PSHE, Relationships and Health Education

At Witchampton, our PSHE curriculum supports children to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to grow into healthy, confident, respectful and resilient individuals.

Our curriculum reflects the Department for Education's 2026 statutory guidance for Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education. Relationships Education is compulsory for all pupils receiving primary education and Health Education is compulsory in state-funded primary schools. Sex education is not compulsory in primary schools beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum for Science.

Through PSHE, Relationships and Health Education, children learn how to develop positive friendships and relationships, recognise and respect boundaries, manage emotions, look after their physical and mental wellbeing and know how and where to seek help. Children also learn how to stay safe both in the wider world and online, including how to recognise harmful content or contact, protect their privacy and behave respectfully towards others online.

Our curriculum is age and stage appropriate, carefully sequenced and responsive to the needs of our pupils. It is taught as part of our wider approach to safeguarding, behaviour, wellbeing and personal development. The revised DfE guidance emphasises the importance of an inclusive, well-sequenced curriculum and transparency with parents about what children are being taught and the resources used.

Our PSHE curriculum is supported by the HeartSmart resource and guidance from the Diocese of Salisbury. Learning is closely connected to our Christian vision, “Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us” (Ephesians 5:2), and our values of Love, Courage and Inspiration. Through PSHE and collective worship, children are encouraged to show kindness, compassion, respect and courage in the way they treat themselves and others.

We are an inclusive school and actively seek to remove barriers that may prevent children from participating fully in school life. Our curriculum promotes equality, dignity and respect, recognising that every child is unique and that children come from a wide range of backgrounds and family circumstances.

Children learn that families can look different from one another. They are taught that families provide children with love, care, security and stability and that other children's families may look different from their own. Children are encouraged to respect these differences and understand that safe and happy families are characterised by love and care. This directly reflects the expectations of the revised DfE guidance.

Children are taught how their words, choices and behaviour can affect others. They develop the skills to form caring friendships, resolve disagreements respectfully, recognise bullying and discrimination and know when and how to seek support. We aim to create a culture in which difference is respected and bullying, prejudice and discriminatory behaviour are challenged.

Parents are important partners in this area of the curriculum. We aim to be open and transparent about what is taught and the resources used, and parents are welcome to discuss any aspect of our PSHE, Relationships and Health Education curriculum with the school. The DfE's revised guidance specifically requires schools to engage with parents when developing and reviewing their Relationships Education/RSE policy and to make curriculum materials available to parents.

Further information about how we promote positive behaviour and respond to inappropriate behaviour, prejudice and bullying can be found in our Behaviour and Relationships Policy and Anti-Bullying Policy.

Heart Smart High Five

Parent Hello from Heartsmart:

Here is a summary for families at home of the five key principles we follow to build emotional intelligence, resilience and character within the hearts of the children at Witchampton, all underpinned by our Church values:

Don't Forget to Let Love In: Learning how important, valued and loved we are.

Too Much Selfie Isn't Healthy: Exploring the importance of others and how to love them well.

Don't Rub it in Rub it Out: Understanding how to process negative emotion and choose forgiveness to restore relationships.

Fake is a Mistake: Unpacking how to bravely communicate truth and be proud of who we are.

'No Way Through' Isn't True: Knowing there is a way through every situation, no matter how impossible it may seem.

If you want to find out more about Heartsmart please click here.

There's a Boris colouring sheet here if you'd like one!