PSHE/RSE
Curriculum Lead for PSHE/RSE: Mrs C Ellison
Curriculum Update – September 2026
From 1 September 2026, our PSHE/RSE curriculum reflects the revised Department for Education statutory guidance. We have carefully reviewed our curriculum and the information we share with families to ensure that statutory requirements are met while staying true to our approach at Whitby Heath: learning that is progressive, builds on prior knowledge and experiences, and helps every child develop the confidence, respect and understanding to thrive in a diverse world.
At Whitby Heath Primary School, we are committed to providing a high-quality PSHE and Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSE)curriculum which helps children develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to lead healthy, safe and fulfilling lives.
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that learning builds progressively on the foundations established in previous year groups. As children grow, they revisit and deepen their understanding, developing the knowledge, language and skills they need to make positive choices and navigate relationships and the wider world with confidence.
Relationships Education
Relationships Education is a statutory part of the primary curriculum. We place a strong emphasis on helping children understand what healthy, respectful and caring relationships look like, including friendships, families and relationships with others.
Children learn about kindness, respect, boundaries, privacy, managing disagreements, self-respect and recognising when a relationship or situation may be unsafe. They are taught how to seek help and understand that abuse is never their fault.
We celebrate the diversity of families, communities and individuals and encourage children to respect and value differences. Through our curriculum and wider school life, we promote inclusion, equality, tolerance and an understanding that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.
Health Education, Wellbeing and Keeping Safe
Health Education is also statutory at primary level. Our PSHE curriculum supports children to understand their physical and mental health, emotional wellbeing, healthy lifestyles, growing and changing, and how to keep themselves safe.
Online safety is an important part of this learning. Children develop age-appropriate knowledge about privacy, respectful behaviour online, harmful content and contact, bullying and where to go for support.
Sex Education
Sex Education is not compulsory in primary schools, although the Department for Education recommends that schools consider age-appropriate teaching in Years 5 and/or 6 alongside the statutory Science curriculum.
Our 'Growing Up' workshops in Years 5 and 6, delivered by Health Box, support children in understanding the physical and emotional changes that occur as they grow up and how to approach these changes positively and confidently.
Our Curriculum
Our PSHE/RSE curriculum reflects the values that are central to life at Whitby Heath Primary School. We want our children to become kind, confident, resilient and respectful individuals who understand how to care for themselves and others.
We use guidance and resources from the PSHE Association, Kapow and the Christopher Winter Project, alongside carefully selected resources and external expertise where appropriate.
We recognise the importance of working in partnership with parents and carers.
For more information, please see our PSHE/RSE Policy as well as our Long Term Curriculum.