Personal, Social and Health Education

Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education has in various forms been part of the National Curriculum for schools in UK since 2000. Some aspects, but not all, have been compulsory. PSHE education is defined by the schools inspectorate Ofsted as a planned programme to help children and young people develop fully as individuals and as members of families and social and economic communities. Its goal is to equip young people with the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live healthily, safely, productively and responsibly.

In Wales, the comparable element of the state school curriculum topic is Personal and Social Education (PSE). In Ireland, it is Social, Personal and Health education (SPHE). It is also known as PSHEE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education), PSED (Personal, Social and Emotional Development) and PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education).

PSHE topics

Topics covered within PSHE are grouped in three core themes: (i) health and wellbeing, (ii) relationships, and (iii) living in the wider world; and include: