Relationships & Health Education

At SHS, Relationships Education and Health Education are central parts of our curriculum and play an important role in supporting pupils’ personal development and wellbeing. The curriculum is designed to help children build strong foundations for healthy, respectful relationships and to develop the knowledge and skills needed to look after their physical and emotional health.

Through Relationships Education, pupils learn about friendships, family relationships, kindness, respect, and effective communication. They are taught about personal boundaries, how to recognise safe and unsafe situations, and how to seek help and support when needed. As pupils progress through the school, learning is developed in an age-appropriate way to include understanding of online relationships, bullying (including cyberbullying), and the importance of inclusion, respect, and positive behaviour towards others.

Health Education supports pupils in understanding how to care for their bodies and minds. This includes learning about healthy lifestyles, emotional well-being, hygiene, and physical activity, as well as making safe, informed choices that support lifelong health.

It is important to note that sex education is not statutory in primary schools. Parents and carers have the right to withdraw their child from any non-statutory sex education that is delivered beyond the national curriculum for science and Health Education.

We are committed to working in partnership with families. We will always communicate clearly about curriculum content, providing opportunities for parents to view materials and discuss any questions or concerns with the school.

Pam Holmes
Head of PSHE & Wellbeing

Relationships & Health Education Learning Statements

Relationships

Relationships Education
Families and people who care for me	Pupils should know: that families are important for children growing up because they can give love, security and stability the characteristics of healthy family life, commitment to each other, including in times of difficulty, protection and care for children and other family members, the importance of spending time together and sharing each other’s lives that others’ families, either in school or in the wider world, sometimes look different from their family, but that they should respect those differences and know that other children’s families are also characterised by love and care that stable, caring relationships, which may be of different types, are at the heart of happy families, and are important for children’s security as they grow up that marriage represents a formal and legally recognised commitment of two people to each other which is intended to be lifelong how to recognise if family relationships are making them feel unhappy or unsafe, and how to seek help or advice from others if needed
Caring friendships	Pupils should know: how important friendships are in making us feel happy and secure, and how people choose and make friends the characteristics of friendships, including mutual respect, truthfulness, trustworthiness, loyalty, kindness, generosity, trust, sharing interests and experiences and support with problems and difficulties that healthy friendships are positive and welcoming towards others, and do not make others feel lonely or excluded that most friendships have ups and downs, and that these can often be worked through so that the friendship is repaired or even strengthened, and that resorting to violence is never right how to recognise who to trust and who not to trust, how to judge when a friendship is making them feel unhappy or uncomfortable, managing conflict, how to manage these situations and how to seek help or advice from others, if needed
Respectful Relationships	Pupils should know: the importance of respecting others, even when they are very different from them (for example, physically, in character, personality or backgrounds), or make different choices or have different preferences or beliefs practical steps they can take in a range of different contexts to improve or support respectful relationships the conventions of courtesy and manners the importance of self-respect and how this links to their own happiness that in school and in wider society they can expect to be treated with respect by others, and that in turn they should show due respect to others, including those in positions of authority about different types of bullying (including cyberbullying), the impact of bullying, responsibilities of bystanders (primarily reporting bullying to an adult) and how to get help what a stereotype is, and how stereotypes can be unfair, negative or destructive the importance of permission-seeking and giving in relationships with friends, peers and adults
Online Relationships	Pupils should know: that people sometimes behave differently online, including by pretending to be someone they are not that the same principles apply to online relationships as to face-to-face relationships, including the importance of respect for others online including when we are anonymous the rules and principles for keeping safe online, how to recognise risks, harmful content and contact, and how to report them how to critically consider their online friendships and sources of information including awareness of the risks associated with people they have never met how information and data is shared and used online
Being Safe	Pupils should know: what sorts of boundaries are appropriate in friendships with peers and others (including in a digital context) about the concept of privacy and the implications of it for both children and adults; including that it is not always right to keep secrets if they relate to being safe that each person’s body belongs to them, and the differences between appropriate and inappropriate or unsafe physical, and other, contact how to respond safely and appropriately to adults they may encounter (in all contexts, including online) whom they do not know how to recognise and report feelings of being unsafe or feeling bad about any adult how to ask for advice or help for themselves or others, and to keep trying until they are heard, how to report concerns or abuse, and the vocabulary and confidence needed to do so where to get advice, for example family, school or other sources

Physical Health & Wellbeing

Physical Health and Wellbeing
Mental Wellbeing	Pupils should know: that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health that there is a normal range of emotions (e.g. happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, nervousness) and scale of emotions that all humans experience in relation to different experiences and situations how to recognise and talk about their emotions, including having a varied vocabulary of words to use when talking about their own and others’ feelings how to judge whether what they are feeling and how they are behaving is appropriate and proportionate the benefits of physical exercise, time outdoors, community participation, voluntary and service-based activity on mental wellbeing and happiness simple self-care techniques, including the importance of rest, time spent with friends and family and the benefits of hobbies and interests isolation and loneliness can affect children and that it is very important for children to discuss their feelings with an adult and seek support that bullying (including cyberbullying) has a negative and often lasting impact on mental wellbeing where and how to seek support (including recognising the triggers for seeking support), including whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions (including issues arising online) It is common for people to experience mental ill health. For many people who do, the problems can be resolved if the right support is made available, especially if accessed early enough
Internet Safety and Harms	Pupils should know: that for most people the internet is an integral part of life and has many benefits about the benefits of rationing time spent online, the risks of excessive time spent on electronic devices and the impact of positive and negative content online on their own and others’ mental and physical wellbeing how to consider the effect of their online actions on others and know how to recognise and display respectful behaviour online and the importance of keeping personal information private why social media, some computer games and online gaming, for example, are age restricted that the internet can also be a negative place where online abuse, trolling, bullying and harassment can take place, which can have a negative impact on mental health how to be a discerning consumer of information online including understanding that information, including that from search engines, is ranked, selected and targeted where and how to report concerns and get support with issues online
Physical Health and Fitness	Pupils should know: the characteristics and mental and physical benefits of an active lifestyle the importance of building regular exercise into daily and weekly routines and how to achieve this; for example walking or cycling to school, a daily active mile or other forms of regular, vigorous exercise the risks associated with an inactive lifestyle (including obesity) how and when to seek support including which adults to speak to in school if they are worried about their health
Basic First Aid	Pupils should know: how to make a clear and efficient call to emergency services if necessary concepts of basic first-aid, for example dealing with common injuries, including head injuries

RSE and PSHE Policy 2025