Personal, social & health education (PSHE)

Personal and social education is handled differently within each school and may be described as PSE, PSHE, PHSE etc. It usually consists of both a taught component of the school curriculum and the traditional activities reaching well beyond the standard academic curriculum – plays, concerts, sport, CCF, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Model United Nations forums or community service. The taught component is essentially cross-curricular. It deals with the physical, sexual, spiritual, cultural, moral, social and vocational aspects of education. For instance, human reproduction, the destruction of the Brazilian rainforest, or the disposal of radioactive waste can be taught either in biology, geography or physics classes; or they can be presented by teachers or external experts within PHSE lectures, discussions or tutor groups.