Intent

In PSHE, we aim for all of our children to see themselves both as valued individuals and important members of communities e.g. our school, our parish, their family, the country and the world. We endeavour to promote a sense of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing across the school and share with children the importance of taking care of their own and others health and wellbeing whilst having a positive impact on God’s world around them. 

To be able to make safe and informed decisions, children will need to build up the skills, knowledge and understanding of personal, social, health and economic education.  They will need to understand and use the language of PSHE and apply their acquired knowledge across the curriculum, making connections both within PSHE and Mental Health lessons and across other subjects too.

Although PSHE in a non-statutory subject, we tailor the Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning PinK curriculum and a diocesan approved Relationships and Sex Education scheme of work to equip children with a sound understanding of risk and with the knowledge and skills necessary to make safe and informed decisions.

Implementation

The statutory guidance issued to school states that by the end of primary school children should know:

Facts4Life in Action

Interview with Anna Plews

Mental wellbeing

• that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health that there is a normal range of emotions (e.g. happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, nervousness) and scale of emotions that all humans experience in relation to different experiences and situations
• how to recognise and talk about their emotions, including having a varied vocabulary of words to use when talking about their own and others’ feelings
• how to judge whether what they are feeling and how they are behaving is appropriate and proportionate
• the benefits of physical exercise, time outdoors, community participation, voluntary and service-based activity on mental wellbeing and happiness
• simple self-care techniques, including the importance of rest, time spent with friends and family and the benefits of hobbies and interests
• isolation and loneliness can affect children and that it is very important for children to discuss their feelings with an adult and seek support
• that bullying (including cyberbullying) has a negative and often lasting impact on mental wellbeing
• where and how to seek support (including recognising the triggers for seeking support), including whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions (including issues arising online)
• it is common for people to experience mental ill health. For many people who do, the problems can be resolved if the right support is made available, especially if accessed early enough

Internet safety and harms

• that for most people the internet is an integral part of life and has many benefits about the benefits of rationing time spent online, the risks of excessive time spent on electronic devices and the impact of positive and negative content online on their own and others’ mental and physical wellbeing
• how to consider the effect of their online actions on others and know how to recognise and display respectful behaviour online and the importance of keeping personal information private
• why social media, some computer games and online gaming, for example, are age restricted
• that the internet can also be a negative place where online abuse, trolling, bullying and harassment can take place, which can have a negative impact on mental health
• how to be a discerning consumer of information online including understanding that information, including that from search engines, is ranked, selected and targeted
• where and how to report concerns and get support with issues online

Physical health and fitness

• the characteristics and mental and physical benefits of an active lifestyle
• the importance of building regular exercise into daily and weekly routines and how to achieve this; for example walking or cycling to school, a daily active mile or other forms of regular, vigorous exercise
• the risks associated with an inactive lifestyle (including obesity)
• how and when to seek support including which adults to speak to in school if they are worried about their health

Healthy eating

• what constitutes a healthy diet (including understanding calories and other nutritional content)
• the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals
• the characteristics of a poor diet and risks associated with unhealthy eating (including, for example, obesity and tooth decay) and other behaviours (e.g. the impact of alcohol on diet or health)

Drugs, alcohol and tobacco

• the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking

Health and prevention

• how to recognise early signs of physical illness, such as weight loss, or unexplained changes to the body
• about safe and unsafe exposure to the sun, and how to reduce the risk of sun damage, including skin cancer
• the importance of sufficient good quality sleep for good health and that a lack of sleep can affect weight, mood and ability to learn
• about dental health and the benefits of good oral hygiene and dental flossing, including regular check-ups at the dentist
• about personal hygiene and germs including bacteria, viruses, how they are spread and treated, and the importance of handwashing
• the facts and science relating to allergies, immunisation and vaccination

Basic first aid 

• how to make a clear and efficient call to emergency services if necessary concepts of basic first-aid, for example dealing with common injuries, including head injuries

Changing adolescent body

• key facts about puberty and the changing adolescent body, particularly from age 9 through to age 11, including physical and emotional changes
• about menstrual wellbeing including the key facts about the menstrual cycle

Alongside curriculum coverage through Science, PE, DT and RE, we use the Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning PinK Curriculum objectives, Facts4Life and Sometimes My Brain Hurts schemes of work as part of our PSHE provision. As a Catholic school, we use a diocesan approved Relationships and Sex Education scheme of work.

How we plan for progression in PSHE at St Gregory’s:
The St Gregory’s Curriculum is designed around year group themes. Each has been structured and sequenced in order to engage pupils in purposeful learning by building on prior knowledge and helping connect knowledge, understanding and skills year-on-year both within PSHE and across other subjects too. 

As a Catholic school, PSHE objectives are covered in a variety of ways such as through collective worship, assemblies, Catholic social teaching, Relationships and Health Education, RE and foundation subject lessons as well as discrete PSHE and Mental Health teaching. Whilst PSHE skills are developed across subjects and within school life (e.g. healthy eating and hygiene in Science, the importance of exercise in PE and self-regulation through restorative practice), each class completes at least one discrete PSHE lesson per term and in KS2 one discrete Mental Health lesson is also taught every term. 

Our PSHE curriculum is based on the Facts4Life scheme of work and designed around key themes such as ‘Homeostasis’, ‘Healthy Me’ and ‘The Family’. Each has been structured and sequenced in order to engage pupils in purposeful learning by building on prior knowledge and helping them to connect knowledge, understanding and skills year-on-year. Mental Health lessons follow the Sometimes My Brain Hurts scheme of work. Opportunities for additional learning include SEAL group work, CAFAW interventions such as play therapy, SkillsZone trips, Bikeability and balanceability lessons, NSPCC workshops, a mock trial competition, visits from PCSOs, Big Pedal and Walk to School initiatives and financial education workshops.

PSHE Teaching Overview Example
PinK curriculum objectives have been audited to ensure full coverage across the age and subject range:
 

We recognise that foundations for PSHE are laid in the Early Years Foundation Stage through all seven strands of the Early Year Framework (especially personal, social, emotional development and understanding the world) and therefore PSHE teaching and learning opportunities begin from EYFS. 

To ensure progression, the teaching team worked together to plan out curriculum coverage and then the subject leader identified the progression of skills and vocabulary required at each stage of learning to prepare children for the next stage in their learning.

PSHE curriculum coverage and progression of skills
PSHE teaching across the school is clearly outlined in our PSHE phase overview documents to ensure a progression of skills. An example of which can be found below:

See PSHE vision 2022 for more information
 

Additional Opportunities

In order to enhance PSHCE provision and learning, a range of opportunities and initiatives are also offered. Some examples of these are: 

• Cooking lessons at Waitrose for all year groups
• Bikeability for Year 6 
• Balanceability for FS & KS1
• Mock Trial Competition for Year 6
• Visits to SkillsZone for Years 3 and 5
• First Aid Training for all year groups
• NSPCC assemblies and workshops
• Visits from PCSOs and the fire service
• Big Pedal and Walk to School initiatives for all