Relationships and Health Education
Relationships and Health Education (RHE) follows the governments Relationships Education guidance. It ensures that children learn responsibility in their personal and social lives and that they can begin to make decisions for their own health and well being. In this subject we aim to build on what children have learnt at home and we will always strive to respect the backgrounds and beliefs of children and families.
RHE lessons contribute significantly to the children’s SMSC (spiritual, moral, social and cultural) understanding and awareness by teaching them to be reflective and inquisitive about the social world around them and respectful of differences. Even at a young age it is important to give children knowledge, understanding and skills to manage emotions, relationships and health at a level that they can understand and apply.
In teaching RHE we are preparing children to thrive as individuals, have respectful relationships with their friends and family and become confident, contributing members of society. We know that children live in a world that includes the virtual, online world and this subject seeks to include information children need to stay safe and be respectful of others. We also want children to know that their health includes both their physical and mental well being and to have knowledge, skills and strategies to make informed decisions for themselves and understand better the decisions made for them by the adults that care for them. Woven through this subject is the aim to encourage and support the attributes in our children that will help them thrive and be happy. We promote ambition, confidence and resilience and develop children's kindness, honesty and integrity whilst acknowledging mistakes in these areas as learning opportunities.
We aim to build children’s confidence and resilience as well as their knowledge so that they feel strong and safe when making decisions and choices and begin to understand what influences their judgments.
Making Happiness Jars in Key Stage 1
Our curriculum fulfils the requirements of:
-The Education Act 2002 :
(a)promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and
(b)prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
-The 2019 guidance for Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education. (updated 2021)
Topics within this subject are studied in weekly lessons. Each topic will be looked at during a half term and knowledge is built up carefully during the children's time at Eling. Areas studied include:
1. Relationships with adults and children, including how to value and respect others and their ideas.
2. Mental and physical health, how to take care of ourselves and why adults set boundaries.
3. Keeping safe, being aware of people and who we can trust, our environment and the online world.
4. Feelings and emotions and how we take care of our own and others needs.
5. Rights and responsibilities.
6. Our communities and the world of work. Including being ambitious and setting and achieving goals.
These are serious subject but they can be learnt in many fun and creative ways including art, drama, role-play, written work, videos, games, stories, debates and contemplation. RHE skills are also an overarching theme in the ethos of our school and will be taught through other subjects and in other areas of learning such as assemblies, visits and visitors and whenever children have to plan, play, learn or perform together.
The topics covered in RHE will help children negotiate the our increasingly complicated world safely and wisely. We aim to support all children to have happy, healthy futures, making good choices in their relationships and being kind, fulfilled members of society. In teaching this subject we are equipping children to set ambitious goals in life and have the confidence and resilience to achieve them.
Reviewed by Subject Leader - February 2022