'To understand and respect our common humanity; diversity and difference so that we can go on to form effective, fulfilling relationships that are an essential part of life and learning'.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education is an area of the curriculum through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. It helps our children and young people to stay healthy and safe, while preparing them to make the most of life and work.

Most of PSHE education became statutory for all schools from September 2020 under the Children and Social Work Act 2017. This includes Human Relationships Education at Key Stages 1 and 2 (HRE)

At St Joseph's, we know that our children need guidance and support as children so that they can learn to build healthy, respectful relationships with everyone they meet as they move through life. Whether this be friendships, interactions with wider society, online interactions or loving relationships - our children are given opportunities to talk, question, discuss and learn about how to navigate human relationships, personal health, mental wellbeing, life choices, finances and their own uniqueness. Our intent is that our children will be prepared for all that life brings so that they have the strength, resilience, independence and confidence to be all that they can be.    

At St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, PSHE is taught in three strands:

• CORE THEME 1: HEALTH AND WELLBEING – including work on healthy lifestyles, mental wellbeing, growing and changing and keeping safe.
• CORE THEME 2: RELATIONSHIPS - including Statutory HRE taught through a scheme, approved by Liverpool Diocese called ‘A Journey in Love’ for Yrs R-6 which covers friendship, families and positive relationships, respect for self and others and bullying.
• CORE THEME 3: LIVING IN THE WIDER WORLD – including work on shared responsibilities, communities, digital resilience, economic wellbeing, aspirations for work and careers

Adding to our bespoke PSHE curriculum, we work closely with carefully chosen partners to ensure that our children can grow into well-rounded citizens who have the power and confidence to change the world for the better! For example:

The DebtAware Foundation deliver lessons on money management to Years 5 & 6. This covers aspects such as credit and debit, wants and needs, debt and budgeting so that our children understand how to manage their finances.

My Happy Mind is a comprehensive mental health and well-being programme for schools, which has been funded by the NHS for trial in 400 primary schools. It has been proven to have huge benefits with an average 43% reduction in CAMHS referrals and 67% reduction in pupils requiring SENDCo support, which is why we applied for funding at the earliest opportunity! The focus is to create a culture of positive mental wellbeing using mindfulness and journalling to really focus on a positive sense of self for every individual in our school.

Kidsafe UK provides a comprehensive safeguarding programme. Delivered in an age-appropriate, child-centred way, it aims to help our children recognise and speak out about any situation which is having a negative impact on their mental health and emotional well-being.