PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education)
To navigate our ever-changing world successfully and safely, pupils require the skills and knowledge necessary to flourish and succeed in their personal and academic lives both now and in the future. This is where PSHE is vital.
PSHE education equips students with the knowledge, understanding, skills and strategies required to live healthy, safe, productive, capable, responsible and balanced lives. It encourages them to be enterprising and supports them in making effective transitions, positive learning and career choices and in achieving economic well-being.
A critical component of PSHE education is providing opportunities for students to reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes and explore the complex and sometimes conflicting range of values and attitudes they encounter now and in the future.
The PSHE curriculum is split into 3 main themes:
- health and well-being
- relationships (including sex education)
- living in the wider world.
RSE (Relationships and Sex Education)
Relationships and Sex Education is compulsory for all pupils receiving secondary education.
The intent of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is to give students the information they need to help them develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds. RSE enables them to know what a healthy relationship looks like and what makes a good friend, a good colleague and a successful committed relationship.
RSE includes what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in relationships to help students to understand the positive effects that good relationships can have on their mental wellbeing, identify when relationships are not right and understand how such situations can be managed.
RSE supports students in developing resilience, to know how and when to ask for help, and where to access support.
The five main topics covered in the RSE curriculum are:
- Families.
- Respectful relationships, including friendships.
- Online and media.
- Being safe.
- Intimate and sexual relationships, including sexual health.
RSE Policy
You can find the current RSE policy here.
RSE Sessions
June 2025
There are a number of Relationships and Sex Education sessions taking place in school in the coming weeks.
On Monday 23rd June, Year 7 will attend their RSE event with Wayne Stevenson. The session looks at reproduction, relationships and the law. You can find out more about Wayne here and see the resources he will be using here.
Year 8 have sessions on Tuesday 24th or Wednesday 25th June. This session looks at pregnancy, pregnancy choices and parenthood, and you can see the resources here.
County Durham Drug and Alcohol Service will delivering workshops on the risks of smoking, vaping, dab pens and illegal drugs to Year 9 on Tuesday 24th and Thursday 26th of June 2025. . You can access the resources here.
On Thursday 26th, Friday 27th June, and on Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th July 2025 Year 9 will have sessions on sexual consent and the law.. This workshop will be delivered by Dorothea Scales, an ex- Detective Sergeant for Safeguarding, who now works directly with universities, colleges and schools to deliver bespoke training sessions which explore comprehensively the victim’s and suspect’s journey. This is such an important topic for young people to grapple with, and the session is tailored to be appropriate for students in Year 9. The list below outlines the topics to be covered and will include signposting to local support services.
During the workshop the following topics will be covered:
- Consent-what is it?
- Consent and the law
- Emotional/Physical/Legal consequences of sexual assault
- A victim’s journey
- The suspect’s journey
- The criminal justice system
- Being in control
- Myths
- Where and how to get help
The session will run for two hours altogether. Please note that there will be welfare support provided for any students who may require it, and students will be invited to step out if at any point they are struggling with the content of this session.
New RSHE guidance: What it means for sex education lessons in schools
Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is a subject taught at both primary and secondary school. In 2020, Relationships and Sex Education was made compulsory for all secondary school pupils in England and Health Education compulsory for all pupils in state-funded schools.
In 2023, the then Prime Minister and Education Secretary brought forward the first review of the curriculum following reports of pupils being taught inappropriate content in RSHE in some schools. The review was informed by the advice of an independent panel of experts.
In the summer of 2024, the government asked for views from parents, schools and others on the RSHE curriculum. We are waiting for the feedback to be published. You can find out more here.
