Subject rationale

Personal development is a hugely important part of our curriculum and is prioritised in our curriculum rationale and drivers.  We actively seek to develop children as responsible citizens, who can have a positive impact on their community, make the right choices and develop the skills and attributes which ensures health and wellbeing.

Our subject rationale for PSHE at The Wilfred Owen School is to provide every child with the opportunities to:

• become healthy, independent and responsible members of society
• have a positive role in contributing to the life of our school as well as the wider community
• develop their sense of self-worth, independence and responsibility
• have the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to stay healthy and safe
• develop worthwhile relationships, respect differences, appreciate difference and diversity
• experience democracy and learn how society is organised and governed
• learn about rights, respect and responsibilities
• become a positive, productive member of a diverse and multicultural society

Intent

PSHE at The Wilfred Owen School is taught through three core themes Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World. Our intent for PSHE at our school is to enable children to know:

• Health and Wellbeing

• what is meant by a healthy lifestyle
• how to maintain physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing
• how to manage risks to physical and emotional health and wellbeing
• how to keep physically and emotionally safe
• about managing change, including puberty, transition and loss
• how to make informed choices about health and wellbeing and to recognise sources of help with this
• how to respond in an emergency
• how to identify different influences on health and wellbeing.

• Relationships

• how to develop and maintain a variety of healthy relationships, within a range of social/cultural contexts
• how to recognise and manage emotions within a range of relationships
• how to recognise risky or negative relationships including all forms of bullying and abuse
• how to respond to risky or negative relationships and ask for help
• how to respect equality and diversity in relationships.

• Living in the Wider World – Economic wellbeing and being a responsible citizen

• about respect for self and others and the importance of responsible behaviours and actions
• about rights and responsibilities as members of families, other groups and ultimately as citizens
• about different groups and communities
• about respect diversity and equality and how to be a productive member of a diverse community
• about the importance of respecting and protecting the environment
• about where money comes from, keeping it safe and the importance of managing it effectively
• the part that money plays in people’s lives
• about basic enterprise.

Implementation

We teach PSHE Education to all children at The Wilfred Owen School using plans from PSHE Education Programme of Study from the PSHE Association alongside resources from Shropshire Respecting Yourself programme. Class teachers deliver at least one PSHE session weekly as well as also being taught in response to specific identified needs within the class. Our PSHE lessons are discussion based and each class has a PSHE display board and floor book that evidence this.

Throughout school children will be at different levels of maturity, have varied life experiences and a range of attitudes and feelings. Lessons will be planned to allow their perceptions to be articulated, with all contributions being valued and respected. In relation to some sensitive issues such as drug education, the teacher will ensure that the teaching point is conveyed using language and resources that are accessible and appropriate to the children in their class.

As a school, we use the books from the ‘Finding Your Way’ series created for children by psychologist and family practitioner Kay Brophy. The books focus on the six core emotions of happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust and surprise, linked together by a map called Lifeland. We explore two chosen emotions per term in each class across the school. Using these texts each class explores the emotions in a way appropriate to their age group to support their understanding of what emotions are and how they can impact our behaviours.

We also explore whole school themes such as AntiBullying week, #helloyellow and Mental Health Awareness week. We place emphasis on active learning by including children in discussions, investigations and problem-solving activities. As they move through school, we encourage children to take part in a range of practical activities that promote active citizenship for example charity fundraising and legacy outcomes for each term which have a long lasting impact on the wider community.

Impact

Teachers assess the pupils’ response to the tasks set in planned activities as well as their response in other lessons and across the school day. Teachers then provide the subject lead with work samples so they can monitor attainment and progression across the school. Teachers complete an assessment at the end of each term and give them to the PSHE coordinator. These assessments include the learning objectives each class will have covered per term. Each teacher will then input the children’s names under ‘emerging, expected and exceeding’. These assessments will then shape the following term’s PSHE lessons.