"“Thank you for everything the school does to support my child’s learning and development.”

“I am very happy with all aspects of the school, as is my daughter.”

"My child is happy in the school environment.”                                                    

Parents' Questionnaire comments, Autumn 2023.

At Balshaw Lane, we believe that Relationships Education and Health Education are vital for preparing our children for their future lives. We want them to lead happy, healthy lives; being confident in themselves and able to look after themselves.

We will always encourage the children to share their own views whilst challenging their thinking, particularly with regard to stereotypes and potential prejudices. Our aim is to prepare the children for life in our diverse, multi-cultural society in modern Britain, sharing mutual respect.

Our PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) work encompasses all the statutory requirements for Relationships and Health Education.

We also teach about Sex Education in Year 6: we always advise parents in advance. Parents have a right to withdraw their child from this work but we would always chat with parents about this first. Puberty is taught as part of the Y5 science curriculum.

Our PSHE planning is based on the PSHE Association's questions-based model which aligns with our Religious Education similar model. Plans have been adapted to meet the needs of our pupils and to take into account feedback from our PSHE consultation.

We use a scheme called 1Decision to support our PSHE teaching, supplemented by resources from the PSHE Association. The children may talk about the scheme's characters DeeDee and Darlee at home or about the discussion videos they have watched.

Most of the work we do in PSHE lessons, will be discussion and debate. Our class books will record our progress in this work. Children's PSHE books will be used for personal reflection and for exploring ideas within each unit of work.

The Early Years progression is built into the EY areas of learning: see the medium term plans on the EY curriculum page.

1Decision