PSHE and British Values at Westmorland                              

Intent

PSHE is not a statutory subject in the National Curriculum.  However, the National Curriculum states that ‘all schools should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), drawing on good practice’.  

PSHE promotes the whole curriculum and school experience. It gives children strategies to promote their well-being, keep them safe and encourage them to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society. It inspires our pupils to offer positive contributions to the life of the school and the wider community, including their role in a multicultural society, and to prepare them for an adult world where they can make the most of their life, work and futures. In so doing, we help develop their sense of self worth. We want to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child.

Our intent is to develop tolerant, respectful young people, prepared for their future lives. At Westmorland, we give children the knowledge to be able to make safe and informed decisions with regards to diet, exercise and about their use of technology.

British Values

At Westmorland Primary School we teach children how society is organised and governed. We promote British Values and each PSHE lesson has links to either democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty or mutual respect and tolerance. British Values are also weaved across the curriculum and within daily school life.

We ensure that children experience the process of democracy in school through daily routines in class, such as voting for stories, and the school and class councils. We teach them about rights and responsibilities. 

Implementation

The department of education states:

‘Schools should seek to use PSHE education to build on: drug education, financial education, sex and relationship education (SRE) and the importance of physical activity and diet for a healthy lifestyle.’

At Westmorland Primary School, we are aware of the way that PSHE supports many of the principles of safeguarding and of the important role the PSHE curriculum has in supporting school to implement the 9 protected characteristics of The Equality Act 2010. Our PSHE (& RSE) curriculum runs in accordance with the DfE statutory guidance for Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education 2019.

Our PSHE (& RSE) programme of study is based on the three core themes of the PSHE Association Programme of Study for PSHE education, with each term having a key focus.

Autumn Term: Relationships

• Families and Close Positive Relationships
• Friendships.
• Managing Hurtful Behaviour and Bullying.
• Safe Relationships
• Respecting Self and Others

Spring Term: Living in the Wider World

• Shared Responsibilities
• Communities
• Media Literacy and Digital Resilience
• Economic Wellbeing : Money
• Economic wellbeing : Aspirations, Work and Career.

Summer Term: Health and Wellbeing

• Healthy Lifestyles (physical wellbeing)
• Mental Health
• Ourselves, Growing and Changing
• Keeping Safe
• Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco

We believe that PSHE plays a vital part of primary education and needs to be taught weekly. We allocate 1 lesson (approx. 45mins - 1 hour) to PSHE each week in order to teach PSHE in a developmental, age-appropriate way as well as acknowledging the needs of the children. There are always occasions where teachers may feel it necessary to teach PSHE as a result of an issue arisen in their own class. PSHE is integral to the development of children values.

Each lesson has:

M – Memorable Learning

O - Oracy

R - Reading

E – Experiences (Real Life)

(For more detail see PSHE MORE intent)

Teachers will strive to plan and teach aspirational and memorable lessons whilst using dual coding, reading and oracy to ensure sticky knowledge is achieved. Teachers use Knowledge Organisers for every half term which include key vocabulary, lesson activities, resources, the links to British Values and the Sticky Knowledge required after a half term.

We promote pupil discussion, collaborative learning, problem solving activities and help children experience PSHE in varied, interesting ways.  They also take part in a range of practical activities that promote active citizenship.

These explicit lessons are reinforced and enhanced in many ways by our assemblies, our ‘Warrior Values’, occasional focus lessons as well as every class discussing the ‘PSHE question of the week’.

Impact

Westmorland Primary School aims to help children know and value who they really are and how they relate to other people in this ever-changing world.

Children will develop positive and healthy relationship with their peers both now and in the future. They will understand the physical aspects involved in RSE at an age appropriate level. Children will have respect for themselves and others. They will know how to keep themselves safe physically, mentally and technologically.

Assessment is formed using a range of informal strategies such as:

• Children’s contributions to class discussions
• Observations
• Work displayed in their class book
• Photos and videos

The PSHE Subject Leader also carries out pupil voice interviews to assess what children have learnt in current and previous topics as well as providing feedback is to relevant class teachers to celebrate outcomes or to give support and address areas that need revisiting.

We can see the impact through the behaviours and attitudes of the pupils within school and their relationships with each other.