Personal, social and health education, including sex and relationship education and drug education (including alcohol, tobacco and volatile substance abuse)

PSHE provides pupils with the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes to make informed decisions about their lives.

The criteria

A Healthy School:

uses the PSHE framework to deliver a planned programme of PSHE, in line with DfES/Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) guidance;
monitors and evaluates PSHE provision to ensure the quality of teaching and learning;
assesses pupils’ progress and achievement in line with QCA guidance;
has a named member of staff responsible for PSHE provision with status, training and appropriate senior management support within the school;
has uptodate policies in place – developed through wide consultation, implemented, and monitored and evaluated for impact – covering sex and relationship education, drug education and incidents, child protection, and confidentiality;
has an implemented nonsmoking policy, or is working towards being smokefree by September 2007;
involves professionals from appropriate external agencies to create specialist teams to support PSHE delivery and to improve skills and knowledge, such as a school nurse, sexual health outreach workers and drug education advisers;
has arrangements in place to refer pupils to specialist services who can give professional advice on matters such as contraception, sexual health and drugs;
uses local data and information to inform activities and support important national priorities such as reducing teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and drug/alcohol misuse;
ensures provision of appropriate PSHE professional development opportunities for staff – such as the Certification Programmes for teachers and nurses offered by DH/DfES; and
has mechanisms in place to ensure all pupils’ views are reflected in curriculum planning, teaching and learning, and the whole school environment, including those with special educational needs and specific health conditions, as well as disaffected pupils, young carers and teenage parents.