At Manuden Primary School, Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) and Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) play an important part in helping every child to grow into a safe, healthy, confident and respectful young person.

Our approach reflects our school vision:

Growing Hearts, Growing Minds, Growing Dreams

Through carefully planned, age-appropriate teaching, we help pupils develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and values they need to build positive relationships, look after their physical and mental health, keep themselves and others safe, make informed choices and prepare for life beyond primary school.

Our Curriculum

Manuden Primary School uses the Kapow Primary RSE & PSHE scheme of work, which has been revised to meet the statutory Relationships and Health Education guidance in force from September 2026.

Kapow provides a progressive curriculum from Reception to Year 6.

Because Manuden has mixed-age classes, Years 1–6 follow Kapow's mixed-age programme through a two-year Cycle A / Cycle B model:

Pygmy Owl – Reception
Age-appropriate learning is taught through Kapow's EYFS provision alongside the Early Years Foundation Stage Personal, Social and Emotional Development curriculum.

Tawny Owl – Years 1 & 2
Kapow mixed-age Cycle A / Cycle B programme.

Hawk Owl – Years 3 & 4
Kapow mixed-age Cycle A / Cycle B programme.

Eagle Owl – Years 5 & 6
Kapow mixed-age Cycle A / Cycle B programme, including increasingly developed learning around relationships, health, safety, online life, puberty and growing up.

Teaching is adapted by class teachers according to pupils' age, prior learning and individual needs.

What Do Children Learn?

Across the school, children develop their understanding of:

• families, friendships and healthy relationships;
• kindness, respect and positive behaviour towards others;
• personal boundaries, consent and knowing when and how to seek help;
• physical health and healthy lifestyles;
• mental health and emotional wellbeing;
• personal safety and keeping safe in different situations;
• online relationships, privacy and online safety;
• growing and changing, including puberty;
• citizenship, rights, responsibilities and community;
• economic wellbeing and age-appropriate financial understanding;
• independence and preparation for transition to secondary school.

Lessons are factual, sensitive, inclusive and appropriate to the age and development of the children being taught.

Sex Education in Year 6

Relationships Education and Health Education are statutory in primary schools.

In addition, Manuden Primary School has chosen to provide an age-appropriate programme of sex education for Year 6 pupils through the optional Kapow Primary Year 6 unit.

This builds upon learning in Relationships Education, Health Education and the National Curriculum for Science and helps pupils understand human reproduction and prepare appropriately for secondary education.

Parents and carers will be informed in advance before the optional Year 6 sex-education unit is taught and will have the opportunity to view the teaching materials.

Parents have the right to request that their child is withdrawn from this non-statutory sex-education content.

Parents cannot withdraw their child from statutory Relationships Education, Health Education or relevant content taught through the National Curriculum for Science.

If you would like to discuss withdrawal from the optional Year 6 sex-education unit, please contact the Headteacher through the School Office.

Supporting Every Child

RSHE and PSHE are designed to be accessible to all pupils, including children with SEND.

Teachers make reasonable adjustments according to individual needs. These may include visual supports, pre-teaching, adapted language, additional processing time, repetition, sensory considerations and additional adult support.

Important safeguarding learning about personal safety, boundaries, respectful relationships and seeking help remains available to all pupils.

Safeguarding

RSHE and PSHE form an important part of our wider safeguarding curriculum.

Children learn how to recognise when something does not feel right, understand appropriate boundaries and know that they can speak to a trusted adult.

If a child makes a disclosure or raises a safeguarding concern during a lesson, staff follow Manuden Primary School's Child Protection and Safeguarding procedures.

Working with Parents and Carers

We believe that parents and carers have an important role in helping children develop healthy attitudes towards relationships, wellbeing, growing up and personal safety.

We therefore aim to be open and transparent about what children are taught.

Parents and carers may request to view the RSHE curriculum materials used in school, including Kapow resources. Please contact the School Office if you would like to do so.

We will also provide advance information to Year 6 parents before the optional sex-education unit is taught.

Our RSHE & PSHE arrangements and policy will be discussed with parents and carers through our Parent Forum during Autumn 2026, and feedback will inform future review of our provision.

Subject Leadership

PSHE / RSHE Subject Lead: Eve Reynolds

The Subject Lead works with teachers and school leaders to monitor curriculum coverage, progression and the quality of teaching across the school.

Our RSHE & PSHE Policy

Our full policy explains our curriculum, teaching approach, parental rights, safeguarding arrangements and how we support pupils with additional needs.

Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) & PSHE Policy 2026–27

Further Information for Parents

Parents and carers may also find the following resources helpful:

Kapow Primary – RSE & PSHE Parent Information

Department for Education – Relationships Education, RSE and Health Education statutory guidance

If you have any questions about RSHE or PSHE at Manuden, please speak to your child's class teacher, Eve Reynolds as PSHE/RSHE Subject Lead, or contact the School Office.

Email: office@manuden.essex.sch.uk
Telephone: 01279 813370