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

Broughton Castle is a moated and fortified manor house near Banbury in North Oxfordshire.

Cumbria's most famous residents

Includes sheep, cattle, dogs and geese. Large shop with sheepskin rugs, sheepy gifts, clothing, books etc

Come indoors and be enthralled & educated in our unique farm show. Includes sheep, cattle, dogs and geese. Large shop with sheepskin rugs, sheepy gifts, clothing, books etc. Our cafe serves hot meals & snacks. Licensed bar. Lots of free parking.

Where can you do all these things in one day?

Wander wistfully through a wildflower meadow? Travel the world through Africa and China with the Gascoigne family? Come face-to-face with exotic feathery friends? Imagine yourself living in a grand Edwardian house? And enjoy a picnic while watching a herd of deer?

Lotherton Estate, of course!

The Grant Museum of Zoology is the only remaining university zoological museum in London. It houses around 67,000 specimens, covering the whole Animal Kingdom. 

'The loveliest place in the world'

Take this extraordinary glimpse into the beloved holiday home of the famous and much-loved author Agatha Christie and her family.

Northamptonshire's heritage jewel

Chester Farm is an archaeologically and historically important site covering 34 hectares, which includes a large area designated as a Scheduled Monument and a complex of Grade II and Grade II* listed buildings.

The site is not currently open to the public so please do not visit unless by appointment.

Greenbank House and its walled garden were built for Robert Allason in the 1760s. In 1962, the estate was purchased by William Blyth, who set to work transforming the garden into the design you see today. In 1976, William gifted Greenbank House and Garden to the NTS.

The ruins of an 11th century and later church built within the earthworks of a Norman motte and bailey castle, with a Victorian church nearby.

The curious name of this place originates in the late 11th century, when the district of Yedeven was divided between the Loges and Ralph families, hence the present names of the parishes of Edvin Loach and Edvin Ralph.

A trip aboard an Edwardian River Launch in Oxford offers a taste of a slower life, where cares drift away with the gentle flow of the water and life’s pleasures can be enjoyed to their utmost. Great idea for a family day out in Oxfordshire.

Fine 18th-century house with costume collection, hillside garden and estate. Home to the 'Paulise de Bush' costume collection, with over 9,000 outfits. Delightful hillside garden featuring rhododendrons, magnolias, and rare trees. Stunning parkland walks all year round.

Discovery centre brings history and the environment to life.

A local nature reserve and country park with a large lake and extensive woodland. A fairly wild sort place with natural features only, but a wonderful environment to explore, and free!

It is also the site of a Roman villa (although unfortunately there are no visible remains).

For a great family day out in beautiful surroundings and the opportunity to see spectacular flying demonstrations, it’s a visit not to be missed. It’s also a great photography opportunity and courses with experts are also available. For a great present you can also book special experience days and get to handle the birds.

Boasting stunning scenery, a temperate climate and a sheltered harbour, Canna is the most westerly of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, and also one of the most hospitable. Guided walks are possible by prior arrangement with the property manager.

Once part of one of the most important 18th century picturesque landscapes in Scotland, an attractive woodland walk leads though spectacularly large Douglas firs (including one of the tallest trees in the country) to the amazing folly, Ossian's Hall overlooking the Black Linn waterfall.

Georgian mansion filled with historic keyboard instruments set in rolling Repton parkland

Hatchlands Park was built in the 1750s for naval hero Admiral Edward Boscawen and his wife Fanny. They gave architect, Robert Adam, one of his first interior design commissions. His work can be seen throughout the house, particularly in ceilings and fireplaces.

A homely country house dated 1700 set in Victorian walled gardens at the foot of the Lincolnshire Wolds

‘I could live here!’, is what most people say when visiting Gunby Hall and Gardens. Modest-sized rooms full of character and charm make it easy to imagine you can move in yourself.

With links to Tennyson, Darwin and Vaughan-Williams there is so much to discover about the family home of the Massingberd family.

A delightful garden, typical of the small country estates on the banks of the Clyde purchased by merchants and industrialists in the 18th and 19th centuries. Attractive features include a walled garden and a burn, winding through the wooded glen.

School visits are welcomed by prior arrangement.

A Georgian Italianate palace in an idyllic English landscape

A grand place for a truly entertaining day out.

The GWR is a steam and diesel heritage railway in the English Cotswolds. Since 1981, the volunteers have restored over 10 miles of line, together with platforms, buildings, steam and diesel locomotives and rolling stock. In addition to a scheduled service, GWR hosts a number of galas and enthusiast€™ events.

This Norman church, which was built in the 12th century, is situated at the centre of a Neolithic ritual henge earthwork. The pairing of the henge and the church symbolises the transition from pagan to Christian worship, and is an unusual combination of a church within a Neolithic Henge.

With its dramatic clifftop setting, Robert Adam architecture, fascinating history and beautiful surroundings, it's easy to see why Culzean Castle is one of Scotland?s most popular visitor attractions.

Spectacular late 17th-century mansion, garden and deer park

Explore 270 acres (110 hectares) of ancient parkland, where a historic herd of fallow deer roams freely and magnificent trees and breathtaking views abound.

Brandon Marsh is the ideal place for your school visit due to its excellent opportunities for learning about nature, wildlife and the environment. We have ponds, bird hides, meadows and woodlands all set within our 200 acre nature reserve. The Education Team can provide your school with a tailor made package for your day where you can cover up to four topics.

Unchanged for 400 years

A rare gem of a Jacobean country house, Chastleton House was built between 1607 and 1612 by a prosperous wool merchant as an impressive statement of wealth and power.

Owned by the same increasingly impoverished family until 1991, the house remained essentially unchanged for nearly 400 years as the interiors and contents gradually succumbed to the ravages of time.

HMS Victory is the Royal Navy's most famous warship. Best known for her role in the Battle of Trafalgar, the Victory currently has a dual role as the Flagship of the First Sea Lord and as a living museum to the Georgian Navy.

Come visit HMS Victory and experience...

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