Relationships and Health Education at christopher hatton

Intent

Our aim is for all pupils to be informed, articulate and empowered.

In Relationships and Health (RHE) this means children are given the tools with which to build lasting and meaningful relationships for life, to stay safe and also to make good decisions about their health and wellbeing. Our school Hattoneer values are drawn from the RHE curriculum and form the basis of our Autumn term topic and many of our assemblies.

Informed

Children learn how important families are in providing love, security and stability, and that all families are different.
Children learn how to make and maintain healthy, caring friendships.
Children learn the importance of respecting others, the negative impact of stereotypes and how to identify and prevent different types of bullying.
Children learn how to stay safe online, about rationing device use, being careful with private information and where to get support for online issues.
Children learn about setting boundaries, both physical and personal, with others, how to identify and articulate feelings of unsafety around peers and adults, and where to seek help.
Children learn to identify and discuss their emotions and how to judge whether their reactions are appropriate. They learn self-care and self-regulation techniques and identify places they can seek support.
Children learn what an active, healthy lifestyle looks like, including the types of foods that should be eaten and the importance of dental hygiene. They learn the importance of sleep and personal hygiene for good health.
Children learn about legal medicines and drugs, alcohol and tobacco and the associated health risks.
Children learn the basics of first aid, for example how to deal with a head injury, and how to call the emergency services.
Children learn key facts about puberty and the changing adolescent body, including the menstrual cycle.

Articulate

Throughout each unit, carefully thought-out vocabulary is used and introduced at an age-appropriate level.
Many lessons have an Oracy focus and are conducted with talk in mind. The children are often given sentence stems so they can communicate their ideas clearly.

Empowered

We are a diverse school with a community drawn from many different cultures and backgrounds. As such, it is vital that the children see all types of families as being special and valid, and that they respect the differences of others.
We empower our children with the knowledge and skills to make the best choices around food, to stay physically active and to maintain good dental hygiene. We also equip them with the knowledge they need to make good choices around drugs, tobacco and alcohol.
In an increasingly online world, we empower our children to make good choices around tech.
We empower our children with the knowledge and vocabulary they need to stay safe and maintain personal boundaries, and the understanding to respect the boundaries of others.

Implementation

Our scheme of work is carefully planned to ensure progression through each of the main strands of RHE, building upon the knowledge and skills gained in the previous year group and laying the groundwork for the next.
Each year group has an RHE-focused topic in the first half of the Autumn term which is intended to build the Hattoneer values that the school ethos is based on. Each year group addresses a different RHE unit (for example, ‘Physical health and fitness’ and ‘Healthy eating’ in Olympic Values in Year 3, or ‘Respectful relationships’ and ‘Caring friendships’ in There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom in Year 5), but we are all united under a common heading: We Are Hattoneers – How can I be the best me?
Outside of this specific topic, RHE is taught as a weekly lesson by the class teacher; in EYFS it is a prime area of learning. Upon occasion, we may engage outside agencies to teach particular units; for example, the London Fire Brigade teach fire safety to years 2 and 5, and in the past we have worked with organisations such as Bright Minds, Bright Moods for mental wellbeing lessons.
Each unit (families and people who care for me, caring friendships, respectful relationships, etc) is covered and revisited in each year so that pupils retain and build upon prior learning.
The RHE lead supports teachers and monitors standards by reviewing planning of units, talking to children with the RHE floor books and observing lessons.

Impact

Children at Christopher Hatton make good behaviour choices and are kind and empathetic to their peers. They respect each other’s differences and can articulate what makes them unique.
Children can talk confidently about their emotions.
Children feel safe in school and know where they can seek help.
Children can identify ways to stay healthy, including around food choices, physical fitness and mental wellbeing.
Children are responsible when using the internet and know how to keep safe.

Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) is taught discretely, notably in years 2, 5 and 6. Please see our Relationships and Health Education Policy for more information.

Click here for our Relationships and Health Education policy

Click here to see progression in Relationships and Health across the school