PSHE/RSE

Subject Intent:

Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education isn’t just another school subject. It’s a chance to give every child an equal opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in society, now and in the future. With the right PSHE education children will be resilient, compassionate members of our community. They will demonstrate inclusivity and appreciate the world’s diversity. PSHE plays an integral part in preparing children for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

We aim for children to leave Otley and Witnesham Primary School fully prepared for their next steps in education and life in modern Britain. We inspire our children to be successful, independent life-long learners with the skills to build and maintain friendships, to recognise and manage their emotions, to know how to keep themselves safe and to understand and manage change in their lives, including as their bodies change and their role as a global citizen.

British Values are strongly embedded within our PSHE curriculum. We actively promote the democratic process through our school council. Children understand that the freedom to hold other faiths and beliefs is protected by law. They are taught to be accepting of those who have different beliefs to them and know that there is zero-tolerance for those that display discriminatory behaviour.

Lessons are varied and include a range of teaching styles to suit the needs of all children and there are many opportunities for PSHE to be enriched through visitors and awareness days held within school.

Implementation:

PSHE is taught by class teachers with some PSHE topics embedded within other subjects, especially within PE, Computing and Science, for example the teaching of online safety within Computing lessons. The curriculum is based on the frameworks of the National Curriculum and Kapow’s PSHE programme of study which fulfils the statutory requirements for Relationships and Health Education set out by the Department for Education. It also fulfils the National Curriculum requirement to teach PSHE and goes beyond the statutory requirements by referring to the PSHE Association Programme of Study which is recommended by the Department for Education. 

The scheme is organised into strands and key areas to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum. Key areas group learning into meaningful themes and ensure that all statutory content is covered. The strands weave throughout all units, demonstrating how pupils develop lifelong skills in managing themselves, regulating their emotions, building positive relationships and thinking critically. Together, the strands and key areas help pupils revisit important ideas over time, building their confidence and understanding in a structured way. Some key areas are revisited each year, while others are revisited less frequently to reflect the volume of content in the statutory guidance and ensure learning is age-appropriate. 

The strands show how pupils’ personal and social skills develop over time. They are drawn from the EYFS statutory framework, with the addition of critical thinking. They run through every key area, helping pupils learn to regulate their emotions, manage themselves, build positive relationships and think critically. This allows them to make thoughtful, informed choices as they grow. 

Kapow Primary’s RSE & PSHE curriculum has been designed as a spiral curriculum with the following key principles in mind:

Cyclical – pupils revisit RSE & PSHE knowledge and skills across the key areas throughout their time in primary school.

Increasing depth – each time a theme within a key area is revisited, it is explored with greater maturity and complexity.

Prior knowledge – pupils build on what they have already learned, making connections rather than starting again.

Each unit focuses primarily on one of the key areas of learning (or strands in EYFS), helping to ensure clear structure and full coverage of the statutory guidance. While there are natural overlaps between areas, organising learning in this way supports coherence and progression.

Each unit from Year 1-6 revolves around a central question that pupils should be able to answer by the end, drawing together what they have learned. Each individual lesson is also framed as a question, helping pupils understand the lesson’s focus. This structure allows them to reflect on how they have met the lesson’s objectives by the end.

The units are designed for coherence, linking lessons through a shared concept captured in the unit question. This allows for a variety of lesson content to meet statutory guidelines and support a spiral curriculum while maintaining clear focus. For example, a unit from the My healthy self key area may include lessons on diet and mindsets. Although these lessons cover different content, they all contribute towards answering the same overarching question ‘How can I make healthy choices?’ This helps pupils understand how individual lessons connect, rather than seeing them as separate or unrelated topics.

PSHE education will be provided to all children within our school. Teaching will be differentiated and personalised to suit their individual context. PSHE education will be taught on a weekly basis, with some content also being taught through other subject areas, and within other contexts, such as assemblies.

A taught session may look very different in one year group to the next - class teachers have discretion to plan and deliver teaching that suits the individual needs of their class, whilst ensuring that all curriculum content is covered effectively. There is no expectation that children complete formal written recording of teaching and occasionally some lessons may be talk based and have no written outcome at all.

Key Stage 1

In Year A, children start the autumn term with the topic Connecting with others. They learn about how they can help themselves and others feel safe and happy, also reflecting on time spent online. In the spring, they will explore health protection and staying safe. In the summer term, they explore how to build safe and kind relationships with others and how things are shared online. 

In Year B, the children will explore how they can look after their feelings and help others and the environment. The children will then move onto learning about how people belong in a community and earn money and how to look after their bodies. Finally, discovering how they can look after their bodies as they grow and how to make safe choices in different places. 

Lower Key Stage 2

In Year A, children start the autumn term with the topic Connecting with others. They learn about what helps them to feel safe and included and how to treat others online. In the spring, they will explore what careers people choose and why and signs that help them to recognise what is safe and unsafe. Approaching the Summer, the children will recognise how they can respect each other and how to evaluate what they see online. 

In Year B the autumn term will start with the children finding out about ways to take care of their mind and body alongside what rights and responsibilities they have. The children will then move onto discovering how they can prevent illness and injury and ways they can respond to these if they happen.  As the year comes to an end, the children will focus on how they can spend their money wisely and how their body and emotions will change as they grow up.

Upper Key Stage 2

In Year A, children will also start the autumn term with the topic Connecting with others and the online world. They learn about why healthy relationships are important and how they can be influenced by what they see online. In the spring, they will explore how they can be in control of their money and what it means to stand up for themselves and others. During the last term, they will reflect on how they feel about being online and will talk about ways they can stay safe as a grown up. 

In Year B the autumn term will begin with the children learning about how they can support their mind and body as they grow. They will also explore how they can make a difference in the community and beyond. In the spring, they will focus on how they can manage their changes to their body and emotions as they grow up and reflect on how their choices today affect their future wellbeing. During the summer term, the children will discuss how they can protect everyone’s rights. They will also have the opportunity to develop basic first aid skills and gain an age-appropriate understanding of conception and menstrual cycles. 

You can find out more information about our PSHE/RSHE curriculum on the Kapow website: https://www.kapowprimary.com/subjects/rse-pshe/curriculum/rse-pshe-parent-information/ 

Learning Together Sessions 

Parent/Carers are invited to the learning together sessions. This ensures that they are aware of our PSHE/RSHE curriculum and upskills them in particular areas too such as online safety and thrive. Please see below our learning together overview. 

Useful Websites:

Suffolk Children and Young People’s Emotional Wellbeing Hub Information, advice and support for anyone concerned about the emotional wellbeing and mental health of a child or young person aged 0-25 years: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-services/suffolk-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-wellbeing-hub 

School Nursing Team: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/childrens-health/school-nursing-service  

Good Wellbeing: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/, https://www.place2be.org.uk/, https://www.childline.org.uk/

Safeguarding: NSPCC Helpline for concerns about a child: 0808 800 5000, https://www.nspcc.org.uk/

Online safety: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/  

Thrive: https://www.thriveapproach.com/about-thrive/about-us