Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) and Personal Development Education form part of our whole school offer around health, wellbeing and Character & Culture development.
The PSHE curriculum programme, delivered through timetabled lessons in Year 7-10 with additional sessions in tutor time, builds and develops knowledge each year introducing new age-appropriate issues and relevant topics. Ofsted have cited twice that the programme contributes, ‘… very well both to pupils’ welfare and to preparing them for their future lives (2017) and that the promotion of ‘…their curriculum covers moral and social issues to a high level (2014)’.
Personal Development Curriculum
Our Personal Development curriculum includes, dedicated personal development time in tutor groups every morning and links to additional opportunities that are available to students within, and beyond their lessons as the extracurricular offer. The overarching aim of the Personal Development curriculum is to help students develop into positive members of society who are motivated, ambitious, respectful and knowledgeable about society and culture. We consider what has happened in the past and what is happening now; we learn about issues that affect people locally and around the world; we introduce inspiring people who have overcome challenges, advanced equality, or enhanced life for others.
Through the content, we provide a weekly opportunity to reflect on the qualities and experiences that make each of us unique and we promote diversity as essential to humanity. We seek to encourage students to reflect on their own ideas and beliefs, to understand and appreciate contributions from people who are different from them and to learn how to cooperate with others peacefully and effectively. The content provides opportunities to learn from inspiring people who have lived before us, to find out about career opportunities, to reflect on ways to keep ourselves healthy physically and mentally and to appreciate the freedoms and laws that we have.
As part of our extensive programme we seek to enhance our young people’s experiences by organising a range of additional learning opportunities. Specialist workshops and assemblies are delivered throughout the course of the year to complement the existing curriculum. Working with Public Health, we continue to lead on county wide projects that will see all secondary schools receive a package of lessons around Transition and workshops around Healthy Relationships and Substance Use.
Although we will not write home for every specific assembly or workshop, we will inform via email or the newsletter about some of the upcoming events. Others will appear on the website as part of the PSHE and Personal Development overviews.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
In PSHE lessons learners will undertake a range of modules including emotional wellbeing, physical health, equality and diversity, social and cultural issues, bullying, online safety, environment, the law and substance awareness. Materials have been developed using resources from specialist accredited sources, including those created by the Local Authority.
We have made the decision to run PSHE as a core subject, but without accreditation to ensure the students get the most from their learning experience without the pressures of an exam. The modular assessment process within PSHE ensures that students reflect and consider their development of knowledge, reasoning, skills and understanding. These self-reflective grades are combined with teacher assessment and will appear in student academic reports as a percentage and inform our curriculum delivery and development. Last academic year over 99% of learners were able to identify consent in relationships with other aspects around wellbeing and substance misuse receiving similarly high percentages of awareness and understanding.
New RSE Guidance & Consultation
As part of the school’s PSHE programme every Year 7-11 student will receive Relationships, Sex and Health education (RSHE) input. Age-appropriate materials have been developed in line with the government endorsed PSHE Association curriculum and in line with current statutory guidance. We also use specific resources created within East Sussex via the PSHE Hub and Public Health. Information regarding RSHE can be found on our website, in our RSHE policy, and the current statutory DfE guidance can be found on the government website-: DfE Link
You may be aware that new guidance for the delivery of Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education was released by the DfE in July 2025. This statutory guidance is due for full implementation in September 2026, however many of the elements are already included in our curriculum. We will be undertaking curriculum development over the next school year to ensure that our learners have a fully compliant and robust curriculum that meets their needs and matches the context of the local area. As part of our development, we will be conducting consultations with both learners and parent/carers.
We would like to invite any parents/carers to give their views about PSHE & RSHE either by attending an in person consultation event on 1st December at 15:30 (please email health@seafordhead.org to book a place) or via our online survey for you to access at any point: Survey Link
PSHE does not run PCE appointments, however we will be running a series of workshops exploring key themes within the curriculum that the school community can sign up for. Curriculum resources are also available to be viewed upon request- caregivers can email health@seafordhead.org to book an appointment.
Relationships, Sex and Health Education
At Seaford Head School, we recognise the importance of high quality RSHE which supports young people to lead safe and healthy lives into adulthood. RSHE is an entitlement for all young people. We believe that its delivery should be inclusive, taking into account young people’s protected characteristics, learning needs, health, culture, individual and family circumstances. RSHE at Seaford Head School will seek to enable young people to develop knowledge, gain information and explore attitudes and values.
We firmly believe that RSHE is most effective when provided in a wider context of social and emotional development and therefore our programme places the emphasis upon relationships, and supports pupils’ understanding and skill in developing positive and healthy relationships alongside sex, sexuality, sexual orientation and sexual health. It is not about the promotion of sexual orientation or sexual activity. RSHE follows a spiral curriculum, as recommended by the DfE and PSHE Association. This means key areas, such as healthy relationships, peer pressure and consent, will be revisited throughout the learning experience in an age-appropriate manner, providing timely and age appropriate information about the body and relationships, so that our young people can make their transition into adulthood with the confidence and knowledge to understand what is happening to them, and hopefully grow into confident and healthy adults able to make positive choices.
Social and Emotional Education & Support
All of the work delivered in PSHE lessons will be enhanced by the ongoing social and emotional education that is embedded across our curriculum and through our pastoral support system. The school regularly engages with external agencies and partners to ensure the welfare and wellbeing needs of our students is met to the best of our ability. In addition to the educational delivery around health we have an extensive support provision within the school to support students physical and emotional wellbeing, further details of which can be found here-: https://seafordhead.org/parents/supporting-your-child/. We have a tiered approach to support young people making sure we can give the right support at the right time. For targeted and enhanced support, students are usually referred in by year group teams, but students as well as parents and carers can also email health@seafordhead.org to get support for their child. If you are concerned about the wellbeing of your child around the issues mentioned in this letter or any other health and wellbeing aspects, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with the school initially via the year group teams.
If you have any questions about PSHE, Health or Wellbeing at Seaford Head School please visit our website for more information, contact your child’s Head of Year or myself.
Mr Sam Whittaker
Assistant Headteacher- Seaford Head School
Education & Safeguarding Consultant- Public Health & East Sussex County Council- Education Division
Direct Dial: 01323 872724
Mobile: 07730 205357
Email: samwhittaker@seafordhead.org
ESCC Email: sam.whittaker@eastsussex.gov.uk for Public Health & Safeguarding Roles.
