At George Grenville Academy, our Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) curriculum enables children to become healthy, responsible, independent members of society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up.
Through our PSHE curriculum, we provide children with opportunities to learn about rights and responsibilities, and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society – encouraging children to explore, and respect, values held by different cultures and groups within our local community, and promote the positive attitudes. At GGA, we encourage children to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.
Across the PSHE curriculum, and through other subject areas too, we aim to promote children’s knowledge, self-esteem, emotional wellbeing and resilience, whilst focusing on our school values too (respect, teamwork, confidence, integrity, aspiration and perseverance), and we support children in forming and maintaining worthwhile positive relationships. We enable children to develop a deepening knowledge of their health and wellbeing, including their mental and physical health. At GGA, we aim to equip children with the information, skills and values to understand, and cope with the physical and emotional changes that happen during puberty – the information provided is relevant and appropriate to the age and maturity of pupils.
At GGA, we aim to prepare pupils adequately for adult life: its decisions, responsibilities, experiences and opportunities, and to allow pupils to develop fully as emotional mature human beings.
Implementation
The PSHE curriculum is based on the frameworks of the National Curriculum and the PSHE Association. It is split into three key themes: Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World. These three themes are taught throughout the academic year, and are accessible on our ‘PSHE Curriculum Overview’. Topics are revisited across years groups, and understanding is deepened. This allows for progression and retention of key skills and knowledge, and also the introduction of some concepts at an age-appropriate point. This progression is detailed in the PSHE long term overview. The programme of study is adapted to suit the needs of our community to provide a relevant and age appropriate curriculum. This is a question based approach, beginning in key stage 1 as ‘What? and ‘Who?’’ questions and build throughout Key Stage 2 into ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ questions. Teaching builds according to the age and needs of the pupils throughout the primary phase with suggested developmentally appropriate learning objectives given to respond to each key question. We also use other resources to supplement this curriculum from NSPCC, National Online Safety and Medway as part of our provision. We provide a spiral curriculum to ensure pupils are taught key aspects of PHSE at a relevant and age appropriate level and in line with their continuing personal, social and emotional development.
PSHE Curriculum Overview
PSHE is provided to all children at GGA. Children with SEND are, if needed, supported to access health, relationships and sex education through teacher-led, quality first teaching, following the guidance of the SEND Code of Practice. Teaching of PSHE is differentiated and personalised to suit the individuals’ context. It is taught on a weekly basis in Years R-6, with some content being taught through other subject areas. For example, the teaching of e-safety is also taught Computing lessons throughout each year group. In addition, assemblies, ‘circle time’ and/or ‘class meetings’ are used to support the teaching of the PSHE curriculum too.
GGA works closely with parents and carers, and we strongly believe that strong, positive home-school communication is vital in the development of our children. PSHE education is the responsibility of all stakeholders, and should be shared with parents/carers and families. Parents are informed on the PSHE curriculum (available on the GGA website). As a non-statutory element of PSHE, parents/carers have the right to withdraw their child from designated sex education lessons. We encourage parents and carers to talk through any concerns they may have and make an informed choice about whether to exercise the right to withdraw their child.
Impact
Each class has a floor book which is used as a space to record children’s learning and understanding around each topic’s ‘big question’. These are an important tool in capturing the implementation of the PSHE curriculum, and the learning journey of each class. In addition, they are an effective tool to use as part of quality first teaching, as the floor books can be used to support retrieval practice over the course of the academic year.
At GGA, we recognise and celebrate the importance of a child’s voice and their individual experiences. Pupil voice and lessons recorded in the floor books, form the basis of measuring the impact of our teaching. Some of the skills that the children develop will include:
Positive and constructive communication, with highly developed oracy skills
An understanding of our diverse and complex world, and an empathy and respect for the rights of all individuals
Resilience and self-regulation, whilst having a keen understanding of their own health and wellbeing, especially supporting their mental and emotional development
Risk management and balanced decision making, within the context of a changing, challenging, developing world
An understanding of their universal rights, and these rights can, and should, be protected
Taking responsibility for their actions and understand the implications and consequences of their own decisions
Preparation for the next steps of their lives.
In addition to these skills, pupils will be able to:
Explore and embed new knowledge that can be used confidently in real life situations
Form healthy, happy relationships with other children and adults and recognise the features of unhealthy relationships and have strategies to challenge negative behaviour of others and seek help when needed
Know how and when to ask for ask for help and where to access support
Recognise the risks they may encounter both on and off line and are able to make safe choices
Have the knowledge, skills and attributes to live healthy, happy lives
Understand and respect differences between themselves and others
Policies
Please click on the links below to view the policy.
Please click on the button below to download the Year 5 and 6 Puberty and Sex Education slides that were shown in a parent webinar on 05/07/21. Year 5 and 6 will be receiving puberty lessons as part of the statutory HEALTH education part of PSHE. Year 6 will be receiving sex education lessons which are non-statutory. Please see our sex education policy for more information.
