Personal Social and Health Education PSHE

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Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) provides a vital foundation for the personal development of young people in preparing them for adult life. PSHE is important in combating social exclusion and disaffection and can equip young people with the skills and attitudes needed to react positively to the pressures of modern life.

Head teachers and senior managers should:

review the school's PSHE curriculum regularly
consider a development plan for PSHE
consider how involvement in community life beyond the school can contribute to the requirements
determine the training and resource needs

The new PSHE framework gives PSHE greater status and recognition in the curriculum. The health education and citizenship education strands are brought together in a coherent national framework. PSHE and citizenship will be taught together at Key Stage 1 and 2; at Key Stages 3 and 4, from September 2002, citizenship is taught as a foundation subject separately from PSHE.

Curriculum requirements

The non-statutory guidelines for PSHE at Key Stages 1 to 4 can be found on the National Curriculum Online website, which also gives examples of cross-curricular activities. The QCA has also published initial guidance for schools.

PSHE should help pupils to lead confident, healthy and responsible lives as individuals and members of society:

to help them live healthily and safely and deal with the spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues they face as they approach adulthood
to reflect on their experiences and how they are developing
to understand and manage responsibly a wider range of relationships as they mature
to show respect for the diversity of, and differences between, people
to develop pupils well-being and self-esteem, encouraging belief in their ability to succeed
to enable them to take responsibility for their learning and future choice of courses and career

PSHE at Key Stages 3 and 4 builds on pupils own experiences and on work at Key Stages 1 and 2 and complements citizenship in the curriculum, which covers public policy dilemmas related to health, law and family.

Sex and Relationship Education

The emotional and moral dimensions of a sexual relationship will usually be taught within the framework of PSHE. The government issued new sex and relationship guidance in July 2000. The guidance is designed to ensure that Sex and Relationship Education:

recognises the importance of marriage for family life and bringing up children
keeps unsuitable materials out of the classroom
is age appropriate
involves parents fully in its development
helps to reduce teenage pregnancies.

The new guidance is underpinned by the Learning and Skills Act 2000, which gives head teachers and governors a statutory responsibility to have regard to the guidance in ensuring that young people are taught the importance of marriage and that they are protected from inappropriate teaching materials.

The guidance recommends that Sex and Relationship Education should be firmly rooted in the framework of PSHE, to ensure that young people learn to respect themselves and others and move with confidence from childhood through adolescence into adulthood.

The guidance states that secondary schools should:

teach about relationships, love and care and the responsibilities of parenthood as well as sex
focus on boys as much as girls
build self-esteem
teach the taking on of responsibility and the consequences of one's actions in relation to sexual activity and parenthood
provide young people with information about different types of contraception, safe sex, and how they can access local sources of further advice and treatment
use young people as peer educators, e.g. teenage mothers and fathers
give young people a clear understanding of the arguments for delaying sexual activity and resisting pressure
link sex and relationship education with issues of peer pressure and other risk-taking behaviour, such as drugs, smoking and alcohol
ensure young people understand how the law applies to sexual relationships

Effective Sex and Relationship Education is essential if young people are to make responsible and well-informed decisions about their life. It should teach young people to understand human sexuality and to respect themselves and others. It enables young people to mature, to build up their confidence and self-esteem and understand the reasons for delaying sexual activity.

National Healthy Schools Standard (NHSS)

In October 1999 the National Healthy Schools Standard (NHSS) was launched as part of the Healthy Schools programme. It is designed to complement and enhance PSHE in schools. The NHSS offers support for local programme co-ordinators and provides an accreditation process for education and health partnerships. The overall aim of this work is to help schools become healthier schools through supporting the development and improvement of local programmes. A whole-school approach to good health will improve both health and education standards. A healthy school is one that is successful in helping pupils to do their best and build on their achievements. The Healthy Schools programme aims to:

ensure that every school has the opportunity to become a healthy school
improve educational achievement in line with the aims set out in the Government's White Paper Excellence in Schools
assist in the long-term improvement of the public health in line with the targets and objectives set out in Our Healthier Nation
address health inequalities in line with the recommendations made by the Acheson Inquiry into inequalities in health

Since April 2002 all LEAs have been accredited to the NHSS. All schools therefore have an opportunity to work within the Healthy Schools Standard and decide on their priorities for developing a whole-school approach to PSHE delivery.

Wired for Health (WfH)

Wired for Health is the NHSS website. It provides relevant and appropriate health information for teachers, links to accurate, clear and credible websites on a variety of health issues and provides information for teachers which will be followed by material for young people.

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