"What do you want to be when you grow up?" asked the mole.

"Kind," said the boy.

(Taken from 'The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse' by Charles Mackery)

Intent

At Emmaus, RSHE is taught with the key messages of the Church of England and Catholic churches as the focus-Jesus valued every person equally regardless of status, gender or wealth. At our school, we explore the Christian teaching that every child and adult is made in God's image and is uniquely precious and worthy of respect and kindness. 

Our intent is for the children to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way. Through our teaching of RSHE, in the many identified curriculum areas, we aim to equip children with the concepts and skills to take care of themselves and others in an increasingly complex world. 

In order to provide a range of opportunities for our children to develop as independent, compassionate and confident individuals, our RSHE curriculum is also intrinsically linked to our whole school curriculum drivers:

• Gospel Values
• Cultural Capital
• Diversity
• Independence
• High Expectations

Gospel Values

As a joint denominational school, Christian values are at the forefront of daily school life. Our four core values of 'Hope', 'Trust', 'Friendship' and 'Love' help to develop the children's personal attributes. A two year cycle of Collective Worship values are focused upon which help our children to develop into adults who make a meaningful contribution to society. Many of our values are relational values-how we want to be treated and to treat others-therefore building on the children's understanding of the characteristics of positive relationships. 

Cultural Capital

At Emmaus, we believe that a rich and broad curriculum builds cultural capital and we thus provide our children with a vast range of experiences and opportunities to help them progress and develop understanding. Visits (both locally and abroad), drama, assemblies and visitors enrich the children's learning about RSHE. 

Diversity

Our 'No Outsiders' scheme enables all children to feel welcome in school. There is a clear ethos of acceptance. All differences are included and valued. Our children are encouraged and taught to explore identity and develop confidence in who they are as they navigate childhood. Children are taught to accept the identities of others with kindness. 

The children study the religions of Judaism and Hinduism to further develop their understanding of other faiths and beliefs. 

In year six, the children take part in Holocaust studies and learn about the life of Anne Frank in order to learn about the importance of respecting others. 

Independence

RSHE at Emmaus enables the children to develop independence in all areas of school life. Children are taught the skills to develop positive relationships with others and themselves. Our pupils are given the language and knowledge to understand the normal range of emotions that everyone experiences. We aim to develop the children's ability to regulate their emotions. 

High Expectations

We have high expectations for all children to gain the skills and understanding to develop meaningful relationships. We aim to equip pupils with the knowledge of how to create a sense of wellbeing both physically and mentally. 

Implementation

At Emmaus, we deliver the statutory content of the Relationships and Health Education set out by the Department of Education in a broad and balanced curriculum. RSHE is taught through related curriculum areas such as Religious Education, PSHE (Jigsaw scheme), science, computing and P.E. RSHE is also taught in 'Journey in Love' lessons, 'No Outsiders' lessons and Collective Worship times.

First Aid, Healthy Diet, Sun Safety and Dental Hygiene are also areas taught and are of paramount importance to the wellbeing of our children. 

Journey in Love

'God's love for us is fundamental for our lives, and it raises important questions about who God is and who we are.' (Deus Caritas Est 2)

At the heart of Christian faith is love. We use 'Journey in Love' to teach relationship, sex and health education as it goes beyond the biological knowledge of sex and helps the children to make informed moral choices. 

The scheme enables our children to grow and develop healthily and holistically towards an understanding of their gender and its implications for successful relationships. It helps them to be at ease with themselves and to grow in self-knowledge. 

An aspect of love is treated in each year group; children are encouraged to marvel at the wonder and beauty of God's creative love. This is reflected in each stage of a person's growth in the Primary years through a series of progressive and developmental tasks, activities and reflections which focus on physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development. 

Work will be completed in class floorbooks. 

Collective Worship Values

The Department for Education has given statutory guidance for the teaching of relationships:

Families and People who care for me

Pupils should know:

• 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 others' families, either in school or in the wider world, sometimes look different from their family, but that they should respect those differences and know that other children's families are also characterised by love and care.

Caring Friendships

Pupils should know:

• how important friendships are in making us feel happy and secure, and how people choose and make friends.
• the characteristics of friendships, including mutual respect, truthfulness, trustworthiness, loyalty, kindness, generosity, sharing interests and experiences and support with problems and difficulties.
• 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.
• how to recognise who to trust and who not to trust, how to judge when a friendship is making them feel unhappy, managing conflict, how to manage these situations and how to seek help or advice from others, if needed

At Emmaus, the twelve Christian values which are focused on over a two year cycle not only help to develop the children spiritually, morally and culturally but socially too. Here is how our values help to embed the objectives outlined above:

Generosity

As a community, we seek to create relationships characterised by a generosity of spirit, believing that given a nurturing environment, each individual can flourish, achieve their full potential and contribute positively to society. 

Truthfulness

Fundamental to relationships is an expectation of truthfulness. We explore with the children the consequences of lying or lack of integrity, not only in our school community but in the wider world. 

Courage

We encourage each other to participate in activities that take us out of our comfort zone.

Perseverance

We aim to foster co-operation and collaboration in problem solving. 

Compassion

As a community, we try to share one another's burdens and to help everyone to know that struggling and failure are not signs of weakness but opportunities to learn more about ourselves and others, and to grow as an interdependent family. We actively look out for opportunities to support charities and good causes that improve the quality of life for the people in our own country and the wider world. 

Trust

As a community, trust is the glue that holds our relationships together. To develop character we give children important responsibilities and, in so doing, seek to encourage trustworthiness from the youngest age. 

Friendship

Jesus' friends came from a wide range of backgrounds and included fishermen, scholars and tax collectors. We encourage an attitude of inclusivity and openness to others, regardless of religious, ethnic or socio-economic background. 

Justice

We are constantly seeking ways to make our school an even more inclusive, democratic community in which everyone has a voice. 

Thankfulness

We are thankful for the uniqueness of every individual member of our school and the gifts that we all bring and share to enrich our corporate life. 

Respect

We actively celebrate the uniqueness of all individuals.

Forgiveness

As a community whose life is founded upon Christian values, we recognise that forgiveness, offered and received will be at the heart of all our relationships. We teach about how we can show we are sorry in practical ways and equip individuals with strategies to prevent them from repeating mistakes in the future. We believe that learning from the past and not holding grudges will help us to develop character by making us more resilient. 

Service

As a community, we believe that our gifts and talents are to be used in ways that will improve the lives of others. We provide opportunities in school for serving as monitors, peer buddies and to stand as elected members of the school council and all the many other ambassador roles. We help children to develop the skills to participate fully and contribute positively to the social and cultural life of modern Britain. 

No Outsiders

Each year group has six high quality books from the No Outsiders scheme. One book will be studied per half term, key objectives taught and related activities completed. Work will be recorded in class floorbooks. 

First Aid

In years 3-6, children will be taught using lessons developed by St John Ambulance. The Department for Education states that children in primary school should know:

• how to make a clear and efficient call to emergency services if necessary.
• concepts of basic first-aid, for example dealing with common injuries, including head injuries. 

Healthy Diet, Sun Safety, Dental Hygiene, and Mental Health

Healthy eating is taught in science lessons in years 2, 3 and 6. It is also taught through Jigsaw lessons in years 1, 2, 3 and 5. 

Year 5 will learn about 'safe and unsafe exposure to the sun, and how to reduce the risk of sun damage, including skin cancer.' (Objective taken form RSHE Gov Doc) The children will be taught using lessons developed by 'Sun Safe Schools'. 

Children in years one and four will be taught about looking after their teeth using resources developed by the 'Oral Health Foundation'. Year four children are already identifying different types of teeth and their functions in science lessons. They will then progress to learning about 'dental health and the benefits of good oral hygiene and dental flossing, including regular check-ups at the dentist.' (Objective taken from RSHE Gov Doc)

In addition to learning about mental health in PSHE lessons and during mental health awareness week, children in years 2 and 3 will learn more about how to be more compassionate to themselves and others through reading and discussing two age appropriate texts. 

Impact

Our ultimate impact for relationships education is that the building blocks are put in place for positive and safe relationships, including with family, friends and online. 

We aim for the children to be able to talk about what a relationship is, what friendship is, what family means and who can support them. Children will be able to report in a variety of ways how to treat each other with kindness, consideration and respect. 

Our Health Education impact will be evident if the children can articulate what they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, to recognise issues in themselves and others, and to seek support as early as possible when issues arise. The impact will be seen if, by the end of school, pupils will have an understanding of:

-mental wellbeing

-internet safety and harms

-physical health and fitness

-healthy eating

-basic first aid

-changing adolescent body 

The delivery of RSHE is monitored  by undertaking learning walks, staff and pupil consultations, planning and work scrutinies and questionnaires. Pupils’ development in RSHE is monitored by class teachers as part of our internal informal assessment systems. 

Key Documentation