RSE and Health Education
At Ferndale, Relationships and Health Education is delivered as part of a comprehensive, carefully planned RSE curriculum, fully aligned with our school values and Learning 9 principles. Our curriculum is designed to prepare pupils gradually and appropriately for adult life and for their place in the wider world. We do this by supporting the development of the personal skills required to build, sustain, and navigate healthy relationships both now and in the future, making purposeful use of our learning environment to enrich this growth. We aim for all pupils to develop the knowledge and confidence needed to make safe, informed, and responsible choices. Our curriculum provides strong foundations for the next stages of their education and beyond, with the wellbeing of every member of our community at the centre of our approach. To achieve this, we draw on a range of high‑quality resources including Healthy Minds, Happy Me, You Be You, and our own Ferndale 50 to ensure a broad, relevant, and engaging learning experience. We also maintain a strong commitment to diversity and equality, supported in part by our dedicated Diversity JLT group.
Our children are taught the fundamental building blocks and characteristics of positive relationships, with particular reference to friendships, family relationships, and relationships with other children and with adults. This starts with pupils being taught about what a relationship is, what friendship is, what family means and who the people are who can support them. We ensure that objectives (please see below) are taught to the children within the areas of Families and people who care for me, Caring Friendships, Respectful relationships, Online relationships and Being safe.
Physical health and mental wellbeing
At Ferndale, we aim to give our children the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing. Our curriculum enables children to recognise what is normal and what is an issue in themselves and others and, when issues arise, know how to seek support as early as possible from appropriate sources. With the use of our carefully planned curriculum and by utilising the visits of Sandwell Nurses and the NSPCC, we focus on the characteristics of good physical health and mental wellbeing by covering a range of objectives linked to the topics of Mental wellbeing, Internet safety and harms, Physical health and fitness, Healthy eating, Drugs, alcohol and tobacco, Health and prevention, Basic first aid and changing adolescent bodies.
RSE and Health Education is taught and delivered in a huge variety of ways, and often it goes beyond lessons. Here is a flavour of some of the things we've been up to.
