PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education)

PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education)

Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) can mean all things to all people, but in a positive way. It enables schools to analyse what they offer to students and to use PSHE programmes to provide the final rounded curriculum. This is not easy as PSHE is not so much a ‘subject’ as a group of learning experiences that need careful binding together lest they become amorphous.

PSHE at its best brings emotional literacy, social skills and healthy attitudes to the core studies of the history, economic state and social make-up of the local and wider community

Ofsted has praised some schools’ multi-faceted approaches to creating a caring and coherent school and reaching out to the local communities, and some schools for delivering sex and relations programmes effectively, and some for their commitment to equality and diversity. Visits and activities outside the classroom can act not only as focal points for a school’s work but as catalysts to reinforce the messages contained in the courses.

In some ways it does not matter where the visit is to. The importance is how well they are planned, the matching of the experiences to the aim, and the enthusiasm staff and students bring to it.

So, typically learning for PSHE takes place whilst undertaking other activities. Here we list a range of ideas which the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom suggest as activities which can engender excellent experiences to benefit students in this area.

Attitudes and values

  • Talking about an object in a museum, or visiting a place of worship can give insight into issues, other cultures or periods of history.
  • Creating your own work of art can give rise to explorations and understandings about the world and our place in it
  • A visit to a farm can stimulate debate about animal husbandry and food production, and provide a context for designing a Fairtrade enterprise.
  • Adventure education can provide opportunities to show different skills, such as leadership or teamwork.
  • Seeing a play on the stage can bring a text alive and stimulate conversations about the values and actions of the characters.
  • A residential can provide a different setting for conversations about what we believe and what we think is important.

Confidence and resilience

  • Learning a new skill, such as map-reading or how to look at a painting, builds independence and confidence.
  • Adventure education enables young people to test themselves in various ways and develop new aptitudes and dispositions.
  • For young people with disabilities, a residential trip can foster independence and give them a rare opportunity to build close relationships outside the family.
  • Planning their own experience or activity helps young people to gain confidence in a wide range of project planning skills.  It can develop resilience in dealing with conflicting opinions, and in finding solutions to project challenges.

Communication and social skills

  • A drama workshop requires teamwork and helps, to strengthen friendship groups.
  • A residential experience enables staff to get to know young people, and young people get to know each other, discovering different aspects of each others’ personalities.
  • An experience, such as visiting a power station, stimulates discussion and encourages young people to share ideas and opinions.
  • A musical performance gives young people a feeling of achievement and a sense of personal success.
  • Young people planning their own programme or activities gives them voice and choice and ensures their active involvement.
  • Undertaking voluntary work in the community gives young people a sense of making a positive contribution.

Knowledge of the world beyond the classroom

  • Young people who live in the country may encounter a town or city for the first time or vice versa.
  • Environmentalists, town planners, artists, curators, scientists, politicians, musicians, dancers and actors can all act as new and powerful role models.
  • Going to an arts venue can encourage young people to try the experience again.
  • Recording the reminiscences of older people gives young people new insight into their community, and brings historical events alive.
  • Going to a local civic institution like a town hall builds knowledge of how communities function.
  • A school or youth council enables young people to learn about and participate in democratic processes
  • Visiting the library enables young people to find out what they have to offer – apart from lending books.
  • Children and young people with profound learning difficulties and disabilities may not often experience visits to galleries, concerts or the countryside because of the difficulties of transport and personal care which parents have to consider and cannot always manage alone. Educational visits may provide the only means for these young people to have such experiences.

Physical development and well-being

  • Visiting a park, field studies centre or making a school garden all provide physical activity and develop an interest in the environment.
  • Participating in recreational activities help to develop physical well-being and the growth of confidence.
  • Many learning outside the classroom activities can also provide attractive alternatives to competitive sports and can lead to a lifelong interest in healthy physical recreation.

Emotional spiritual and moral development

  • An integrated dance workshop with able bodied and disabled participants can help young people empathise and develop awareness of disability.
  • Activities in the natural environment can encourage a feeling of awe and wonder, and an appreciation of silence and solitude.
  • Visiting a place of worship develops an understanding of religion, reflection and spirituality.
  • Engaging with young people in conversations about values and beliefs, right and wrong, good and bad supports their moral development.

Main organisations:

PSHE Association

National Centre for Citizenship and the Law

Inclusion: NASEN

Venues for this Curriculum

iFly Indoor Skydiving makes for the ideal family day out, for families looking for something special. Referred to as 'The Smile Factory', ear-to-ear grins are guaranteed. What's more, anybody can fly from the ages of 4 to 104! 

Pre-booking advised, so book now to experience the magic of flight!

Experience what it is like to really fly, in a fun and safe environment.

The Dylan Thomas Centre is a beautiful building in the Maritime Quarter near to Swansea's museums.

The interactive displays tell the story of the work, life and cultural context of one of the twentieth century’s most significant writers and poets, and the exhibition includes a learning space, activities for children, and a temporary exhibition area.

Stratford-upon-Avon's newest heritage site

Visit the great Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon's own classroom where William Shakespeare was taught and garnered inspiration for his plays and sonnets. Find out about Shakespeare's own childhood and education, including how he may have played female characters in class plays!

The Guildhall in Stratford was the administrative centre of the town and became the centre of its economic success.

Brunel's SS Great Britain is one of the most important historic ships in the world. When she was launched in 1843 she was called the 'Greatest Experiment since the Creation'. It was the first modern ship, with an iron hull - a revolution in design. People could barely understand how she could float.

Be the King or Queen of the Castle

With its 3,000 year history, stunning location and panoramic views over the dramatic Yorkshire coastline, Scarborough Castle fully deserves its place as one of the finest tourist attractions in the North. It started life as an Iron Age Fort, was occupied by the Romans, became a Viking settlement and reached its heyday under Henry II.

A circular fort commanding the eastern side of Harwich port. It was built between 1807 and 1809 to support Landguard Fort on the opposite shore near Felixstowe and to form part of the chain of Martello Tower defences.

Explore Constable Country

Flatford lies in the heart of the beautiful Dedham Vale.

Experience learning in the great outdoors with Magdalen. Magdalen Farm with its diverse landscape, animals and purpose-built residential centre provides a safe and secure environment to learn about organic farming, sustainability and nature.

Specialists in customised educational school tours

TCBC (The City Break Company) are a specialist educational travel company renowned for visiting some of the more challenging locations across the planet such as Moscow and St Petersburg, Beijing, Istanbul, Krakow (for Auschwitz) and the Baltics.

For school trips, excursions and European school tours for UK and overseas school groups

Ardmore Educational Travel, part of The Ardmore Group, offer over 100 educational school tours in 32 countries. We partner with schools to provide one-off tours, multiple tours or total extra curricular solutions for schools and students aged 11-18.

A wide range of natural and social history exhibits, the more exciting of which include the interactive dinosaur gallery and gardens, and the special family drop in sessions.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum tells the harrowing tale of the Martyrs' arrest, trial and punishment, which led to the foundation of modern day trade unionism.

The English School of Falconry Bird of Prey and Conservation Centre is one of the largest bird of prey centres in the UK, home to over 200 birds of prey, varying in species of owls, hawks, eagles, falcons, hawks,kites and vultures. The centre is committed to the conservation of birds of prey and their habitats.

There's always something going on down on Hatfield Park Farm!

Come along and feed the traditional breeds of sheep and goats - we also have rare Bagot goats as seen on BBC Countryfile at Adam's Farm. There are ducks, geese, turkeys, Hungarian Woolly pigs and cattle too!

Hatfield House is the home of the 7th Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury and their family. The Estate has been in the Cecil family for 400 years. It is an incredible building with a vast estate to explore.

If you are looking for somewhere that is more like a home from home, with outdoor education programmes that are crafted with care, delivered by quality people, driven by our values of Education, Inspiration and Play; a place rooted in the rich heritage and tradition of learning outside  – Great News! You have just found it.

Highly realistic models recall the landscape of the period and trains provide a fascinating record of the railways of the time and how they operated. Enjoy an informative and interactive 90 minute tour covering three indoor galleries.

The Island Classroom

Education Destination is an Isle of Wight based business specialising in providing bespoke, curriculum-focused school trips to our lovely island. We help you create outstanding curriculum-led learning visits to the Isle of Wight and can provide a full door-to-door service, taking care of all your requirements, or simply support you in making your own arrangements.

20 Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead was the home of Sigmund Freud and his family when they escaped the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. The centrepiece of the museum is Freud's library and study, preserved as it was in his lifetime. It contains his working library, his desk and the famous couch.

Education

Visit Carymoor for a unique and unforgettable experience! At Carymoor we bring green issues to life all year round using our remarkable site which combines a working landfill site with a beautiful nature reserve, sensory and wild flower gardens, replica shanty town, Celtic roundhouse, forest school area and a sustainably built Education Centre.

Westminster Abbey is Britain's foremost religious building and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located next to the Houses of Parliament and a short distance away from Buckingham Palace, the Abbey has been the site of many coronations, royal weddings, state burials and services.

The Forest Centre is the headquarters of the Conservators of Ashdown Forest who are responsible for the management the Forest. It is the best starting point for finding out about the Forest, what you can see, and where you can go.

Education

Two discrete centres within 26 acres of private woodland, surrounded by 200 acres of public woodland, overlooking the seaside town of Sheringham.

Hilltop primarily offers comprehensive outdoor educational opportunities to Primary and Middle schools and Sixth Form / Further Education Colleges.

A family theme park designed to cater for families with children between the age of two and thirteen. All its rides and attractions are designed to offer the whole family a full day out of fun and excitement.

Adventure Land, Toy Land, Discovery Bay and more! All of which combine to keep even the most active of children occupied for a full day.

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