Ripley Infant School

PHSE

PHSE and RHSE at Ripley Infant School 

Miss Saunders is our PSHE Lead 

At Ripley Infant School we use the Derbyshire PSHE Matters scheme to deliver high quality PHSE and RSHE lessons to our pupils. We believe that it is important to provide a broad and balanced curriculum which prepares children for their futures, and part of that experience involves promoting personal wellbeing and development through a comprehensive taught programme of PHSE. We want all children at our school to gain the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live healthy, safe, productive and fulfilled lives. 

We also believe that effective Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is essential for young people to make responsible and well informed decisions about their lives. The RSHE programme is integrated as part of the PSHE curriculum. This is in line with current regulations set out by the Department for Education. 

Please click here to view our RSHE Policy 

Our PSHE curriculum follows the Derbyshire PSHE Matters scheme. You can view our PSHE Progression document here

PHSE Matters is a spiral curriculum. This means that your child will revisit key themes throughout their time in our school, as well as continue to revisit the same themes when they move to the Junior school. Below you can find our long term plan for KS1 with downloadable parent guides for each topic. 

Each half term, your child’s class teacher will share with you what will be covered in PHSE that term using a knowledge organiser. This will explain what your child will be learning, provide the vocabulary your child will be using and will provide extra resources for you to explore at home. We hope that this helps you to have open conversations with your child. 

PHSE Knowledge Organiser

Our PHSE knowledge organiser can be found here

Relationships and Sex Education (RHSE) 

Using the Derbyshire PHSE Matters scheme, these are the following areas your child will learn about within RHSE.  

Reception 

• Reflect on the fact that children enter the world as babies and this is called ‘birth’ 
• Reflect on feelings when a new sibling is born 
• Recognise the different stages in life 
• Understand that people’s needs change as they get older 
• Understand that people are part of the cycle of nature 
• Identify the people they love and are special to them 
• Explore the feelings they experience with special people 
• Identify body parts using proper vocabulary including penis and vagina 
• Understand appropriate and inappropriate touch 

The following objectives are covered over a two-year cycle (some objectives may appear more than once – others may be a stand-alone for one year or a stand-alone for both years). 

Key Stage 1 – Years 1 and 2 

Children learn about: 

• Their special people; friends and friendship; learning to recognise and react to different feelings and how to keep safe.   
• How we show love and express feelings in our relationships. T 
• How we are all special and what makes us the same, what feelings we all share and what makes us different.  
• How we feel when our special people go away or even die.   
• Good and not so good promises and secrets and how to say “No!”, “Don’t”, “I’ll ask” and “I’ll tell”.  
• Growing and changing in animals, plants and people and understand that growing and changing is a natural part of living.    
• Recognising and naming main body parts.  This helps children understand the differences between males and females and how they change as they get older. It is also a key safeguarding objective in ensuring children know right and wrong and privacy. 
• How they have grown and changed and what they can do now that they couldn’t do before. Different families are discussed and looked at – including step families, single parents and same sex parents.  
• The different stages of human development: understanding how some people’s needs and responsibilities stay the same, whilst some change as they get older

Helpful information for Parents

Understanding Relationships and Health Education in your child’s primary school: a guide for parents can be downloaded here

When dealing with awkward or difficult questions from your child regarding relationships or sex, which can often happen following RSE lessons in school, download the leaflet here as it may help.