Intent

At Abbey Park Schools Federation, we aim to equip our children with the knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to manage their own lives, now and in the future. We intend to help our children stay healthy and safe and to be able to make and maintain positive relationships. We want our children to be able to recognise their emotions and know how to manage them. We want our children to know why their wellbeing is so important and know how to make the very most of their life and work.

The purpose and aims for our PSHE education curriculum are in-line with the required statutory content of the National Curriculum for PSHE education and its notes and guidance (non-statutory content) and we aim to ensure that our children’s developing knowledge allows them to link their ideas to many other areas of the curriculum e.g., Science, Maths and PE. Our curriculum will be delivered through three core themes: Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World.

During KS1 and KS2 we will give our children learning opportunities and experiences which reflect their increasing independence and physical and social awareness, building on the skills that they started to acquire during the Early Years Foundation stage (EYFS).

During KS1 and KS2 children will learn how to develop effective relationships, assume greater personal responsibility, and manage their personal safety, including online. They will learn how to manage the physical and emotional changes at puberty, be introduced to a wider world and enabled to make an active contribution to their communities.

In KS3 our children will be supported in managing transition to secondary school, the challenges of adolescence and their increasing independence. We will equip them for the opportunities and challenges of life e.g., they will learn to accept people with visible and neurological differences, recognise stereotyping, manage diverse relationships, their online lives, and the increasing influence of peers and the media.

In lessons, after establishing clear ground rules, our children will be encouraged to share their thoughts in lessons, ask questions, and will be supported in having meaningful group discussions. They will use a wide variety of approaches such as role-play, debate, videos. guest speakers, research etc… to broaden their understanding of a topic. They will also be taught how to seek further advice and help.

In addition, it is our aim that through learning about PSHE education, our children will be supported in developing their reading, writing, oracy, speaking and listening skills. This will consequently increase their confidence and ability to communicate their ideas.

We intend to support our children further, by having a strong emphasis on learning the language of PSHE education, and it is our intention to embed in lessons the frequent and confident use by pupils of appropriate vocabulary.

But most of all we want our children to grow as individuals, to be more self-aware and more able to cope with the challenges they will face, form long lasting positive relationships and ultimately live a happy, purposeful, and fulfilled life.

Implementation

To implement our curriculum, we will:

Teach engaging lessons according to our carefully sequenced and planned question-based scheme of work (SOW) from the PSHE Association.

Lesson objectives and success criteria will reflect increasing challenge in lessons facilitating the acquisition of knowledge and the application of it in different contexts.

Pupils will be challenged to think deeply about their own personal development and supported in learning how to solve problems and manage risk.

Pupils will be encouraged to discuss their thoughts and ideas using appropriate vocabulary and will be supported by employing strategies such as considering where their ideas are placed on a continuum line, diamond ranking, mini-debates, quizzes and both scaffolded and differentiated tasks.

Where appropriate, external providers will support the delivery of the PSHE education curriculum e.g., in first-aid training, careers, and in teaching children about resilience. Periodically school assemblies will reflect current learning e.g., water safety or not being a bystander.

We will include lessons that reflect the context of the school and our locality e.g., water safety lessons, firework safety and the harmful effects of vaping.

The Head of PSHE education will draw on relevant and up to date information available from the organisations such as the PSHE Association and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), as well as many other charities and agencies that provide useful resources e.g., Childline, NSPCC, NHS, British Red Cross etc…

Impact

The impact of teaching on pupil learning and skill development in PSHE education will be evidenced in and outside of lessons.

Children will regularly be asked what they initially know about a topic and then later reflect on their new learning. Learning will be assessed constantly during lessons and adjustments to lessons made when necessary.

The impact of the PSHE education curriculum will be evident in the personal development of our children, and in the ability of pupils to recall and explain what has been learnt, apply what has been learnt to new situations and in being able to both self-manage and seek help when needed.

Book looks, learning walks, discussions with teachers and pupil voice feedback will also inform further planning.

The SOW will be reviewed periodically, and adjustments made to ensure it is tailored to each cohorts needs.

The Head of PSHE education will regularly revisit and review their impact statement and identify next-step priorities as well as ensure the subject is well-resourced and can support good pupil outcomes.