PSHE

PSHCE Curriculum Overview 2023

At St Norbert’s, personal, social, health, citizenship and economic (PSHCE) education enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of a society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up.

Now more than ever, PSHCE education will be crucial to the well-being of students in our school. Through PSHCE the promotion and development of interactions with all pupils will be crucial based on mutual respect, care, empathy, and warmth; avoiding negative emotions when interacting with pupils; being sensitive to individual needs, emotions, culture and beliefs of individuals. Pupil-pupil relationships will be supported and characterised by respect, trust, co-operation, and care through the monthly values and termly virtues.

Questioning will be crucial in developing positive dialogue and connected flexible thinking amongst learners. This will enable then to deeper understand their own ideas and those of others.

Children will be provided with opportunities for them to learn about Rights and Responsibilities, Protected Characteristics and British Values, and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society.

A key part of our plan for education is to ensure children become valuable and fully rounded members of society who treat others with respect and tolerance, regardless of background. This ensures young people understand the importance of being a valued member of society.

Intent

PSHCE aims to equip children with essential skills for life. It aims to develop the whole child through carefully planned and resourced sessions that develop the knowledge, skills and attributes children need to protect and enhance their wellbeing. Through these sessions, children will learn how to stay safe and healthy, build and maintain successful relationships and become active citizens, responsibly participating in society around them. A successful PSHCE curriculum is intrinsically linked to the St Norbert’s Catholic virtues, values and ethos. It is a vital tool in preparing children for life in society now and in the future. All learning in PSHCE has foundations rooted in the school’s core virtues and in seeing each and everybody’s value in society, from appreciation of others, to promoting strong and positive views of self as someone that is made in God’s image. Through the teaching of PSHCE St Norbert’s aim to cover a wide range of the social and emotional aspects of learning, enabling children to develop their identity and self-esteem as active, confident citizens. The school follows the Catholic PSHCE and RSE program ‘Ten Ten Life to the Full- plus’ to support social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.

The structure of this curriculum covers EYFS, KS1 and KS2 and is based on three core themes within which there will be broad overlap. It is adaptable to the age and ability of the pupils. The three themes are:

Created and loved by God (this explores the individual)

The Christian imperative to love self, made in the image and likeness of God, shows an understanding of the importance of valuing and understanding oneself as the basis for personal relationships.

Created to love others (this explores an individual’s relationships with others)

God is love. We are created out of love and for love. The command to love is the basis of all Christian morality.

Created to live in community – local, national & global (this explores the individual’s relationships with the wider world)

Human beings are relational by nature and live in the wider community. Through our exchange with others, our mutual service and through dialogue, we attempt to proclaim and extend the Kingdom of God for the good of individuals and the good of society.

Each theme covers the core strands of ‘Education in Virtue’ and ‘Religious Understanding’ as well as strands which cover the PSHE content of the theme.

Christian Virtue and RSE

Each theme begins with a statement of the virtues which are necessary to living well in relationship with others and these virtues should underpin the teaching but also should emerge as a consequence of it. Virtues are habits which are learned from experience and are gained through imitation, the same virtues being modelled by those who teach. They express the qualities of character that schools should seek to develop in their pupils, through their exemplification by the whole community of which the pupils are a part. These virtues reflect our Christian tradition but they are also, of course, fundamental human virtues which are universally shared.

PSHCE in St Norbert’s fulfils the requirements of 2020 Statutory Relationships and Health Education.

Implementation

PSHCE is designed to be taught following the ‘Life to the Full Plus’ scheme themes over a year. This enables children to recall and build upon previous learning, exploring the underlying principles of PSHCE education regularly at a depth that is appropriate for the age and stage of the child. Sessions signpost key words, building a rich vocabulary to develop understanding. Here at St Norbert’s we strive for sessions to be for delivered in a creative manner, using many approaches such as role play, discussion and games in groupings of various sizes. These types of activities enable children to build confidence and resilience. Sessions are always rooted in the Catholic faith and will use prayer and reflection to support the children in their spiritual understanding.

Assessment for learning opportunities are built into each session which enable self-evaluation and reflective learning as well as allowing teachers to evaluate and assess progress. Sessions begin with a prayer and reflection encouraging children to identify with their faith.

Impact

PSHCE is a crucial part of St Norbert’s effective curriculum for wellbeing. Children are enabled to develop the vocabulary and confidence needed to clearly articulate their thoughts and feelings in a climate of openness, trust and respect, and know when and how they can seek the support of others. They will apply their understanding of society to their interactions within communities, from the classroom to the wider community of which they are a part. PSHCE at St Norbert’s supports the development of a school culture that prioritises physical and mental health and wellbeing, providing children with skills to evaluate and understand their own wellbeing needs, practise self-care and contribute positively to the wellbeing of those around them.

Successful PSHCE education can have a positive impact on the whole child, including their academic development and progress, by mitigating any social and emotional barriers to learning and building confidence and self-esteem. Evidence suggests that successful PSHCE education also helps disadvantaged and vulnerable children achieve by raising aspirations and empowering them with skills to overcome barriers they face. It is intended that the impact of a consistent and well embedded whole-school approach to PSHCE will positively impact wellbeing, safeguarding and SMSC outcomes. This will ensure that all children can develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to succeed at school and in the wider world.