Intent

Our curriculum is taken from the PSHE Association and is designed  to equip children with essential skills for life; it intends to develop the whole child through carefully planned and resourced lessons that develop the knowledge, skills and attributes children need to protect and enhance their wellbeing. Through these lessons, children will learn how to stay safe and healthy, build and maintain successful relationships and become active citizens, responsibly participating in society around them. Successful PSHE curriculum coverage is a vital tool in preparing children for life in society now and in the future. We aim to cover a wide range of social and emotional aspects of learning, enabling children to develop their identity and self-esteem as active, confident members of their community. The themes and topics support social, oral, spiritual and cultural development and provide children with protective teaching on essential safeguarding issues, developing their knowledge of when and how they can ask for help.

We use one of the Programmes of Study provided by the PSHE Association Program of Study which is recommended and referred to by the DfE in all key documents relating to PSHE provision in schools. This allows us to cover all of the required objectives and follows the three core areas of Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World; allowing us to fulfil the requirements of 2020 Statutory Relationships and Health Education, setting these learning intentions in the context of abroad and balanced PSHE curriculum.

Implementation

Our curriculum takes a thematic approach to primary PSHE education, covering all three core themes of the Programme of Study:

• Health and Wellbeing- Families and friendship, Safe relationships and Respecting ourselves and others
• Relationships- Belonging to a community, Media literacy and digital resilience and Money and work
•  Living in the Wider World- Physical health and Mental wellbeing, Growing and changing and Keeping safe

We teach each of these over the school year, with three topics per half term. This approach allows different year groups to work on similar themes at the same time, building a spiral programme year on year, whilst offering flexibility in terms of medium term planning. These topic areas are adapted to meet planning requirements, pupils’ stage of development and needs and also to reflect the context of our school and local community.

Impact

Our children are enabled to develop the vocabulary and confidence needed to clearly articulate their thoughts and feelings in a climate of openness, trust and respect, and know when and how they can seek the support of others. We hope they will apply their understanding of society to their everyday interactions, from the classroom to the wider community of which they are a part. Our curriculum supports the active development of a school culture that prioritises physical and mental health and wellbeing, providing children with skills to evaluate and understand their own wellbeing needs, practise self-care and contribute positively to the wellbeing to those around them.

Successful PSHE education can have a positive impact on the whole child, including their academic development and progress, by mitigating any social and emotional barriers to learning and building confidence and self- esteem. Evidence suggests that successful PSHE education also help disadvantaged and vulnerable children to achieve to a greater extent by raising aspirations and empowering them with skills to overcome barriers they face.