Our PSHE specialist is Miss Hill (BA QTS Personal, Social and Health Education)

Read more about the PSHE curriculum here:

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Curriculum Intent: To enable our children to become healthy, independent and ​responsible members of a diverse and multicultural society. St Matthew’s is committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all pupils so they can learn and develop in a relaxed and secure environment. 

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education: Our Vision

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) enables children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society. Pupils are actively encouraged to play a positive role in contributing to the life of the school and the wider community. In doing so we help to develop pupils’ sense of worth and we teach them how society is organised and governed. We teach them about their rights and responsibilities and enable them to learn to appreciate what it means to be a positive member of a culturally diverse society.

The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all pupils is extremely important and pupils are supported on a daily basis through the school’s ethos and across many areas of the curriculum. Collective worship also provides regular opportunities to further enhance pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, promoting the school’s Christian values and celebrating achievements.

At St Matthew’s, we follow the PSHE Association Programmes of Study (PoS) which aim to develop skills and attributes such as resilience, self-esteem, risk-management, teamworking and critical thinking in the context of three core themes: Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World.

The National Curriculum states that "all schools should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), drawing on good practice". PSHE education contributes to schools' statutory duties outlined in the Education Act 2002 and the Academies Act 2010 to provide a balanced and broadly-based curriculum and is essential to Ofsted judgements in relation to personal development, behaviour, welfare and safeguarding.

Through our PSHE curriculum children will learn to:

• Love themselves and to recognise their own importance
• Have empathy for others
• Forgive others and be aware of the damage caused by holding on to hurt
• Build healthy relationships
• Have a resilient mindset
• Make good choices and have healthy conversations based on truth

PSHE has now become a statutory area of the National Curriculum and we believe that our curriculum at St Matthew's meets these requirements. 

Children leave our school as happy, well-balanced individuals. They feel loved, cared for, valued and well prepared for the next step in life. Children hold responsibilities throughout the school such as school librarians, digital leaders and eco-council representatives and have created a happy, safe learning environment. They also make key whole school decisions as members of various pupil voice groups throughout school such as Ethos Group and School Council. 

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSC)

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are promoted through all PSHE teaching.

Spiritual Development: We explore the beliefs and experiences of ourselves and others; discuss the importance of respecting all beliefs and faiths; learn about and discuss our feelings and values and those of others.

Moral Development: We learn about and discuss things that are right and wrong; learn about the law and the importance of it; begin to consider our actions and the consequence of them; consider, discuss and debate ethical issues; offer reasoned views.

Social Development: We consider all of the groups and communities that we are part of; participate in our local community; learn how to resolve conflict; engage with the British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance.

Cultural Development: We become aware of cultural influences; learn about the role of Britain’s parliamentary system; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

Personal Development at Stretton St Matthew's

At Stretton St Matthew’s, we have always recognised the crucial role Personal, Social and Health Education plays in the children’s education. It has always been an integral part of our curriculum, taught both as stand-alone sessions and through our integrated curriculum. Our high-quality PSHE provision at St Matthew’s is delivered through a broad and rich curriculum and aims to support the success of all individuals. We prepare pupils for the next step In their education and their later life through our comprehensive, thorough and carefully sequenced PSHE education programme. Our PSHE curriculum is the starting point in developing the personal development, character and cultural capital of our pupils. We offer a range of opportunities which develop, encourage and enrich our pupils’ talents and interests, as well as inspiring and sparking their interest to experience new things.

In order to ensure that all the statutory requirements are covered throughout the school in a sensitive and age-appropriate way, we follow an online framework, provided by PSHE Association. This framework does not only ensure that the statutory objectives are taught but also combines them with additional PSHE objectives, ensuring our children are given the tools to become, lifelong learners and acquire personal skills and attributes to help them in their future lives.

During key stages 1 and 2, PSHE education offers both explicit and implicit learning opportunities and experiences which reflect pupils’ increasing independence and physical and social awareness, as they move through the primary phase. It builds on the skills that pupils started to acquire during the Early Years Foundation stage (EYFS) to develop effective relationships, assume greater personal responsibility and manage personal safety, including online. PSHE education helps pupils to manage the physical and emotional changes at puberty, introduces them to a wider world and enables them to make an active contribution to their communities.

Personal Development occurs in the curriculum through: 

• Subject schemes of work and curriculum documents
• Assemblies and Collective Worship
• Pupil led groups (School Council, Ethos Group, Global Citizens etc...)  
• Planned learning opportunities in contexts outside school e.g. residential visits or trips
• Extra-curricular activities 
• Encouraging all students to play a helpful part in the life of the  school, neighborhood, community and the wider world