PSHE

Subject Leader - Mrs N. Wilcox

Curriculum Intent

Our PSHE curriculum is designed with the intent that all children will become competent, healthy, independent and responsible members of society. We intend to inspire pupils through high-quality PSHE lessons which also cover the statutory outcomes for Relationships Education and Health Education. Through our development of an effective PSHE and RHE curriculum, we intend to promote the importance of mental health and well-being, including how children can seek support for themselves or others if they need help with managing strong feelings.

As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, we also seek to embed learning opportunities and PSHE/Relationships and Health Education links across other subjects, through weekly assemblies and by inviting guest speakers into school. We aim to equip pupils with the skills to develop respect for themselves and others, confidence and self-worth.

Our PSHE curriculum supports safeguarding, whereby children will learn about how to keep themselves safe and what to do if something makes them feel uncomfortable, worried or frightened.

It is our goal that pupils will play a positive role in contributing to daily school life and also to the wider community. It is important to us to teach children about their rights and responsibilities and develop their understanding of British Values and our Curriculum Drivers: Possibilities, Diversity and Resilience.

As pupils progress through our PSHE curriculum, their growing knowledge and understanding will support them with areas including: friendships, managing emotions, healthy relationships, habits and behaviours, choices and the possible consequences of these, goal-setting, and coping with change. It is our intention that pupils will have a secure understanding of these important life skills to support their personal development and continue to develop as well-rounded individuals.

Implementation

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in PSHE, we implement a knowledge-based curriculum that is progressive across the school. PSHE lessons are taught weekly in Years 1 – 6 and incorporate the statutory outcomes for Relationships Education and Health Education. Our PSHE curriculum is based on the SEAL units (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) and one of these is covered each half term. The units are: New Beginnings, Getting On and Falling out, Say No to Bullying, Going for Goals, Good to Be Me, Relationships and Changes. The same units are covered in each year group, with differentiation of the knowledge, skills and outcomes. Our Early Years staff cover relevant areas of PSHE, Relationships Education and Health Education through Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED).

Year group staff plan sequences of lessons, which are differentiated to meet the needs of all learners, using our Progression Document which shows curriculum coverage and the development of knowledge and skills. This ensures that the curriculum is appropriately tailored to pupils’ developmental needs, providing on-going opportunities for relevant learning, knowledge and skills to be built upon each year. This approach directly coincides with Ofsted’s inspection framework which states: “People learn new knowledge when new concepts are connected in their minds with what they have already learned. It is more appropriate, therefore, to understand the way knowledge is stored as a complex, interconnected web or ‘schema’. Every time a pupil encounters a word they have previously learned, but applied in a new context, it adds to the complexity of their understanding of that concept. In other words, they develop a deeper understanding of that concept and enhance their capacity to use that concept in their own thinking.”

As part of PSHE and Health Education in upper KS2, puberty is covered to prepare and support children with changes their bodies will go through and the importance of good hygiene. Year 6 pupils may also cover age-appropriate sessions based on Extremism and Radicalisation, and the risks of substance abuse and peer pressure – pupils are encouraged to make informed, sensible and responsible decisions to support their readiness for secondary school.

Within PSHE we emphasise active learning by including the children in discussions, drama, investigations, problem-solving activities and the use of Ed Tech. Teaching staff utilise a range of engaging resources and teaching styles, to provide pupils with different learning experiences and enhance PSHE, thus promoting Cultural Capital across the school. Through PSHE and Relationships and Health Education, children are supported to: understand and manage their feelings, make positive choices, deal appropriately with different situations, work in collaboration with others, resolve conflict, set themselves realistic goals, understand their rights and responsibilities, evaluate and review their actions. This curriculum provides children with opportunities to deepen their understanding and apply their skills into real-life contexts, to help prepare them for more challenging situations they will face in later life. We also further enrich the PSHE curriculum through various activities and whole-school events, e.g. Job-Holder Elections, the A*STARS programme, Anti-Bullying Week, frequent fundraising involvement and visitor-led workshops.

Impact

Our PSHE curriculum is designed to ensure that pupils’ Personal, Social and Health and Relationships Education knowledge, skills and understanding are embedded throughout their time at school, and they leave Primary school equipped with sufficient knowledge, skills and understanding to support them through Secondary school and beyond. The Progression Document provides a clear outline for pupils at each stage of their learning, which enables teachers to provide learning opportunities at appropriate levels to meet children’s needs.

The impact of our PSHE curriculum will be measured through planning, quality of wrappers and resources, class Floor Books, school leader monitoring and subject leader monitoring. Objective and activities in Floor Books will evidence a broad and balanced PSHE curriculum (including Relationships Education and Health Education) and demonstrate children’s acquisition of key knowledge, skills and understanding. The effective PSHE education provided also encourages our pupils to become healthy, responsible, safe and independent members of society and children are taught how to make positive contributions to this. Teaching staff will assess children’s learning during PSHE lessons through questioning, discussion, observations, collaborative group work and children’s contributions in the class Floor Book. There are no formal assessments. Teachers will deliver PSHE, Relationships and Health Education content sensitively where appropriate and taken individual children’s circumstances into account. Staff will adapt planning if needed to ensure this is tailored to meet the needs of all pupils.

As children progress throughout the school, they will deepen their knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a positive member of a diverse and multi-cultural society, and of British Values. Children are taught about friendships, problem-solving, resilience, managing difficult situations, showing respect and tolerance, and the perspective of others.

The impact of our PSHE curriculum is that our pupils become well-educated citizens who are equipped with relevant knowledge for their future, thus promoting Cultural Capital. Work completed in class Floor Books will also demonstrate a broad and balanced curriculum, and evidence the skills children have learned and developed over time. We hope to see pupils consolidating and showcasing their learning within, and outside of, the classroom setting. In order to develop readiness for Secondary education and beyond, pupils will be able to express themselves with confidence, demonstrate resilience, critical thinking and ability to problem-solve, understand the importance of physical health and well-being, and apply their skills learned through PSHE to new situations in later life.