Relationships and Life Skills at St. Mary’s

From September 2026, we introduced the Kapow Primary RSE & PSHE curriculum – which we call Relationship and Life Skills.

We have chosen to continue following the Kapow Primary’s RSE & PSHE scheme of work, which provides the lessons, teaching resources and curriculum structure that our teachers will use in school. Kapow has designed the curriculum to build children’s knowledge, understanding and skills progressively throughout their time in primary school.

RSE stands for Relationships and Sex Education, while PSHE stands for Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education. Together, these areas of learning help children to understand themselves, develop healthy relationships, look after their physical and mental wellbeing, stay safe and understand their role in the wider world.

Importantly, the curriculum is much broader than sex education. It includes learning about friendships, families, emotions, mental health, healthy lifestyles, online safety, personal boundaries, growing and changing, citizenship, money and how we can contribute positively to our communities.

The curriculum is carefully structured so that children’s knowledge and understanding develop gradually as they move through the school, with topics revisited at an age-appropriate level.

What will my child learn?

Kapow’s RSE & PSHE curriculum covers a wide range of topics, including:

Finding out more about our RSE & PSHE curriculum

We want parents and carers to be able to find out about our RSE & PSHE curriculum easily and to have a clear understanding of what their children will be learning.

The Kapow Parent Zone

Kapow has created a dedicated RSE & PSHE Parent Zone to help parents and carers understand the curriculum and support their children with their learning at home.

The Parent Zone provides information about the different areas of RSE & PSHE, explains how the curriculum develops as children progress through school and provides guidance and suggestions for parents about talking to children about some of the topics they may encounter.

It is also a useful place to find answers to some of the questions parents may have about what is taught, when it is taught and how sensitive topics are approached.

As these resources are provided directly by Kapow, they give you an opportunity to find out more about the curriculum we have chosen to use at St. Mary’s.

Visit the Kapow RSE & PSHE Parent Zone

Our St. Mary’s Curriculum Overviews

Alongside the Kapow Parent Zone, we have created year-group curriculum overviews.

These are designed to give you a quick and easy overview of exactly what your child will be learning during their year.

Each overview shows the different units your child will study and the key questions that will be explored. These overviews are intended to give you a snapshot of the curriculum for your child’s year group, while the Kapow Parent Zone provides more detailed information and support around the curriculum as a whole.