Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education (PSHE)
At St Columba’s College, PSHE is not a standalone subject but a continuous journey that begins in the Prep School and matures throughout the Senior School.
Our 4–18 PSHE programme ensures that pupils build upon a strong foundation of emotional intelligence, social awareness, and personal responsibility. Each stage of their education revisits and deepens their understanding of key themes, enabling a coherent and developmentally appropriate progression. This continuity supports our wider vision of shaping young people who are confident, reflective, and well-prepared for life beyond the College.
PSHE: Prep
Empowering Pupils from the Earliest Years
At St Columba’s College, PSHE in the Prep School lays the essential foundations for life beyond the classroom. Rooted in our holistic educational ethos, PSHE supports children in becoming thoughtful, emotionally aware, and socially responsible individuals. It introduces key themes that are expanded upon throughout the Senior School, ensuring a smooth and meaningful progression in personal development.
Building Blocks for Life
We follow the ThoughtBox Education syllabus, which nurtures three core skills: thinking, feeling, and connecting. These are developed through practices of self-care, people-care, and environment-care, creating a balanced approach to emotional, social, and environmental wellbeing. This framework aligns with the values of our whole-school SHAPE (Service, House, Academic, Practical, Extracurricular) model, encouraging pupils to make connections between classroom learning and the wider world.
Our PSHE programme includes teacher-led sessions during key times in the year, such as Black History Month and Children’s Mental Health Week, and introduces early financial and economic wellbeing concepts to lay the groundwork for future financial literacy taught in the Senior School.
A Coordinated and Age-Appropriate Approach
A dedicated PSHE/RSE Coordinator oversees the Prep School programme, ensuring that content is developmentally appropriate, sensitively delivered, and aligned with national guidance. They are responsible for curating resources, supporting staff, and arranging visits from external speakers to enrich the pupils’ understanding of key topics.
Curriculum Progression
This cyclical, two-year rotation ensures depth and reinforcement of key PSHE concepts across the Prep School. Themes alternate yearly to allow vertical progression: for example, kindness is revisited in Prep 1, 3, and 5, each time in a more detailed way. Topics such as social media, love and relationships, and economic wellbeing build the foundation for Senior School RSE and PSHE strands, ensuring a seamless transition to more complex ideas as pupils move through their educational journey.
A Nurturing and Reflective Approach
PSHE is delivered both formally and informally through lessons, tutor time, and playground interactions, and is further supported by RE lessons. Pupils are encouraged to explore ideas through personal reflection journals, helping them build the skills of empathy, self-awareness, and thoughtful decision-making.
Assessment
Pupil development is tracked through a combination of:
- Informal assessments, including class discussions, observations, and group tasks
- Formal assessments recorded in individual reflection journals, where pupils document their learning and growth over time
All assessments are aligned with PSHE and RSE curriculum outcomes, ensuring a coherent and developmentally appropriate pathway into the Senior School.
How Can Parents/Guardians Support Their Child’s Learning?
We value the partnership between school and home in shaping young people. Parents and guardians can support their children’s learning by:
- Engaging with the school newsletter, especially Mr Warne’s Wellbeing section
- Encouraging open conversations at home about the topics covered in class
