PSHE / LIFE

PSHE / LIFE at Brewood CE Middle Academy
At Brewood CE Middle Academy, our PSHE curriculum—known in school as LIFE (Live in Freedom and Equality)—plays a central role in supporting pupils’ personal development, wellbeing, and preparation for life in modern Britain. Our LIFE curriculum is built using high-quality guidance from the PSHE Association, ensuring that teaching is safe, age-appropriate, and fully aligned with statutory requirements for Relationships Education (KS2), Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) (KS3) and Health Education.
Our PSHE programme helps pupils develop confidence, resilience, respect for others, and the knowledge they need to stay safe and healthy. Lessons support our Christian vision of being respectful, resilient and faithful, and reflect the ethos of “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14).

Our Curriculum
Pupils in Years 5–8 receive weekly LIFE lessons covering three key strands:

1. Health and Wellbeing
Pupils learn about:
Mental health and emotional regulation
Coping with change, loss and puberty
Healthy lifestyles, sleep, screen use and exercise
Managing stress and building resilience
Our curriculum is reinforced through whole-school events such as World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Awareness Week.

2. Relationships
Teaching focuses on:
Respectful relationships and friendships
Challenging prejudice, discrimination and stereotypes
Online behaviour, consent, and personal boundaries
Anti-bullying and inclusion
Equality and the protected characteristics
Lessons are designed to help pupils build positive relationships, understand the impact of words and actions, and keep themselves and others safe.

3. Living in the Wider World
Pupils explore:
Online safety and digital resilience
Careers education, aspirations and employability skills
Financial decision-making and budgeting
Rights, responsibilities and British Values
Community, diversity and global citizenship
These themes are supported by school events such as World Democracy Day, National Careers Week, Pride Month and more.

Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)

RSE is taught in Summer 2 in an age-appropriate and safeguarding-led way, following PSHE Association guidance and statutory expectations.

RSE ensures pupils:

Understand their bodies and how they change
Build healthy, respectful relationships
Develop positive self-esteem and body image
Know how to stay safe, seek help, and recognise unhealthy situations

We work closely with families and maintain transparency about lesson content. Parents have the right to withdraw from the sex education elements of RSE (sexual intercourse, conception), but not from statutory Relationships or Health Education.

RSE Content by Year Group (Summer 2)

Year 5 — Growing and Changing