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Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic Education (PSHCE) at Redhill

Intent

At Redhill, it is our intent to teach children about themselves, others and the world around them in order to inspire and develop a sense of wonder - raising their awareness of the wider world and encouraging them to take an active and responsible role in their learning. Through our school values of respect, friendship, responsibility, empathy, honesty and independence, we aim to develop the skills in the children that allow them to be happy, healthy, capable and upstanding citizens within society. We want our children to refine their skills in co-operation and develop a mutual respect of and understanding for those around them and their differences – encouraging them to respect the protected characteristics and appreciate and celebrate diversity both within school and in the community. Through our PSHCE offer, we aim to develop the children’s understanding of the British Values (democracy, rule of law, tolerance, individual liberty, mutual respect) to allow them to live successfully as an adult in modern Britain - encouraging them to develop their moral compass, giving them the opportunity to recognise the difference between right and wrong and understand the consequences of their actions. Through this, we are allowing them to develop an understanding of the impact their actions have on both themselves and the wider world. As part of everyday life at Redhill, we want to allow children to have a voice and see that they can have an impact and make a change - encouraging their sense of self-worth and preparing them to contribute to society. More than anything, our intent is to provide a developmentally appropriate, spiral curriculum which responds and adapts to the needs of our children – giving them an open and safe environment where they feel secure enough to express themselves, ask questions, take part in discussion and develop a strong sense of self-worth. Therefore, promoting positive emotional and mental wellbeing throughout their time at Redhill and beyond.

Implementation

At Redhill Primary Academy, it is vital to us that this PSHE offer is fully embedded within the ethos of our school – therefore our implementation goes far beyond our PSHE lessons.

Our taught curriculum is robust, takes place in regular timetabled slots across the whole school and focuses on our key drivers of relationships and friendships, health and wellbeing, personal safety, equality and diversity, aspirations (including economic wellbeing), responsibility and independence. As part of this taught curriculum, all classes from Nursery upwards follow the JIGSAW programme. As the JIGSAW programme is a spiral, progressive programme - topics are repeated throughout school, gradually increasing in depth and complexity, building on the children’s prior knowledge from previous years. Through this, children are given relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others. Despite following the JIGSAW scheme, we encourage all our staff to be reactive and responsive to the needs of the children in their class – adapting lessons where needed, responding to local/national/global events, picking up on incidental learning opportunities and responding to children’s specific questions or misconceptions.

As a school, we have made the decision to use the Respect Yourself programme for our focused RSE coverage. The Respect Yourself programme has been written by Shropshire Council and was awarded the quality Kitemark standard for good practice by the PSHE Association. The programme was developed in partnership with several Shropshire Schools, their pupils and parents and is now used by many schools in the local area and beyond. To further prepare the children of Redhill for life in modern Britain, we also include the No Outsiders programme in our taught curriculum. Through this scheme, we are developing an understanding of the protected characteristics whilst promoting equality and diversity through an ethos of inclusion and tolerance.

As a school, we place great importance on preparing children for the challenges they may face negotiating the world of technology. Through using the Project Evolve programme (which forms part of the computing and the PSHCE curriculum) – we encourage children to consider the online identity they are creating and about healthy online behaviors and relationships. In addition, we focus in on cyberbullying – looking at how bullying might take place online, discussing child on child abuse, knowing where to go for help and knowing how to report and block abusive users. In year 6, this is further supported by the Just a Joke lessons which focus specifically on sexualised online bullying.

Assessing the taught PSHCE curriculum is predominantly AfL based – assessing the children’s needs and readiness for content in each class, adapting the content of the lesson where needed, responding to misconceptions and identifying children who need further support. Whilst some of the impact of the PSHCE taught in school will be seen immediately - in the way the children conduct themselves, the conversations they have and the way they demonstrate the school values – much of the impact may not be seen whilst they are at Redhill and will be seen well in to the future when they encounter the situations and scenarios we prepare them for.

Alongside this, there are clear links made between PSHCE and other subjects including computing through e-safety, science and D&T through healthy eating and PE through leading healthy active lifestyles.

As well as our explicit taught lessons, we are proud to offer a broad wider PSHCE offer which helps to develop the children’s character and encourage them to become well-rounded individuals. Our Valued Me Programme aims to instil in the children the foundations on which they will build their future – these values run through the whole school and are promoted through classroom displays, assemblies and certificates. Our regular enrichment weeks further embed the children’s understanding and give them further opportunities in key areas such as British Values, Friendship, Healthy Lifestyles, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Careers and Aspirations.

To view our subject overview for PSHCE, please click here.

Impact

Through the successful delivery of our curriculum, by the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will:

  • Be confident, resilient individuals who feel safe and secure within their environment
  • Be able to know what positive healthy relationships and friendships look like
  • Have an appreciation of equality and diversity and a respect for the protected characteristics
  • Understand their own rights and responsibilities as a child - at school, at home and in the wider world
  • Have high aspirations for themselves and their future – improving the life chances for all but particularly for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils.
  • Understand the impact their actions have on both themselves and the wider world
  • Have the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to allow them to independently lead healthy lifestyles, both physically and mentally, as they move to secondary school and beyond – ensuring they are ready for life within modern Britain
  • Be confident seeking help from others when they need it
  • Be well-rounded individuals who are prepared for the future and have the confidence they need to succeed in their later life