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Church of England Junior School

RSHE statement

St. Mary’s CE Junior School is a learning environment where each child is encouraged to develop their full potential and where their achievements are celebrated. We believe that all individuals are of equal worth and we seek to foster mutual respect and responsibility in a happy caring Christian atmosphere. The teaching and learning of RSHE and Citizenship at St Mary’s supports and upholds this vision. 

HeartSmart is an exciting programme used to teach RSHE at St Mary's. HeartSmart is a new approach that primary schools use to build character, emotional health and resilience in children. It is a creative way of enabling children to adopt a growth mindset whilst maintaining a healthy emotional epicentre. At its core, HeartSmart is about loving and accepting ourselves as well as loving and responding well to others. We aim to support pupils to acquire British attitudes and values which are necessary if they are to make sense of their experiences, value themselves and respect others, appreciate difference and diversity and feel confident and informed British citizens. As a school, we recognise the value of educating the heart alongside educating the mind and HeartSmart is a great tool to do just that.

At St Mary’s CE Junior School we believe that RSHE education cannot and should not exist in isolation; it must be part of a whole school approach. Our curriculum provides structured opportunities for class teachers and pupils to explore a wide range of social, moral, cultural and behavioural issues. The material is informed by our core Christian values and the teaching of children’s rights as outlined in the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child.