.

As pupils become more independent, learning develops to include recognising unreliable information and fake news, scams, targeted content and advertising, managing social media and understanding how online activity can affect self-esteem and mental wellbeing.

Pupils are taught that expectations around respect, relationships, boundaries and safety apply online as well as face-to-face.

Managing Feelings

Understanding our emotions

Developing emotional understanding is an important part of PSHE.

Pupils learn to identify and express different feelings and recognise that emotions are a normal part of everyday life.

As their understanding develops, pupils explore the causes and effects of emotions and learn strategies that can help them manage difficult or strong feelings.

Learning progressively considers worry, anxiety, pressure, self-esteem and mental health, helping pupils recognise when feelings may require additional support and identify people who can help.

Changing & Growing

Understanding change throughout life

PSHE supports pupils to understand changes in themselves, their relationships and their lives.

Learning progresses from recognising the journey from baby to adult towards understanding puberty and physical and emotional changes.

As appropriate to pupils’ age and stage of development, the curriculum builds towards relationships and sex education, including romantic feelings, sexual attraction, healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours, consent, contraception and intimate relationships.

Learning is carefully sequenced so pupils revisit these important concepts with increasing knowledge, maturity and understanding.

The World I Live In

Preparing to participate in society

PSHE helps pupils understand the communities and wider society of which they are part.

Learning includes differences between people, jobs, money, rules and laws, rights and responsibilities and caring for the environment.

As pupils progress, they encounter increasingly practical aspects of adult life, including managing finances, recognising scams, making informed choices, understanding their responsibilities and preparing for transitions beyond school.

Pupils are encouraged to play a positive role within Newman and the wider community, including experiencing democratic processes through the School Council.