PSHE education provides pupils with the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes to make informed decisions about their lives, including sex and relationship education (SRE) and drug education (including alcohol, tobacco and volatile substance abuse), careers education and financial capability (economic education)
A healthy school is expected to have a well structured and comprehensive PSHE education programme in place for pupils in all years. It is also expected that such schools will have up to date policies in place, developed through wide consultation, covering a range of areas, including sex and relationship education, drug education and managing drug related incidents, child protection and confidentiality.
From September 2011 PSHE education will be statutory at all key stages in both primary and secondary schools. All schools, regardless of healthy schools status, will need to make sure that they are ready for the change to the status of PSHE education from September 2011. The new Ofsted framework, to be introduced in September 2009, will place far greater emphasis on the emotional wellbeing of pupils, the contribution of the school to the five outcomes of ECM and give a much sharper focus to the pupil voice. A well informed, well structured and comprehensive PSHE education programme can place a school in a very strong position when providing evidence of its work in these areas and gives the potential to identify outcomes.