Monksmead School

Respect, Reflect, Believe, Succeed

PSHE

 

Intent

  

Our school’s overarching intent for our pupils is to provide a Personal, social, health, economic, relationship and sex education (PSHE/RSE) programme of study which ensures all pupils are provided with:

 

  • Accurate, realistic, balanced and relevant knowledge, underpinned, where relevant, by British Law.
  • Opportunities to turn that knowledge into personal understanding.
  • Opportunities to explore, clarify and if necessary challenge, their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities.
  • Opportunities to be courageous advocates for change.
  • Encouragement to reflect on their learning and the progress they have made, and to transfer this knowledge and skills from one school subject to another, and from school to their lives in the wider community.
  • The skills, language and strategies they need in order to live healthy, safe, fulfilling responsible and balanced lives.
  • Opportunities to develop positive personal attributes such as having a growth mindset, resilience, self-confidence, self-esteem and empathy.
  • Accurate, balanced and relevant knowledge to enable them to appreciate what it means to be a positive, kind, tolerant member of a diverse multicultural society.

 

Our children will be taught in a safe and supportive learning environment where the children are able to develop the confidence to ask questions and challenge the information that they are given.  We want them to be able to draw on their own experience, express their views and opinions and put what they have learnt into practice in their own lives.  We want them to be able to make their own choices and take responsibility for their own actions.  We want them to understand that their actions can have an impact on others and when and how to ask for help. We will follow our safeguarding policy should a concern be raised as a result of a lesson.   

 

 

Implementation

The scheme of work that we deliver has been personalised and adapted to meet all the needs of the pupils in our school, has three core themes, the same for each key stage. Each core theme is divided up into three topic areas:

 

Core Theme 1: Health and Wellbeing

Topic areas:

  • Healthy lifestyles
  • Keeping safe
  • Growing and changing

 

Core Theme 2: Relationships

Topic areas:

  • Healthy Relationships
  • Feelings and emotions
  • Valuing difference

Core Theme 3: Living in the Wider World

Topic areas:

  • Rights and responsibilities
  • Taking care of the environment
  • Money matters

 

Whilst PSHE/RSE is split into three separate core themes, in reality there will always be extensive overlap. PSHE/RSE education addresses both pupils’ direct experience and preparation for their future. Therefore, we feel it is important to provide a spiral programme of knowledge, which introduces new and more challenging learning, while building on what has gone before, which reflects and meets the personal needs of the children we teach. 

 

Within this spiral programme, a variety of different resources are used, including a list of picture books/story books linked to the objectives taught.  We feel the use of stories will provide a context for children as well as a vehicle for discussion that is less personal, with the ability for sensitive issues to be discussed in relation to book characters rather than personal experience. This is a good way of distancing the learning for children.

 

The curriculum is flexible and there may be times when we need to change the planned focus to meet the needs of a particular class or to respond to an event in our community or wider world.

 

We teach PSHE & RSE in a variety of ways. We have dedicated curriculum time/lessons, where the lessons are delivered by teaching staff using an adapted version of the scheme of work developed from the PSHE Association’s Primary Toolkit.

 

PSHE/RSE is also covered through other areas of the school’s curriculum; e.g. Religious Education, Computing, Physical Education and science.

 

In addition, PSHE/RSE is developed through whole-school activities and events:

  • Whole school assemblies and Key Stage assemblies.
  • Weekly celebration assembly.
  • Class assemblies and Key Stage performances/celebrations such as KS1 carol concert or Year 6 production.
  • Our school council; which comprises of all children in school having a voice to discuss issues raised, in mixed year groups, once per half term.
  • We offer two residential visits in Key Stage 2: Year 4 take part in a camping trip and Year 6 visit PGL, where there is a particular focus on developing pupils’ self-esteem and independence, giving them opportunities to develop leadership skills and positive group work.
  • Themed weeks/days; such as anti-bullying week and Safer Internet day.
  • Visiting speakers/workshops.
  • Daily nurture group for identified children.
  • Fundraising events such as Sports Relief/Children in Need
  • A variety of clubs and school sports teams.
  • Local community activities.

 

We also ensure that we incorporate and respect all social, moral, spiritual and cultural issues, encouraging our children to think about their place within Britain as citizens. We include the five British Values (democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths/beliefs) within all of our teachings to establish an effective, nurturing, inclusive and safe school environment.

 

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, PSHE is taught as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. Personal emotional and social development is a prime area of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

  

Impact

 The intended impact of the teaching and learning of PSHE at Monksmead School follows our school drivers:

  • Self-Awareness –  Pupils are encouraged to reflect on their experiences and understand how they are developing personally and socially, and have the confidence to tackle many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up.
  • Embrace differences –  Our children will have learnt about their rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society.  They learn to understand and respect humanity; diversity and differences so that they can go on to form the effective, fulfilling relationships that are an essential part of life and learning.
  • Ambitious to take the next step –  Pupils will feel prepared for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.   Through a carefully planned programme, supported by all who work in or with the school, we want children to leave Monksmead ready for the transition into secondary school and adult life. 
  • Worldy-Wise –  By the time children leave Monksmead they will have the means to become healthy, independent and responsible members of a society.  Pupils will have the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to lead confident, healthy, independent lives.