Personal, social, health and economic education is a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...

subject in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

that focuses on strengthening the

knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distin ...

skill A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of w ...

s, and connections to keep

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

and young people healthy and safe and prepare them for life and

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal t ...

. PSHE

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

is defined by the schools inspectorate

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, incl ...

as a planned programme to help children and young people develop fully as individuals and as members of families and social and economic

communities A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, to ...

. Its goal is to equip young people with the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live healthily, safely, productively and responsibly. The Department for Education state that "all schools should make a plan for PSHE, drawing on good practice" and that PSHE education is "an important and necessary part of all pupils' education". PSHE learning is shown to not only support pupils'

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

, relationships and

wellbeing Well-being, or wellbeing, also known as wellness, prudential value or quality of life, refers to what is intrinsically valuable relative ''to'' someone. So the well-being of a person is what is ultimately good ''for'' this person, what is in th ...

but also their academic attainment. A DfE review of PSHE education provision found a range of positive outcomes, including improved attitudes to health, being able to deal with personal difficulties and improved behaviour. In Wales, the subject is

personal and social education Personal and social education (PSE) is a component of the state school curriculum in Scotland and Wales. PSE became a statutory requirement in schools in September 2003, and is compulsory for all students at key stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 (5 to 16 years ...

. In

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

(ROI), it is social, personal, and health education. It is also known as personal, social, health and

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

education; personal, social and emotional development; and personal, social, health and

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

education. PSHE is currently the responsibility of the

Minister of State for Schools The Minister of State for Schools, formerly the Minister of State for School Standards and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for School Standards, is a mid-level position in the Department for Education in the British government. The curre ...

PSHE themes and topics

The PSHE education programme of study is organised into three core themes: #

and

well-being Well-being, or wellbeing, also known as wellness, prudential value or quality of life, refers to what is intrinsically valuable relative ''to'' someone. So the well-being of a person is what is ultimately good ''for'' this person, what is in th ...

# relationships # living in the wider world (covering economic well-being and

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defi ...

s) These themes include numerous topics linked to physical and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles Stress (biology), stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-maki ...

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhala ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

, sex, and relationships,

, economic well-being, and careers.

Status on the curriculum

PSHE education has been a non-statutory (and therefore non-compulsory) curriculum subject. However, as Ofsted stated in its 2013 PSHE report "the great majority of schools choose to teach it because it makes a major contribution to their statutory responsibilities to promote children and young people's personal and economic wellbeing; offer sex and relationships education; prepare pupils for adult life and provide a broad and balanced curriculum". There have however been concerns raised about the consistency of provision due to this non-statutory status. The aforementioned 2013 Ofsted PSHE report found that 40% of schools’ PSHE education was "not yet good enough". There has also been more of an expectation on independent schools to provide PSHE education than maintained schools and academies up to now due to greater emphasis on PSHE in the Independent Schools Standards. Concerns over consistency and quality and provision prompted a national campaign to raise the status of PSHE education in all schools. This was supported by over 100 organisations (including the NSPCC, British Heart Foundation, Teenage Cancer Trust and Barnardo's), 85% of business leaders, 88% of teachers, 92% of parents and 92% of young people. In 2017 the government committed to introducing compulsory relationships and sex education (RSE) in all secondary schools, and compulsory 'relationships education' in all primary schools. An additional commitment to the

health education Health education is a profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health, as well as sexual and r ...

(mental and physical) aspect of PSHE education was announced in July 2018. The majority of PSHE education will therefore be compulsory in all schools from September 2020. Though not yet compulsory, schools are still expected to cover the economic wellbeing (and careers) of PSHE education. The PSHE Association and the Sex Education Forum jointly published a 'Roadmap to Statutory RSE education' in November 2018 to support schools in preparing their relationships and sex education for statutory changes. In February 2019, the Department of Education enacted a statutory guidance policy which will assist schools in England with PSHE when it becomes compulsory in 2020. A measure to make PSHE compulsory in primary and secondary schools in England received approval from the House of Lords in April 2019. The Department for Education (DfE) published final statutory guidance for teaching Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education in June 2019. The consultation closed in November 2018. This guidance will replace existing government "Sex and Relationship Education Guidance", which were last updated in 2000. The guidelines, which were also published by the House of Commons, require, among other things, acknowledgement of England's laws concerning gay rights, including the legalization of same-sex marriage and the protection of the "physical and mental wellbeing" of gay children. Despite not being mandatory until September 2020, schools in England were encouraged to enact the new PSHE curriculum starting in September 2019. In September 2020, the PSHE curriculum went into effect in England's high schools and elementary schools. with high schools also adapting LGBT PSHE sex education.

National body for PSHE education

The PSHE Association is the national body for PSHE education in England, providing advice and support to a network of over 50,000 teachers and other professionals working in schools nationwide. The association is an independent charity and membership association, established as the official national PSHE subject association by the Department for Education in 2007.

Publications

There are many independent publications supporting the teaching of PSHE education in schools in the UK:
Programme of Study
for PSHE Education (Key stages 1–5), 2020, by the PSHE Association
A curriculum for life: the case for statutory PSHE education, by the PSHE Association

Key principles for statutory PSHE, by the PSHE Association
*Understanding Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education in Primary Schools by Nick Boddington, Adrian King, Jenny McWhirter *Understanding Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education in Secondary Schools by Jenny McWhirter, Nick Boddington, Jenny Barksfield * Jigsaw PSHE Scheme of Work by Jan Lever and Clare Williams * Circles, PSHE and Citizenship in Secondary Schools by Marilyn Tew, Hilary Potter and Mary Read * PSHE and Citizenship by Hilary Mason * The PSHE Co-Ordinator's Handbook by Colin Noble, Graham Hofmann * Dimensions Creative Curriculum PSHE schemes of work Nursery EYFS, KS1, KS2 by Elaine Sutton

References

{{reflist

External links

PSHE Association
Subject association for professionals working in PSHE education.
Coram Life Education
PSHE resources for schools. Health education in the United Kingdom Education in England Medical education in the United Kingdom