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

A picturesque walk from wooded glen to hilltop rath

Lisnabreeny takes in wooded glen, estate and green field to the summit of the Castlereagh hills on the edge of east Belfast.

The path hugs the sides of Cregagh glen as it climbs through pools of sunlight cast by the trees. You’ll hear the waterfall, but also keep an eye out for the carpets of bluebell and wood anemone in spring.

Pembrokeshire's very edge from here on it's sea and islands.

The Marloes Peninsula combines dramatic coastal scenery and safe bathing on golden sands. You can look out for seabirds and seals and the remains of ancient peoples.

Daffern's Wood was declared the first Local Nature Reserve in North Warwickshire on 29th April 2013.

Daffern's Wood is an Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland dating back to 1600 and is irreplaceable. Ancient woodlands are an important habitat for many rare and threatened species of animals and plants. We need to conserve what remains for future generations.

Abbey Green Park is one of four green spaces in North Warwickshire dedicated as Local Nature Reserves.

Abbey Green LNR is situated within the larger Abbey Green Park along its northern boundary. A series of backwater channels connecting to the River Anker intersect the site. 

Tŷ Mawr Country Park lies on the banks of the River Dee in the beautiful Vale of Llangollen, part of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located adjacent to Cefn Viaduct, built by Thomas Brassey in 1848 to carry the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway across the valley of the River Dee.

An extraordinarily beautiful dune landscape

Murlough National Nature Reserve is a fragile 6000 year old sand dune system owned by the National Trust and managed as Ireland’s first Nature Reserve since 1967.  It is an excellent area for walking and bird watching due to its spectacular location at the edge of Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains.

By offering a variety of experiences in the outdoors - from Family Forest Days to Forest School Leadership and from targeted Forest Schools to  courses and special events- we engage a wide variety of people, to re-connect them to nature, and infuse them with our passion for the world around us. 

A beautiful sprawling wilderness to explore for retreat and adventure

The New Forest Northern Commons comprise of five commons that we care for. Each one is a unique landscape of woodland, heathland, mire and grassland, shaped by man and nature since the Bronze Age.

Formerly unimproved grazed farmland, this reserve has survived whilst the surrounding area has been built on. With areas of planted woodland, hazel coppice and elm thickets, there is a variety of bird life.

Whitnash Brook forms the eastern limit of the built up area of Leamington and Sydenham. It contains a diverse mixture of habitats including the brook, marshy grassland and swamp, woodland, grassland, tall herb and scrub. The site attracts many birds both during the breeding season and at other times of the year and is attractive to many invertebrates.

A small, mature, mixed broadleaf and conifer woodland oasis in the northern residential suburbs of Warwick, probably originally planted as a shooting wood in the 1920s. Tree species include sweet chestnut, oak, Scots pine and larch with some holly, ash, beech, silver birch and younger elm trees.

Rockcliffe is one of Scotland's prettiest stretches of coastline. It is perfect for exploring, with a network of paths giving access to most of the area, including the important Dark Age trading post of Mote of Mark.

School visits can be arranged with the Ranger Service.

An ancient and atmospheric estate with a medieval garden and historic house

Discover Godolphin, rich in archaeology and wildlife. Travel back in time as you wander around the 16th-century garden, one of the most important historic gardens in Europe.

Faskally Wood is an extensive woodland area within Tay Forest Park on the banks of Loch Dunmore, approximately one mile north west of Pitlochry.

A tranquil Elizabethan manor house set in beautiful 18th-century gardens

Built by the Drydens using the remains of a medieval priory, the house and gardens have survived largely unaltered since 1710 and are presented as they were during the time of Sir Henry Dryden, a Victorian antiquary, passionate about the past.

The gateway to the Surrey Hills

Open the gate and step into a colourful mosaic of purple, greens and gold. All is quiet apart from the sounds of nature. Visit and discover why Hindhead Commons and the Devil’s Punch Bowl is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

A quiet backwater with a busy Medieval past, now bursting with wildlife

This is the only National Nature Reserve on the Isle of Wight. It is a beautiful retreat that has something to offer boat owners, walkers, wildlife enthusiasts and historians or just those in search of peace and tranquility.

Explore Marwell Zoo and get closer to the wonders of the natural world
  • 100s of animals – including giraffes, tigers & penguins
  • 140 acre park, train and 3 adventure playgrounds
Bishop's fish pond amidst stunning heathland and abundant wildlife

Frensham Little Pond and Great Pond were originally created in the 13th century, to supply fish to the Bishop of Winchester and his court, whilst visiting Farnham Castle. Today the pond and surrounding area is a sanctuary for wildlife with always something new to see.

A delightful Norman church, displaying one of the most outstandingly complete and well preserved sets of medieval wall paintings in England, dating from the 12th and 14th centuries.

A gardener’s world, a picnicker’s paradise

Explore the evolution of the English garden and take a stroll through three centuries of landscape design at Wrest Park.

From dazzling parterres and fragrant borders, to sweeping landscapes and woodland walks – Wrest Park is a real treat for the senses. Explore over 90 acres showcasing French, Dutch, Italian and English styles side by side.

William and Mary-style country house, garden and park

Built in 1701 by Thomas Vernon, a lawyer and whig MP for Worcester, Hanbury Hall is a beautiful country house.

This award winning Museum takes you back through time to explore the story of the Lake District and its inhabitants. Isolated before the arrival of the railway and motorcar, this area developed its own unique customs and traditions.

Hidden woodlands, lush green meadows, tranquil ponds and an ancient common

The Harewoods estate was created over a number of years by the Victorian London stockbroker, Alfred Howard Lloyd, and forms a large part of the countryside in and around the picturesque village of Outwood - take a look at the Outwood village w

Also known as Manor House Zoo, Anna's Welsh Zoo boasts Rhinos, gibbons, llama, Oryx, zebra, wallabies, meerkats and tapirs amongst many other animals.

At Manor House you can connect with animals and their environments, connect with natural surroundings, connect with the environment and the serious challenges and threats facing the survival of the planet.

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