PSHE

PSHE Curriculum Statement

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think” – Christopher Robin

Intent

St Mary’s is committed to providing a high-quality educational experience for all pupils from Early Years to Year 6. Our curriculum is determined and underpinned by the school’s Catholic values and mission statement; bringing together citizenship with personal well-being, relationships, economic well-being and life education with the Catholic Social Teachings.

At St Mary’s we aim to help children to have a positive, confident attitude to learning in which they are both physically and emotionally ready to learn. We aim for children to be resourceful and to show initiative, ask well thought out questions and are prepared to use a variety of strategies to learn. This means that children are curious, able and willing to learn from their mistakes and can describe their progress. St Mary’s aims for children to be prepared to persevere and stay involved in their learning, even when the process is challenging. We want our children to be prepared to help each other and work as a team.

Our PSHE curriculum promotes and coincides with the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of our pupils in order to prepare them for a wider, diverse world. Children at St Mary’s are encouraged to explore, clarify and if necessary, challenge their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities. 

Our intention is to develop the whole child to provide them with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to protect and enhance their wellbeing. Through our TenTen: Living Life to the Full lessons, children will learn how to stay safe and healthy, build and maintain successful relationships and become active citizens, responsibly participating in society around them. Work is carried out with our ‘building learning power’ aims in mind, so that all children feel inspired to achieve and believe in themselves, creating active, confident members of the community. Lessons will provide our children with the knowledge they need to stay safe and to know when and how they can ask for help.

Implementation

Across the whole school, all our children participate in the Ten Ten- Life to the Full programme. In addition, PSHE is integrated into our curriculum through our whole school activities such as Circle Time, School Council Meetings, Laudato Si, SMSC & Wellbeing days, discussion groups or through specifically themed weeks/events, such as Children in Need, Anti-Bullying Week, Internet Safety Week and Red Nose Day. Every class is timetabled for PSHE each week, with Autumn 1 being the time to get to know the classes and then beginning the Ten Ten programme in Autumn 2. PSHE is also integrated into our wider curriculum through our different topics. Some of examples of this are:

• Internet Safety lessons(ICT) in EYFS, KS1 and KS2
• Our Power of Reading texts such as learning about rules in Blue Penguin(EYFS), Jemmy Button(KS2)
• Healthy eating and our bodies(Science) in EYFS, KS1 and KS2
• Our natural world and our impact on it(Geography) in EYFS, KS1 and KS2

Our teachers follow the class needs and plan additional lessons to aid children in building better relationships or address SMSC-related issues that arise throughout the year. Our teaches also follow the children’s interest in the wider world, such as learning about world conflict, climate change or local and national events taking place such as the Queen’s funeral or elections. In each classroom, there is a dedicated calm corner and Zones of Regulation check in station. Outside the class, different social groups such as Lego Therapy are run to support children and there is a sensory room available for use as well as a dedicated play therapist for children who need this support. We also utilise our Brentford links for special workshops on anti-racism and Social/Emotional Wellbeing in KS2. Other agencies such as Brain Buddies will also come to run PSHE sessions to support the children.

For more information on our Ten Ten-Life to the Full programme, please visit:

https://www.stmaryschiswick.org.uk/curriculum/rse

Impact

As a result of this, children achieve age-related expectations across the wider curriculum. However, we are aware that the delivered curriculum must reflect the needs of our pupils. We expect teachers to use the PSHE programme to equip pupils with a sound understanding of risk and with the knowledge and skills necessary to make safe and informed decisions now and in later life. These lessons are adapted in order to best support both parental and student needs, such as changing language and supporting more vulnerable children. Through PSHE, the children will develop the vocabulary and confidence needed to articulate their thoughts and feelings in a safe, trusting, respectful environment taking what they have learnt to their everyday interactions from the classroom to the wider community.

STARS Programme and Road Safety

At St. Mary’s, we are a part of the TfL STARS programme. STARS is TfL’s accreditation scheme for London schools and nurseries. STARS inspires young Londoners to travel to school sustainably, actively, responsibly and safely by championing walking, scooting and cycling. STARS supports pupils’ welling, helps to reduce congestion at the school gates and improve road safety and air quality. Through this programme, St. Mary’s seeks to engage the wider school community to influence travel behaviours and promote best practices to see a reduction in the number of journeys made by car every day.

Learning to stay safe on our busy roads is a complex task. At St Mary’s we believe it is vital to teach our pupils how to be safe passengers, pedestrians & cyclists. Working together with parents, pupils and the school community is the only way we can ensure that we are safe when we are out and about.

STARS Programme and Road Safety

At St. Mary’s, we are a part of the TfL STARS programme. STARS is TfL’s accreditation scheme for London schools and nurseries. STARS inspires young Londoners to travel to school sustainably, actively, responsibly and safely by championing walking, scooting and cycling. STARS supports pupils’ welling, helps to reduce congestion at the school gates and improve road safety and air quality. Through this programme, St. Mary’s seeks to engage the wider school community to influence travel behaviours and promote best practices to see a reduction in the number of journeys made by car every day. Learning to stay safe on our busy roads is a complex task. At St Mary’s we believe it is vital to teach our pupils how to be safe passengers, pedestrians & cyclists. Working together with parents, pupils and the school community is the only way we can ensure that we are safe when we are out and about.