St John
and St
Francis Church School 
PSHE & RSE
PSHE and RSE at St John and St Francis Church School
Subject Lead – Mrs Emily Wells
At St John and St Francis Church School, personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is an embedded part of our broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development is at the heart of our school ethos. British Values are promoted through the overarching aims and objectives of PSHE by supporting our children to become healthy and responsible members of society, as well as preparing them for life and work in modern Britain.
At St John and St Francis Church School, SCARF: Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship – is our PSHE Scheme of work and more… Developed by teachers and centred on a values-based and ‘Growth Mindset’ approach, SCARF’s resources support us in promoting positive behaviour, mental health, wellbeing, resilience and achievement – giving our children and staff everything they need to meet the new Relationships Education and Health Education requirements. There’s now a proven link between pupils’ health and wellbeing, and their academic progress. Crucial skills and positive attitudes developed through comprehensive Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) are critical to ensuring children are effective learners.
At St John and St Francis, we recognise how important these skills and attitudes are in unlocking pupils’ potential, helping to raise achievement and closing the gap in educational attainment. SCARF provides a whole-school approach to building these essential foundations – crucial for children to achieve their best, academically and socially. For each year group, six themed units provide a complete PSHE and wellbeing curriculum, including mental health and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE).
The themes are as follows:
- Me and my Relationships
- Valuing Difference
- Keeping Myself Safe
- Rights and Responsibilities
- Being my Best
- Growing and Changing
PSHE & RSE progression document
Please click on the link to access the SCARF website
INTENT
The intent of our PSHE curriculum is to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all, and that will maximise the outcomes for every child, so that they know more, remember more and understand more. PSHE is embedded in all that we do to enable our children to become independent, responsible, healthy and confident members of society. Our PSHE curriculum has been built with the aim to support the development of the ‘whole child’, by helping them to understand how they are developing personally and socially as well as promoting their social, mental and physical development. Children will be able to develop the ability to tackle the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. Through our discreet lessons as well as a wider cross curricular approach to teaching PSHE, children are taught how to keep themselves safe, physically and emotionally resulting in the acquisition of knowledge and skills, which enables children to access the wider curriculum. We provide our children with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life such as taking on roles of responsibility including school council, team captains and well-being ambassadors to name but a few and in the wider community for example through our links with a local care home, the gift of giving charity, the foodbank, St Francis Church and the Salvation Army.
IMPLEMENTATION
Our PSHE programme of learning and wider curriculum enables our children to meet the End of Key Stage Statements as set out in the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education Guidance 2019 through our use of the SCARF programme of teaching and learning using a spiral curriculum.
All learning activities provide an opportunity for children to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding and attitudes. Our provision of PSHE promotes opportunities to link Fundamental British Values and Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural (SMSC) responsibilities. Along with our broad and balanced curriculum, there are overlaps with other subjects, for example Computing (E-safety), Science (reproduction, growing and body changes, healthy eating, sun safety), PE (leading healthy active lives), Design Technology (healthy menus) and RE (spiritual development, respect and tolerance). Therefore, objectives for PSHE education will be met outside of the PSHE lessons too. It is also important to us to incorporate, in an age-appropriate way local/national/global events that occur throughout the year such as Anti-Bulling Week, Black History Month, St Francis day, International Women’s Day and Mental Health Week.
IMPACT
Our spiral PSHE curriculum and wider provision will ensure that children will be equipped to support their decision making regarding their wellbeing, health and relationships. Our embedded whole school vision to nurture children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development supports them to foster good relationships.
Our spiral curriculum allows children to build upon their understanding of British Values in an age-appropriate way, in order for them to become positive citizens in a forever changing community and ultimately preparing them for life and work in modern Britain.
By the end of each key stage, children will have had the opportunities to meet the end of key stage statements in line with the statutory guidance outlined in the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education. Children will have enhanced knowledge and understanding through real life experience and our carefully selected external visitors will promote the teaching of different aspects of our PSHE curriculum, such as: puberty talks (Coram life Education), staying safe within the community (Road Safety, Rail Safety and Fire Safety workshops), keeping safe online (police CEOPS workshops) and County Lines awareness (police workshops) to name but a few.
Ultimately, our overarching aims and objectives in supporting our children to become healthy and responsible members of society, enables pupils to develop the ability to collaborate, build upon their emotional security, improve concentration due to a focus on their wellbeing as well as ensuring children are self-reliant with an understanding of self-care and nutrition. We aim for children to end their journey moving onto the next stage of their education with self-confidence and a high sense of self-worth.
SMSC at St John and St Francis Church School
At St John & St Francis, SMSC is woven through our school ethos and curriculum. The inclusion of SMSC across the school is also a key means of promoting fundamental British values within our school and the wider community. SMSC education is at the heart of everything that we do.
SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education)
The SMSC curriculum at St John and St Francis Church School is embedded into each curriculum area and is covered through enrichment activities such as school trips and clubs. The aim of the SMSC curriculum is to prepare each child for life in modern Britain. SCARF provides a strong foundation for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural education (SMSC) and development; it is at the heart of the SCARF curriculum. SCARF resources have been carefully planned to a structured series of lessons that follow a spiral curriculum. Children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development are a core part of this. SMSC themes threads throughout the resources (lesson plans, Assemblies and additional whole school approach tools) providing a strong foundation for SMSC education.
Spiritual Education
St John and St Francis is a Church of England Primary School with strong community links to the Church of St Francis and The Salvation Army. The RE curriculum covers a range of faiths whilst at the same time celebrating the distinctly Christian ethos of the school. Spirituality is explored through assembly themes and RE lessons. Children have a sense of enjoyment in their learning, which is achieved through class and whole school routines such as class assemblies, which the children lead themselves; celebration of successes and achievements (both in and out of school) which are shared with their peers; and acknowledgement and praise for improving and continuing effort which we celebrate through certificates and other rewards. 
Moral Education
The children at St John and St Francis Church School have a strong understanding of right and wrong. This is reinforced through the school’s positive relationship and behaviour policy where pupils are reminded to ‘Be Ready, Respectful and Safe at all times’. They show an interest in offering views about moral and ethical issues, particularly evident through our School Council. Children are given an understanding of how a democracy works through the School Council system. The School is divided into 4 teams, each team has a Captain and Vice-Captain and children are awarded points for their house to reward following our Ready, Respectful and Safe ethos and for effort and achievement in all that do.
Social Education
The school is at the heart of a supportive, social community. Children are encouraged to use a range of social skills in different contexts, through the provision of numerous clubs, fairs, disco, events, trips and inter-school events for sports. We are proud that all children integrate and play well together. The playground is well equipped to support cooperative play and our friendship benches ensure the wellbeing ambassadors can use their skills to find everyone a friend on the playground.
Cultural Education
Our children participate in an impressive range of artistic, musical, sporting and cultural opportunities. Their achievement within these areas is celebrated weekly during a celebration assembly during which trophies, awards and certificate are shown and discussed. We have a qualified PE teacher who provides some of our PE lessons for the children, staff development and also offers a wide range of after school clubs. We work closely with Premier Sport and Inspire Sport too who provide some of our PE teaching and after school clubs.
British Values
At St John and St Francis Church School, we actively promote the fundamental British values and SCARF provides a robust framework for promoting a positive ethos and values cross the school community, contributing significantly to British Values education, both explicitly and implicitly. The focus across the three themes of Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World foster and develop children’s responsibility for their own actions; respect for the actions and beliefs of others; an understanding of how each individual is protected by the rule of law; and how everyone can make a positive contribution to society through the democratic process.
Many SCARF lessons relate directly to one or all the British Values’ themes of:
Democracy Children show knowledge of Britain’s democratic parliamentary system through the School Council, voting, the history curriculum and whole school behaviour systems.
Rule of Law Children are taught the difference between right and wrong through the school positive relationship and behaviour policy, team points and initiatives such as stickers, certificates and awards.
Individual Liberty Within School, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example throughout E-Safety and PSHE / SMSC discrete lessons.
Mutual Respect Mutual respect is at the heart of our school ethos. Children learn that their behaviour influences their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community treat each other with respect. At St John and St Francis Church School, we reinforce the understanding that we are all equal with different qualities, backgrounds, interests and personalities. We celebrate personal achievements and interests.
Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs St John and St Francis Church School is situated in an area which has a growing cultural diversity. We place a great emphasis on celebrating diversity with the children. Our RE, PSHE and SMSC teaching reinforce this. Pupils are encouraged to share their knowledge of different faiths and interests with each other through leading Class Assemblies. Children visit places of worship that are important to different faiths.