At Mary Elliot Academy, the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) and Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum is delivered through six learning strands and runs throughout the schools wider curriculum:

1. Self-Awareness (Me, who I am, my likes, dislikes, strengths and interests)
2. Self-care, Support and Safety (Looking after myself and keeping safe; aspects of Relationships and Sex Education.)
3. Managing Feelings (Understanding feelings, and that how I feel and how others feel affects choices and behaviour; aspects of Relationships and Sex Education)
4. Changing and Growing (How I and others are changing; new opportunities and responsibilities; aspects of Relationships and Sex Education)
5. Healthy Lifestyles (Being and keeping healthy, physically and mentally)
6. The World I Live In (Living confidently in the wider world)

The PSHE Curriculum is designed to give every student in each curriculum pathway the appropriate essential skills and experiences to develop awareness of themselves, their unique identity and their understanding of the world around them. These personalised skills are built upon during students time at Mary Elliot to ensure that they are ‘prepared for life’ when they leave.

Our PSHE Curriculum will:

• Be accessible to each learners individual needs and learning styles.
• Provide appropriate breadth of knowledge that is relevant for all learners, whilst taking in to consideration the statutory guidance.
• Maximise the impact of teaching and learning in order to fully prepare learners for life after Mary Elliot.
• Have a clear curriculum sequence to support an appropriate spiral curriculum which builds on and reinforces leaners knowledge and understanding of six strands.

Each pathway has it’s own rationale and breakdown of how PSHE/RSE is taught within their pathway. To view this further – please see the attached information.

Supplementary Curriculum

At Mary Elliot Academy, we are aware that some of our learners require additional support to develop their awareness of what is socially acceptable. To support these students we have a supplementary curriculum that supports learners where appropriate to their developmental needs and support them in school and at home.

The curriculum has been broken up in to the below intervention areas:

• Menstruation and Menstruation Wellbeing
• Public and Private – Masturbation, inappropriate touch, exposing body parts
• Romantic feelings and sexual attraction
• Puberty
• Consent

These interventions are in addition to what is already delivered through the pathway curriculums.

To access the supplementary curriculum for individual students, we ask that staff follow the referral process below:

Additionally, we have a number of classes where they require the supplementary curriculum to support their ongoing PSHE education. Teachers access the supplementary curriculum and adapt to include with in their PSHE lessons. Parents will be notified if their child is accessing the supplementary curriculum in their PSHE sessions.

Working with Parents and Carers and their Rights to Withdraw

Parents and carers do have the right to request that their child is withdrawn from some or all of the statutory sex education curriculum delivered up until the age of 16; After this point, if the child/young person wishes to receive sex education rather than being withdrawn, the school will arrange this.

If parents and carers would like more information regarding the RSE Curriculum, they are able to view the materials used in school and discuss the content of the RSE programme with school staff or the PSHE Subject Lead. Where a personalised intervention programme is required for individual student’s parents will be informed and content/resources/materials will be shared upon their request.

Requests for withdrawal should be put in writing and addressed to the headteacher. A copy of withdrawal requests will be placed in the student’s educational record. The headteacher will discuss the request with parents and take appropriate action.