Intent

At Healey, the principal aim of PSHE Education is to allow pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves happy, healthy and safe, and prepared for life past education.

In line with the Children and Social Work Act 2017 we will be delivering teaching in regard to Relationships Education and Health Education (Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing) to our pupils, alongside providing vital knowledge and understanding about economic wellbeing and career information for the future. Sex Education will be provided at an age appropriate level, and it will be tailored to the physical and emotional maturity of the pupils. Parents/carers will have the right to request their child’s withdrawal from some/all of the lessons delivered, and a process will be followed where required, which is outlined in our RSE policy. All teaching will also comply with requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and the SEND Code of Practice. With reference to the PSHE Association, we will cover their three core themes of Relationships, Health and Wellbeing and Living in the Wider World.

It is our intent that all children will be ‘lifelong learners’ and that they will lead a happy and successful adult life, underpinned by our holistic school ethos and manifested in our school’s seven golden rules.

• Be polite and gentle
• Make the right choice
• Have a 'can do' attitude
• Be a committed learner
• Value all property
• Keep yourself and others safe
• Be active and healthy

In order to achieve this, pupils need knowledge and confidence in their abilities to support them in making independent and informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships, and how to deal with the opportunities, experiences and responsibilities that will arise in their later years. Our curriculum will be accessible to all and provide them with the skills and understanding to make sound decisions when having new experiences, meeting new challenges, facing risks and dealing with unfamiliar situations and complex contexts. We aspire to develop resilience, to know how and when to ask for help, and to know where to access support.

We offer an inclusive and nurturing learning environment, in which each individual child is encouraged to develop their full potential and where their achievements and successes are celebrated and rewarded. We endeavour for children to know more, remember more and understand more. As a school, we believe in promoting fundamental British Values (Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs) and we aim to foster self-esteem in a happy and caring atmosphere. We also promote the spiritual, moral, social, cultural (SMSC), mental and physical development of our pupils at school and as members of a diverse society.

Implementation

Through the use of the PSHE Association, children acquire accurate and relevant knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future, alongside improving their understanding of the world and how to communicate effectively with others.

Topics include:

• Families and Friendships
• Safe Relationships
• Respecting Ourselves and Others
• Belonging to a Community
• Media Literacy and Digital Resilience
• Money and Work
• Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing
• Growing and Changing
• Keeping Safe

Our curriculum develops the positive personal attributes, qualities and virtues which children need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society and the global community. These include self-respect and self-worth, perseverance, resilience and self-belief, underpinned by the values of honesty, courtesy, empathy, respect and kindness. A diverse range of values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities are explored, clarified and challenged, with the aim of promoting a healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced life for all. New knowledge is embedded through well-chosen opportunities and contexts so that it can be replicated confidently in real life situations.

Our curriculum is timetabled weekly through whole class sessions, and core knowledge is broken down into 3 different units (One for each term), each one communicated clearly and carefully sequenced within planned lessons tailored to our children’s needs. This allows for a broad and balanced curriculum where all teaching is sensitive, age-appropriate and based on respect for equality and diversity. This is a whole school approach, and in Years 1-6 they build on learning developed in early education. Links to other curriculum subjects are made with clarity and precision where appropriate, for example in subjects such as Science, Computing, Religious and Physical Education, and our shared values and teaching is integrated within everyday school life, for example in extra-curricular activities and throughout lessons and experiences which occur on a regular basis e.g. Assemblies. All British Values are discussed and encouraged, and they are regularly referred to in class when links in teaching can be made. Every class in school also has a ‘Class Mission Statement’ which is a document personal to each class and articulates the values, goals and norms of the children within it.

SMSC development is supported alongside British Values in many ways, for example in assemblies, on trips and with visitors. This allows the children to be social, make sense of their experiences, value themselves, respect others and their differences and ultimately feel confident and informed as a British citizen. Visitors are always welcomed, and the children are inspired by a range of people who visit school e.g. Firefighters and the police. School trips also provide the children with further opportunities to be motivated and engaged in their learning and pupils are committed to supporting the local community. This is encouraged by raising money for different charities, visiting local care homes, donating food to the local food bank and spreading words of kindness, alongside much more. Key events such as ‘World Mental Health Day’, ‘Children in Need’, ‘Anti-Bullying Week’ and ‘Safer Internet Day’ are observed throughout school each year and children engage in additional learning alongside their regular teaching. We encourage parental support wherever possible, and our school displays reflect our commitment to our curriculum.

The development of good physical health and mental wellbeing is of utmost importance at our school, and we promote this by encouraging good choices with food and exercise and in our creative teaching, often including use of a wide range of literature which promotes oracy development and a love of reading. Regular discussions focus on the use of social skills and issues relevant to individual classes, our school and community, and it provides us with the opportunity to model and explain emotive language at an age appropriate level. Our overarching aim is that the skills children develop in PSHE Education will be used to support their learning in other areas of the curriculum and during times of transition.

Impact

We seek to ensure that the PSHE Education we provide allows for pupils to be happy, healthy and safe, and prepared for their future life and work. We strive for good physical and mental health and wellbeing, and a strong moral compass. Pupil’s continuous SMSC development and in-depth understanding of British Values provides them with the necessary skills to be an upstanding citizen who is reflective and responsible and therefore able to lead a highly successful life and make a positive contribution in our rapidly changing modern world. We strive for children to be active citizens who show strength in their social skills, emotional resilience and respect towards others and the environment. We want to help raise children into caring, aspirational and confident individuals who are independent and can establish positive relationships with others, and we believe our consistent and regular use of PSHE Association materials allows for this.

Our high quality PSHE Education curriculum inspires all children to thrive, succeed and excel, alongside supporting learning and raising expectations across other curriculum areas. We want children to show enjoyment and fascination in their learning, and we endeavour for all children to participate and contribute regularly. We encourage children to use their initiative, and we promote collaborative working in order for information and individual opinions to be shared. We value pupil voice, and we strive for children to have a healthy outlook on school, demonstrated through positive behaviour, attendance and interactions across a wide range of contexts. We work to nurture individual interests, abilities and talents, and we value imagination and creativity. We measure and monitor progress in line with our school policy and the expectations set by the Department for Education in the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education statutory guidance 2019 for the end of primary school, and regular reflection is taken to inform future planning and to ensure our curriculum is inclusive and relevant to the needs of individuals, our school and our community, both locally and globally.

PSHE Education in the Early Years

In Nursery and Reception, children follow the statutory EYFS Framework 2021, which includes the prime area of Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED). Within this area, three strands of learning are covered (Self-Regulation, Managing Self and Building Relationships). Although it is not taught as a discrete subject, the foundations of good PSHE Education are developed. It is our intent to develop understanding on how to form and build relationships, manage feelings and appropriate behaviours as well as enhance development of self-regulation, self-confidence and self-awareness. Our overarching aim is to ensure that children are happy and healthy in life. Learning and development, supported by the use of effective communication and language and regular routine, are interwoven within children’s experiences through daily play-based activities, role-play areas, high quality fiction and reflective discussion which allow for knowledge and understanding, skills, attitudes and attributes to be expanded. Stories are used regularly to introduce new feelings, behaviours and concepts, and new experiences in and out of school help the children learn how to manage their behaviour in different situations, self-regulate and develop confidence in their abilities and when changes are made to their routine. Independence is promoted, and children listen well, are kind to each other, take turns and share. They understand risk, and know how to make a safe choice. This is also evident through children’s demonstration of the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’, and in other areas of the curriculum. Adults are role models, and they apply a consistent approach when supporting children to make decisions, build relationships and model behaviour expectations. Alongside this, the use of emotive language is introduced to develop understanding of their own feelings and those of others, and they begin to develop awareness of the school’s Golden Rules and the fundamental British Values in various ways such as circle time.

In EYFS, we aim to forge links with learning in Year 1, so that children have a positive transition experience when they enter their next key stage. In reference to the PSHE Education curriculum for Year 1, to support further learning we discuss what it means to be healthy, and reinforce the importance of exercise, healthy food and hygiene routines such as toileting and handwashing. We celebrate our similarities and differences, and talk about who can help us when we feel upset or worried. We also introduce the story ‘The Colour Monster’, so that children can become familiar with key emotive language. We talk about what rules are, how to ask for something and how we can stay safe, including on the internet. We discuss ways in which we can look after and be kind to each other, and care for animals and our environment. We identify different jobs people do and people who help us in the community, and we talk about our own families, and people who care for us.