Purpose of Study

Personal, social and health education (PSHE) is the traditional subject title for all aspects of personal development learning, including relationships, health and sex education and citizenship education.  PSHE education is a planned, developmental programme of learning through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future. As part of a whole-school approach, PSHE education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. PSHE education can help schools to reduce or remove many of the barriers to learning experienced by pupils, significantly improving their capacity to learn and achieve. The PSHE education programme makes a significant contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development, their behaviour and safety and the school’s statutory responsibility to promote pupils’ wellbeing. In addition, the learning provided through a comprehensive PSHE education provision is an essential to safeguarding pupils, as Ofsted has set out. PSHE education equips pupils with the knowledge, understanding, skills and strategies required to live healthy, safe, productive, capable, responsible and balanced lives. It encourages them to be enterprising and supports them in making effective transitions, positive learning and career choices and in achieving economic wellbeing. A critical component of PSHE education is providing opportunities for children and young people to reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes and explore the complex and sometimes conflicting range of values and attitudes they encounter now and in the future. PSHE education contributes to personal development by helping pupils to build their confidence, resilience and self-esteem, and to identify and manage risk, make informed choices and understand what influences their decisions. It enables them to recognise, accept and shape their identities, to understand and accommodate difference and change, to manage emotions and to communicate constructively in a variety of settings. Developing an understanding of themselves, empathy and the ability to work with others will help pupils to form and maintain good relationships, develop the essential skills for future employability and better enjoy and manage their lives.

Aims:

The overarching aim for PSHE education is to provide pupils with:

• accurate and relevant knowledge
• opportunities to turn that knowledge into personal understanding
• opportunities to explore, clarify and if necessary, challenge, their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities
• the skills, language and strategies they need in order to live healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced lives.

Intent:

The intent of PSHE at Grange Junior school is to provide children with the knowledge, understanding and skills that they need for their lives now and in the future. By combining the Hampshire PSHE planning guidance with SEAL programme of study and Behaviours for Learning from the Behaviour Support Team, the school provides progressive bodies of knowledge and development in skills in order to support their personal learning and development.

PSHE is taught as a discrete subject following six strands over each half term with an additional focus on Anti-bullying during the Autumn term and is also interwoven into all other learning through the school’s behaviour policy and delivery of lessons in a variety of different ways including discussion, debate, group and paired learning and individual reflection opportunities. British Values and SMSC are also included under the PSHE heading.

Implementation:

The PDL long term plan covers all 6 half terms in a theme-based series of differentiated learning. Each half term is launched with an assembly led by the PSHE leader and encourages children to begin asking questions and following the ideas outlined from the first week of each half term. There are 6 over-arching themes: Boundaries/New beginnings, Resilience/Getting on and Falling out/Say not to bullying, Focus/Going for Goals, Respect/Good to be me, Self-Regulation/Relationships and Independence/Changes. Each theme is planned and delivered by class teachers following researched and well-developed medium-term plans. Class teachers are encouraged to adapt and change the content of each half term in light of their assessment of the needs of the children in their care.

The three themed weeks: Anti-Bullying, Healthy Bodies and Healthy Minds and Great Grange Citizens provide enhanced opportunities to further develop the personal learning and well-being of all children.

Impact:

The PSHE subject manage carries out half termly monitoring in the forms of work scrutiny, pupil conferencing and discussion with class teachers. This is then analysed, and the information used to inform any changes required in planning or delivery of the curriculum. Every class displays the behaviours for learning and children are encouraged to work towards the goals set therein.

During themed weeks, the subject leader ensures that the additional planning is suitable for each year group and further monitors the learning though book scrutiny and discussion. Children are assessed using the school assessment model using objectives from the medium-term plans. PSHE is fully reported to parents during parents’ meetings and the final end of year report.