P.S.H.E. & Wellbeing

PSHE aims to help our children understand how they are developing personally as well as socially and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. We provide our children with opportunities to learn about their rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community. Weaving through the heart of our PSHE teaching, is a commitment to enhancing and promoting our core Christian Values: Compassion, Respect, Courage and Humility. It is our duty to develop children’s voices, identity and self-esteem whilst giving them the confidence to contribute to society in order to become an active and good citizen.

At St Charles’ Catholic Academy we have created a scheme of work which is not only in line with the National Curriculum but meets the specific needs of our pupils. Our comprehensive PSHE progression map shows the ongoing learning journey from Reception to Year 6. Both have been devised primarily through the use of the ‘Life to the Full’ published scheme of work, ‘Journey in Love’ and the National PSHE Association. Our curriculum is a spiral curriculum which is split into three core themes: Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World. The children will meet these themes throughout the course of each year and the themes are built upon as the children move through school.

The key areas of learning we aim to cover include:

• Families and friendships
• Safe relationships
• Respecting ourselves and others
• Belonging to a community
• Media literacy and digital resilience
• Money and work
• Physical health and mental wellbeing
• Growing and changing
• Keeping safe

In EYFS and KS1, children use floor books to record their responses to and progress in PSHE lessons. These books travel with the children as they move to the next year group so they can look back at their learning and the next teacher can see the children’s starting points. In KS2, the children use exercise books to record their responses, these too travel up to the next year group.

At St Charles’ we believe that PSHE plays a vital part of primary education and needs to be taught weekly although there will also be opportunities to make cross curricular links and these opportunities should not be missed: this enables staff to ensure full coverage of the PSHE scheme of work. Occasions may arise when staff feel it necessary to teach PSHE as a result of an issue which has arisen in their own class.

PSHE is an important part of school assemblies and collective worship where children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural curiosity is stimulated, challenged and nurtured.

By the time children leave St Charles’ Catholic Academy we believe our PSHE curriculum will have allowed them to develop the vocabulary and confidence needed to clearly articulate their thoughts and feelings in a climate of openness, trust and respect. Children will understand what it means by ‘Resilience’ and attain the ability to bounce back from life’s everyday challenges. The children will have a willingness and ability to try new things, push themselves and persevere.

The impact of the PSHE scheme is constantly monitored and assessed. The children complete baseline assessments at the start of every topic and revisit them at the end to reflect on what they have learnt, how they have developed new thinking and grew.

Children will have a good understanding of how to stay safe, be healthy and develop good relationships; they will have an appreciation of what it means to be a positive member of a diverse, multicultural society with a strong self-awareness, interlinked with compassion of others.