The Hampshire PSHE Pledge
The evidence shows...
That personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education can improve the physical and psychosocial wellbeing of pupils. A virtuous cycle can be achieved, whereby pupils with better health and well-being can achieve better academically, which in turn leads to greater success. [1]
You said, we did...
Surveys and self-reflection tools revealed that settings felt they needed support with the delivery of PSHE, rather than content. The Hampshire PSHE Pledge has been developed to provide this support to all settings in Hampshire, from Early Years, through to Post-16.
Committing to the Hampshire PSHE pledge showcases to children and young people, parents/carers and staff, a setting’s dedication to developing and valuing the quality of PSHE, both within the curriculum and beyond. The pledge prioritises wellbeing, embedding it into the culture and ethos of the setting. The goal is to foster learning environments that are nurturing, inclusive, respectful, empowering, and enjoyable, enabling the whole school community to thrive.
The PSHE Pledge
Our school commits to:
A PSHE curriculum that:
- covers all aspects of PSHE in every year group, in an age-appropriate way that builds over time, in complexity and understanding, and matches real-life experience.
- is preventative – anticipates and prevents, rather than reacting.
- enables pupils to acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future.
- is available to parents/carers, as well as providing resources enabling families to have conversations at home.
Teaching in the classroom which recognises that PSHE is a skills-based subject, as well as knowledge-based, requiring dialogue and participation over the presentation of information. Our setting uses suitable teaching practices that involve:
- Dedicated learning time – discrete, timetabled lessons (ideally with consistent staff) – protected at all times of year, including exams
- Dialogue – ongoing discussion between teachers and learners
- Reflection
- Reasoning
- Working collectively on problems or to reach solutions – social, everyday commonsense perspectives, overcoming misunderstanding
- Purposefulness – what’s the point, relevance?
- Openness - non-judgmental and supportive
Training staff to deliver PSHE, recognising that teaching PSHE requires specific knowledge, skills and resources (e.g. protected time, supervision). We give staff the opportunity to connect with others, including PSHE networks, seek guidance and expertise, and have access to the main sources of health information e.g. Hampshire Health in Education and HIAS. PSHE teachers are valued within the settings and by senior leaders.
A setting that has an ethos and culture that actively values PSHE and reflects the content of the lessons e.g. wellbeing, openness, inclusivity, relevance, empowerment, enjoyment, trauma-informed, respect and rights-based.
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By signing up to the Hampshire Health in Education newsletter you’ll have access to an ever-evolving collection of training, resources, and guidance. These will support you in embedding these values throughout all school activities, the curriculum, and policies.