‘It’s better to learn about your health and things that are going to happen to you than learning things that you just do at school’: findings from a mapping study of PSHE education in primary schools in England

Abstract

This article reports on recent findings from a mapping study of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education in schools in England, focussing on the data derived from primary school participants. It is based on a nationally representative survey of 923 primary school PSHE education leads, and follow-up in-depth interviews and discussion groups with 171 participants. This included local authority support staff, and from participating primary schools: senior management representatives, PSHE education leads, teaching staff, governors, school improvement partners, parents, and pupils. Results included here primarily relate to two areas: delivery models and curriculum coverage, and pupil views on their experiences and the (potential) value of PSHE education. In examining these areas, the article raises issues about blurred boundaries between PSHE education and Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) and/or pastoral care within school more widely, and particular staff sensitivities about the teaching of certain elements of PSHE education, particularly sex and relationships education (SRE) and drugs, alcohol and tobacco (DAT) 2 education. These subject areas were less likely to be included or prioritised within PSHE education than, for example, emotional health and wellbeing, but were often the areas highlighted as most important by pupils. In conclusion, the article raises questions about the potential links between PSHE education and attainment, and the use of different teaching approaches across the curriculum more broadly.

Effective PSHE education: values, purposes and future directions

“…The data sources used in the study are detailed elsewhere (Formby, 2011;Formby and Wolstenholme, 2012). In brief, the study utilised a nationally representative survey of 1540 English primary and secondary schools (with 22% and 34% response rates for primary and secondary schools respectively), alongside interview and other data gathered from case study visits to nine primary schools and five secondary schools.…”

“…It focused on state-funded primary and secondary schools, and had two purposes. Findings relating to the first purpose -to map current practice and provision in relation to PSHE Education 1 and its elements 2 have been presented and discussed in previous issues of Pastoral Care in Education, in relation to primary schools (Formby, 2011) and to secondary schools (Formby and Wolstenholme, 2012). In this paper, we look to the second purpose, to examine effective PSHE provision.…”

“…Only one case study primary school identified consulting pupils as being important, but pupil focus group data showed the importance of taking account of pupils' views (see Formby, 2011 andFormby andWolstenholme, 2012 for more on this). Parental engagement and consultation were mentioned by three of the primary case study schools as important.…”

‘If there’s going to be a subject that you don’t have to do …’ Findings from a mapping study of PSHE education in English secondary schools

“…Using both the quantitative and qualitative data collected from the study, this article builds on a previous publication related to PSHE education in primary schools (Formby, 2011a) by examining a number of issues pertinent to secondary level PSHE education. Where appropriate, direct comparisons are made to primary level findings.…”

Professional learning and professional careers: theory, evaluation and practice

“…Significant models that do so in the professional development field are level or path models, of which the most influential are those of Kirkpatrick (1983), Guskey (1999; and Desimone (2009) as well as Leithwood and Levin (2005) in relation to school leadership influences, in particular. Other approaches include theorising the role of school and wider influences on particular aspects of professional practice including, of specific interest to this thesis, Day and Gu (2010) in relation to teacher careers; Troman (2008) in relation to assessment; and Formby (2011) in relation to PSHE education.…”