Hazel Community Primary School

Safeguarding in our Curriculum

PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education)

PSHE stands for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education. We have statutory responsibilities to promote pupil well-being and pupil safeguarding (Children Act, 2004) and community cohesion (Education Act, 2006). PSHE Education plays an important part in fulfilling all of these responsibilities. We regard PSHE as an important component of the whole curriculum. We believe that the promotion of health and well-being is central to the life of the school and its relationships with the surrounding community.

Our PSHE curriculum has two aims for our children:

To build their capacity for learning

To equip them for life

Our lessons brings together PSHE Education, emotional literacy, mindfulness, social skills and spiritual development. They embody a positive philosophy and creative teaching and learning activities to nurture children’s development as compassionate and well-rounded human beings as well as building their capacity to learn.

From September 2020, primary schools in England are required to teach Relationships and Health Education as compulsory subjects and the Department for Education strongly recommends this should also include age-appropriate Sex Education. Schools also have statutory responsibilities to safeguard their pupils (Keeping Children Safe in Education, DfE, 2021) and to uphold the Equality Act (2010). Our PSHE curriculum supports all of these requirements and has children’s wellbeing at its heart.

We ensure that the fundamental British values are strongly embedded and promoted through our PSHE whole-school approach and through everyday aspects of school life.

Our PSHE curriculum is underpinned by mindfulness. Mindfulness is being able to observe your own thoughts and feelings as they happen, in the present moment, applying no judgement. Mindful children can more readily choose their responses to situations rather than react while caught up in the thought-flows and emotions. Learning is thus enhanced as emotions are regulated, behaviour managed and calmness generated.

Our PSHE curriculum has a strong emphasis on emotional wellbeing and mental health as well as lessons on healthy eating.

A vital part of the curriculum is about safeguarding and keeping children safe; this links to cyber safety and social networking, as well as attraction and assertiveness; children learn how to deal with conflict, their own strengths and self-esteem.

Curriculum organisation

Our PSHE curriculum is organised into six half-term units of work each with six lessons. Every year group studies the same theme at the same time allowing for themes to be shared and celebrated by the whole school. Each year group is taught one lesson per week and all lessons are delivered in an age- and stage-appropriate way so that they meet children’s needs.

Being Me In My World covers a wide range of topics, including a sense of belonging, welcoming others and being part of a school community, a wider community, and a global community; it also looks at children’s rights and responsibilities, working and socialising with others, and pupil voice.

Celebrating Difference focuses on similarities and differences and teaches about diversity, such as disability, racism, power, friendships, and conflict; children learn to accept everyone’s right to ‘difference’, and most year groups explore the concept of bullying – what it is and what it isn’t, including cyber and homophobic bullying.

Dreams and Goals aims to help children think about their hopes and dreams, their goals for success, what personal strengths are, and how to overcome challenges, via team work skills and tasks. There is also a focus on enterprise and fundraising. Children learn about experiencing and managing feelings of pride, ambition, disappointment, success; and they get to share their aspirations, the dreams and goals of others in different cultures/countries, and their dreams for the world.

Healthy Me covers two main areas of health: Emotional health (relaxation, being safe, friendships, mental health skills, body image, relationships with food, managing stress) and Physical health (eating a balanced diet, physical activity, rest and relaxation, keeping clean, drugs and alcohol, being safe, first aid) in order for children to learn that health is a very broad topic.

Relationships has a wide focus, looking at diverse topics such as families, friendships, pets and animals, and love and loss. A vital part of this Puzzle is about safeguarding and keeping children safe; this links to cyber safety and social networking, as well as attraction and assertiveness; children learn how to deal with conflict, their own strengths and self-esteem. They have the chance to explore roles and responsibilities in families, and look at stereotypes.

Changing Me deals with change of many types, from growing from young to old, becoming a teenager, assertiveness, self-respect and safeguarding. Self and body image, puberty, attraction and accepting change are diverse subjects for children to explore. Each year group thinks about looking ahead, moving year groups or the transition to secondary school. Life cycles and how babies are made and grow are treated sensitively and are designed to meet children’s needs. All year groups learn about how people and bodies change. This links with the science curriculum when teaching children about life cycles, babies and puberty.