Woodcote Primary School

Introduction

At Woodcote we want children to feel safe and secure to share their feelings and thoughts. Adults must be equipped to have the correct knowledge and language to respond and support children appropriately. PSHE will eventually become a part of our everyday life and children will be able to relate to the different topics taught and see them as a part of their everyday life and not just when explicit PSHE lessons are taught.

Aim

The aim for the PSHE curriculum is to ensure that children are offered learning opportunities and experiences which reflect pupil’s increasing independence and physical and social awareness as they progress through the primary phase. Children need to be provided with the skills and knowledge to be able to create effective relationships and manage personal safety. The curriculum supports children in managing physical and emotional changes amongst themselves and their body; introduces them to a wider world; and enables them to make active contributions within their communities. We demonstrate commitment to supporting all children to grow up healthy, happy and safe and to provide them with the knowledge they need to manage opportunities and challenges in modern Britain.

 PSHE has a strong status within our school and children understand the value and importance of their mental and physical well-being.

At Woodcote we believe every child should be heard, listened to and respected. This means ensuring that explicit time and tailoring is given to each PSHE lesson that is delivered to ensure that children’s needs are met. There must be a mutual respect between children and adults when sharing information and each child should not be forced or probed to respond in situations such as circle time, if they do not feel comfortable to do so. Children should always be given time to reflect on what they have learnt or their existing knowledge on a topic and can choose how they wish to do this whether be using their reflection journal or sharing with peers.

Our vision is to have PSHE taught explicitly once a week to children following statutory guidance as well as confidently adapting lessons to children’s needs. Alongside this, teachers will also build on PSHE learning in other lessons taught and develop pupils understanding through the themes and topics that they teach across the core and wider curriculum. In addition to this, staff will draw on other opportunities to address aspects of the PSHE curriculum, for example, through circle time, assemblies.

Curriculum/Scheme of Work

We use the 3D PSHE scheme which supports the planning of our discrete PSHE lessons which are delivered once a week. Adults must ensure that careful consideration, thought and adaptions are given to each lesson prior to teaching it.  In addition to this, we will also be covering the Health & Well-Being lessons covered in IPC topics.

Planning

Teachers plan as year groups working collaboratively to adapt plans to suit children’s needs. Lessons can be taken from the 3D PSHE scheme and must then be looked at together to ensure they are suitable and resources can be planned ahead.

Teachers must tailor the lesson to their classes needs and identify if there are any subjects that may be a trigger for certain children and think of the possible ‘difficult’ questions that may be asked and would need a specific and appropriate response given. These lessons also need to be referred to across the curriculum in a range of subjects, where possible and relative. Staff also need to think of the affect that the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic may have had on children and how they may have each been affected as well as their mental health and well-being.

Every classroom will have a worry box and teachers should use the entries to guide them with planning.

Teaching

Children must be given the opportunity to openly use their reflection journal when they feel they need to. They must be given opportunities to reflect on previous learning and the impact it may have had in their life e.g. if a lesson has previously mentioned the importance of friendships as an example then discuss with children how this may have impacted them since their last lesson, is there anything they would like to share?

Circle times must be used as a safe space for children to share however they must know that they can choose to vocally participate as much or as little as they do so wish and no child should feel probed to answer. Children should be given examples and opportunities to share their own experiences, when appropriate. 

Discrete PSHE lessons will be delivered once a week minimum.

As well as circle times (see Appendix for ideas) teachers might also look to structure lessons in a variety of other ways. For example, you may choose to have debates and whole class discussions on various subjects, or use P4C approaches (ensuring none of these are particularly triggering or sensitive to particular children in the room). Adults may also choose to plan lessons that give children real life scenarios to reflect on or role play and then bring together for feedback on their thoughts and feelings towards these situations. In certain lessons the adult may play a key role in teaching children new information or offering support however in some it is great to slowly allow the children to lead and to build the lesson upon their ideas and responses. An example of this may be something like you asking them what their opinion would be on something such as Saturday school or shorter school holidays and then build upon their ideas as the lesson moves along. Taking a back seat also allows you time to observe children’s emotional responses, engagement and feelings towards different topics.

Differentiation  

Pre-assessment will feed into this as teachers must analyse and gauge where each child is at in terms of their physical and mental well-being. This will then help staff to tailor the curriculum to the needs of their children and ensure that sensitive subjects and topics are handled with consideration, support and care. Our aim is to achieve inclusion for all children and ensure all children feel important, special and included. 

Assessment

Reflection journals will allow teachers to discover where children are at and how they are feeling. They must be used to inform future planning and understand what children are taking away from each topic taught. Circle times and discussions will also allow adults to understand how children are feeling and their level of understanding. Even if children are feeling uncomfortable and un-willing to share, this will also inform teachers of children emotional well-being.

Circle time - The positives;

• A circle gives the chance for everyone to take part – it is inclusive.
• It particularly is good for linking because it also gives everyone the chance to see everyone else.
• Games help people to loosen up.
• Each game has been chosen because it gives the opportunity for exploring diversity or other issues to do with linking.
• Taking part in an activity together reminds us why we are there – to enjoy being with each other.

Always be mindful and make sure that children are aware that they can choose to share as much or as little as they wish. No child should feel pressured or forced to give their opinion or thoughts on a subject if they do not feel comfortable to do so. Never use tools such as lolly sticks or child selecter apps.             

In KS2 you may be delivering topics that are particularly sensitive to children and their awareness will be greater. Possible ways to approach this may be to begin the lesson with a question or thought and ask children to reflect their own feelings and thoughts in their reflection journal. That way, they still have the chance to think about the question or topic but do not HAVE to share what they have written. They are then still able to reflect on their emotions and feelings but do not feel pressured to speak aloud.

Ice breakers- This will help children to feel more comfortable before the lesson begins and will ‘loosen’ them up. Games such as ordering themselves by birthday. Changing places game- give children a statement and if it is true to them they must swap places with another student eg. Swap places if you have your hair in a ponytail.

Group work- Always make sure you have a balance between group sizes such as larger groups and then smaller arrangements such as working in three’s or two’s. You can give subjects to discuss such as physical differences to smaller group sizes such as in three’s. Children can reflect together and the group is not an overwhelming size.

Use mini circle times throughout a lesson. These can be used as reflective circles where children can either share their thoughts aloud, reflect in their journal or you can place a reflection basket/box in the middle of the circle where children write their thoughts on a piece of paper and all place in at the same time for the class teacher to pick out and share.

In KS1 you can use a class mascot or cuddly toy that children pass around the circle and they are told it is only their turn to speak, when they are holding the toy. You can also use the toy in social stories based on situations that may relate to the children. Do not pick on one child’s personal issues however you may want to use situations that occur at school for example, ‘Tommy the bunny rabbit has been having arguments with his friends on the playground because they are not playing the games he wants them to play. What should Tommy do?’. You can then create a mind map of the children’s ideas and then refer back to this when similar situations occur, ‘What would Tommy do in this situation?’.