Crompton Primary School

Relationship Health Curriculum Rationale

At Crompton Primary, we are all informed citizens! We want our children to be able to care for themselves and risk assess their own environments and react appropriately and safely. The RSHE curriculum has been carefully crafted so that our children develop their knowledge and understanding of the wider world context. As a pilot school for the DfE we have embraced the recent statutory curriculum and made the content relevant to our school context. We want our children to remember their RSHE lessons in our school, to cherish these memories and embrace the opportunities they are presented with!!   The RSHE curriculum has been carefully designed so that our pupils develop their understanding and appreciation of inclusion and equality. We want all our pupils to remember their RSHE learning in our school, to cherish these experiences and embrace the opportunities they are presented with. We have worked closely with parents and Governors to ensure that the curriculum has been fully consulted upon to ensure the engagement of all stakeholders.

Curriculum Intent

The RSHE curriculum promotes curiosity and a love and thirst for learning. It is ambitious and empowers our pupils to become independent and resilient thinkers.

We want to equip pupils with ambition beyond the minimum statutory requirements of the RSHE statutory curriculum and prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. The curriculum is meticulously planned with the intention to address social disadvantage and ensure that all pupils - including those with SEND - have an opportunity to engage with a challenging curriculum and achieve success. Any gaps in pupils’ knowledge are quickly identified and addressed to ensure that pupils are supported to meet the ambitious intended end points of the curriculum in RSHE. We have designed the curriculum as a school and in consultation with stakeholders - therefore, the curriculum is unique to our school and meets the needs of our pupils and our context. We want our children to use the context of our locality and the inherent contextual issues such as gang violence, knife crime, child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse etc. to form the basis of age appropriate teaching and learning in RSHE. We want to learn from visitors to school, visits out of school and pupils’ home experiences as a focus for practical experience. We expect our pupils to respect others, co-operate with one another and appreciate what they have.

The RSHE curriculum is focused upon the development of relationships, physical health, mental well-being and sex education. RSHE is progressively sequenced to ensure that pupils gain appreciation of friendships and relationships, being safe and knowing how to report concerns, basic sex education, puberty and knowing how to keep themselves physically and mentally well. This enables pupils to gain an appreciation of how they fit into the wider diverse world in which we live.

We want our pupils to use the vibrancy of our great town and wider city to learn from other cultures, respect diversity, co-operate with one another and appreciate what they have. We achieve this by providing a strong local contextual links where possible. For example, pupils from Years 4 and 5 went on an enrichment trip to the local food centre. The children were invited into the Heywood Food Centre to observe first-hand the value of community care. They had the opportunity to donate the collection of food from the school Harvest and had the opportunity to see where the food was stored for those less fortunate. Pupils were able to box food and discussed the essential dietary requirements for healthy eating.

British Values and our core values placed at the heart of everything we do. These often feeds into the RSHE curriculum. Cultural capital development is addressed through visits, online exploration, visits to school and first-hand experiences. We enrich pupils’ time in our school with memorable, unforgettable experiences and provide opportunities to engender an appreciation of human equality and promote inclusivity.

Curriculum Implementation

We effectively develop and invest in our teaching staff to ensure that they are fully equipped with expert subject knowledge in order to support the delivery of the exceptional RSHE curriculum. Teaching is highly effective for all pupils. Teachers present the curriculum content clearly through composites and component parts supported by unit booklets which break the unit knowledge, concepts and skills down for each lesson in each year group.

The curriculum is delivered through a subject specific approach which supports pupils to develop the key concepts and knowledge of the RSHE curriculum. Each lesson within a unit of work is carefully crafted and builds upon what has been previously taught from one year to the next.

Frequent audits of the RSHE curriculum take place. Following the findings from these audits, the RSHE curriculum is adapted to build upon the learning opportunities and assessment end points for each year group and ensures progression and repetition in terms of embedding key learning, knowledge and skills. 

Pupils take inspiration from key people throughout history to help exemplify the complexities of human nature. They explore and practice the knowledge, skills and techniques involved in the unit and use their workbooks to record their feelings and responses. The way each discipline is taught is revisited in each phase, at a progressively deeper level. All classes study the same theme across school and focus on an aspect relevant to their age.

RSHE subject specific characteristics, which we expect the pupils to demonstrate, have been developed with all stakeholders. These characteristics underpin all work in RSHE and form a focal point for display areas and provide a common subject specific vocabulary for staff and pupils. These characteristics are:

• 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 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
• the conventions of courtesy and manners
• the importance of self-respect and how this links to their own happiness
• the rules and principles for keeping safe online, how to recognise risks, harmful content and contact, and how to report them
• why social media, some computer games and online gaming, for example, are age restricted
• 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)
• the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals
• be aware of the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking
• know about the impact of economics including spending vs saving, and how to keep money safe, online gambling
• know concepts of basic first-aid, for example dealing with common injuries, including head injuries
• know key facts about puberty and the changing adolescent body, particularly from age 9 through to age 11, including physical and emotional changes.

The teaching of the RSHE curriculum is planned and delivered to support pupils to transfer key knowledge into their long-term memory and therefore improve the progress they make. Essential vocabulary is identified within each lesson and unit of work to ensure that our pupils can discuss and evaluate the RSHE content effectively.

Whilst delivering the curriculum, teachers are constantly checking to ensure that pupils are learning the necessary knowledge and identifying and addressing misunderstandings. Assessment is used as a tool to support pupil learning.

The RSHE curriculum is research evidence informed in relation to the content, delivery and process of learning.

Curriculum Impact

We use both formative and summative assessment information in RSHE. Assessment informs learning to ensure that all pupils including disadvantage and those with SEND achieve highly and acquire the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. Staff use assessment information to inform their short-term planning and address misconceptions. This helps us provide the best possible support for all of our pupils. The end points for each phase have been carefully mapped out and further broken down. This means that the essential knowledge, skills and concepts in RSHE are progressive and build year on year.

Our well-constructed curriculum in RSHE leads to pupils successful learning. This is evidenced in the outcomes within workbooks and practical work produced. Pupils are well prepared for the next steps and stages of their learning due to the progressive and well sequenced curriculum. As a result, know more and remember more as they move through the RSHE curriculum at Crompton.