PSHE

Intent

As a Gold Rights Respecting School, we value diversity and foster mutual respect, modelling and inspiring attributes in pupils such as respect, courtesy and honesty.  These underpin and inform the relationships we have, between pupils, and between adults and pupils, and help our students to understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) at Brecknock Primary School, which includes statutory Relationship and Health Education (RHE), equips children with knowledge, skills and tools to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing. It aims to help them build lasting and meaningful relationships, learn how to stay safe and prepare them for the essential skills of  adult life in the wider world. Lessons help pupils to develop the skills and attributes they need to manage life’s challenges and make the most of life’s opportunities.


Knowledgeable learners

  • PSHE teaches children the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships, preparing them for adult life in British society.
  • Children are equipped with the knowledge and tools to begin to make informed economic decisions, to build lasting and respectful relationships and to learn how to stay safe in the wider world.
  • Lessons support pupils to develop the skills, language and attributes they need to both manage life’s challenges and make the most of life’s opportunities.

Confident communicators 

  • Children are taught age-appropriate, subject specific vocabulary as part of each lesson which is carefully planned.
  •  All lessons have an oracy focus, where children are encouraged to share their views, discuss and debate facts and opinions. They are given oracy scaffolds and visual support to help all children communicate their ideas and thoughts clearly.
  • Children are taught the language and standards needed  to create and maintain respectful relationships within the classroom, school environment and wider world, enabling them to have positive, respectful  and constructive relationships.
  • Children are taught how to be anti-racist and to use anti-racist language to challenge racial discrimination.
  • Children are taught that British values are precious but not universal. They can articulate, in an age -appropriate way, what life might  be like without on or more of them, using taught vocabulary.
  • In EYFS, children begin to learn about creating and thinking critically, having, developing and articulating their own ideas, making links between them and developing strategies for doing new things.

Active citizens

  • Children at Brecknock are taught to understand that all children’s needs are the same, but that there are inequalities in the world around them. They learn to stand up for those who are treated unfairly through lessons on the UN rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. They campaign for fairer treatment for others through Unicef Schools global campaigns such as Outright and the Playground Challenge. They also take part in National Events such as Clean Air Day and  Camden events such as The Takeover Challenge which focuses on local environmental and social issues.
  • Our children learn to respect the different cultures and backgrounds in our community and understand that all families are unique and valid.
  •  We teach our children how to make informed decisions about technology, including how to keep themselves safe, who to trust online, to recognise that online images can be manipulated and who can help them.

Implementation

  • Our scheme of work is based on the Camden PSHE curriculum and is carefully planned to ensure progression through each of the main strands of PSHE and Relationships and Health Education (RHE).  Learning builds upon knowledge and skills from the previous year and ensures that children’s understanding is developed and revisited.
  • Our curriculum includes statutory Relationship and Health Education (RHE) and aspects of non statutory sex education, which is taught in year six.
  • The curriculum is divided into three themes: Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World.
  • Lessons are delivered weekly by the class teacher through whole class teaching, but is also taught within other contexts such as  assemblies, with outside agencies and whole school events and with the support of Camden’s PSHE curriculum. Outside agencies work include workshops on Bike Training, Road Safety, NSPCC  Speak Out Stay Safe is embedded in all curriculum areas including personal, social and health and economic (PSHE) education. For example, some biological aspects of RHE will be taught within the science curriculum and online safety is taught within computing lessons.
  • In line with DfE recommendations, non statutory sex education is taught in year six. Children learn about the difference between an adult intimate/loving relationship and other types of relationships, how a baby is made and how a baby grows during pregnancy. Click here for the Relationships and Health Education policy.
  • Opportunities for cross-curricular learning through science for growing, nutrition, teeth, diet and lifestyle and computing for online safety provide consistent messages throughout the age ranges including how and where to access help.
  • Staff, pupil and parent views are gathered through the school council, Rights Ambassadors, Brecknock Buddies, pupil conversations, INSET, surveys and parent meetings. Curriculum improvement has been driven by these conversations including introducing anti-racist lessons, a Children’s Anti -bullying policy and lessons on consent .
  • ‘Classroom Conversations’ are carefully mapped out each half term to respond to identified areas of relevance for the school. These key aspects of the PSHE can be developed with each class in an age appropriate manner.
  • In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), PSHE is taught as an integral part of teaching and continuous provision work and is embedded throughout the curriculum. At Brecknock we follow the non-statutory curriculum guidance Development Matters. In early years PSHE comes under the Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) area of learning and is broken down into statutory   Early Learning Goals covering key concepts and skills around: Making relationships; Self-confidence and self-awareness; Managing feelings and behaviour.
  • Specific areas are also covered, such as, Physical Development ; Health and self-care and Understanding the World ; People and communities, and supports the teaching of Relationships; Health and Wellbeing along with Living in the Wider World. Teachers always reflect on the different rates at which children are developing and adjust their practice appropriately.
  • In EYFS children also explore their sense of self and effortful control. Links to our learning in communication and language are strong and they begin to use vocabulary to express themselves effectively. We focus on the ‘Zones of Regulation’ to explore feelings and how we can support children’s own self regulation.
  • In KS1, children focus on the three themes of PSHE : Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World in age appropriate lessons.
  • In KS2, children build on their knowledge from KS1, exploring more complex themes such  but also learning about puberty from year five and sex education in year six.
  • Pupils with SEND are included in all lessons and teachers allow children time to explore, recognise and understand the subject content. This ensures pupils develop the essential skills and attributes identified in the Framework, including key communication skills, vocabulary, strategies and the confidence to help manage issues when they encounter them (knowing how to seek help when necessary). Like all children and young people, pupils with SEND live in an increasingly ‘connected’ world. They are not always able to recognise or separate the ‘offline world’ from the ‘online world’; therefore, all topics are explored within the context of both.

Impact 

  • A meaningful PSHE curriculum supports children becoming happier, positive about school life as a whole,having a better understanding of rules and responsibilities, being able to handle setbacks and disagreements.
  • An understanding of their inherent, indivisible, inalienable unconditional and universal rights, and how these rights can and should be protected.
  • An understanding of our diverse and complex world, and an empathy and respect for the rights of all individuals .
  • Positive and constructive communication, with highly developed oracy skills .
  • Resilience and self-regulation, and a keen understanding of their own health and wellbeing, especially supporting their mental and emotional development.
  • Risk management and balanced decision making, within the context of a changing and challenging world.

 

Children’s Anti-Bullying Policy

PSHE and Citizenship Policy

Please click here for the curriculum PSHE Progression document.