“Life is all about making choices. Always do your best to make the right ones, and always do your best to learn from the wrong ones.” – Catherine Pulsifer
“The most effective model of delivery for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is a sequenced, spiral programme that builds on prior learning as pupils progress through school. And like any other school curriculum subject, it needs regular curriculum time – at least an hour a week…it is now also a statutory requirement to teach most of the subject. This statutory content – often referred to as RSHE – includes Relationships Education and Health Education. And though not yet statutory, economic wellbeing, careers and personal safety should also feature in any good quality PSHE education programme” (PSHE Association, 2022).
Intent
Our PSHE Curriculum is written towards meeting the end points for primary schools, set out in the ‘Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education: Statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams, teachers (Department for Education, 2019).
To support us in delivering a rigorous PSHE curriculum which meets the statutory requirements, but also the needs of our children to prepare them for life beyond education, we use the ‘Programme of Study for PSHE Education’, written by the PSHE Association.
We follow the PSHE Association’s Thematic Model, which breaks down the requirements of each key stage (KS1 and KS2) into progressive learning objectives for Years 1 to 6. These are supported by high-quality teaching resources, carrying the PSHE Association’s Quality Mark. Although the Thematic Model content is organised under different headings from those used in the content grids of the Department for Education’s statutory guidance on Relationships Education, RSE and Health education, each unit covers all of the statutory requirements for each key stage, within this comprehensive PSHE education programme.
Children in EYFS, work towards the Early Learning Goals as set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework (2021). Children in EYFS also have three core themes, which come under the Personal, Social and Emotional Development strand: Self-Regulation, Managing Self, and Building Relationships. We have also broken these objectives down into smaller steps, using the DfE Development Matters Guidance (2021).
Progression
PSHE is taught weekly at Dodworth St. John’s. This lesson gives children a safe space to discuss age-related issues with their teachers and peers, and our ground rules, which are established at the beginning of each session, ensure children can share their thoughts and feelings without fear of prejudice.
For information on what we teach and when, please see our long-term plan, below:
Our lessons are mainly discussion based, with lots of opportunities for children to reflect and share. They provide children with accurate and unbiased information and take a positive approach which is accessible to all our children. Misconceptions and myths are carefully unpicked and challenged.
Assessment
Children are assessed throughout a unit against the carefully considered learning points that have been set out in our curriculum. However, the main assessment of PSHE learning is through the impact it has on personal habits. It is through the choices that children make and how they react when things don’t go to plan. The assessment of PSHE comes through when taught knowledge becomes a part of the child’s developing self. This impact can be seen through the evolving ethos and culture of our school.
PSHE in the Wider Curriculum
Here are some examples of PSHE in our wider curriculum. We often share these experiences on our social media account DSJ Academy (@DodworthStJohns) / Twitter so do find and follow us!
- Bike ability
- Crucial Crew
- Junior Wardens
- St John’s Ambulance Resources
- Collective Worship
- PSCO involvement
- Children in Need
- MacMillan Coffee Morning
- Red Nose Day
- Remembrance Day
- Odd Socks Day
- Anti-bullying Alliance: United Against Bullying Accreditation
- Playground Buddies
- School Prefects
- Y2 visit the Mosque
- Christian Services – close links to local church
- Assemblies on British Values
Useful Links
Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (publishing.service.gov.uk)
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