PSHE AT NORTHWAY

At Northway, our primary aim is to make sure that we equip our children with the right skills and knowledge to stay safe and achieve their full potential. We believe that teaching our children to make informed decisions should lie at the heart of our teaching in PSHE. The decisions that we make define who we become and the experiences that we will encounter. For this reason, our curriculum is designed with a series of interactive lessons and videos, created by 1Decision, that teach our children how to make good decisions that will keep them safe and well. 1Decision provide life changing resources for children, that are focused on prevention not cure. The 1decision resources have been produced for the media generation and include interactive content suitable for all learning styles. 

Our PSHE curriculum has been created from the statutory guidance published by the DfE and includes bespoke lessons that meet the needs of the children at Northway. The lessons have been designed by the PSHE leader and teachers to make sure that they are appropriately matched to the social context of our school. Pupil voice surveys and a robust pupil well-being monitoring system are in place to ensure that the PSHE leader has a current and up to date view of the pupil well-being landscape at Northway. The PSHE medium term plan is designed to be flexible to meet the needs of all our children.

Take a look at our policies to gain a more in depth understanding of PSHE and RSE at Northway. Many thanks to all the parents/carers that gave feedback to design our policies and curriculum. The 'Policies' page can be found on our 'Key Information' menu tab.

Curriculum Aims

The aim of our PSHE curriculum is to equip our pupils with the skills to integrate themselves successfully into society. It provides opportunities for pupils to learn about and discuss how to conduct themselves in an increasingly complex world. It addresses how to stay safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way both on and offline. Our PSHE curriculum supports pupils to put in place the key building blocks for maintaining healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships, in all contexts. A strong sense of self- respect and esteem is established from EYFS to ensure that children are protected and equipped to stand up to any form of abuse. Teaching our pupils about physical and mental well-being is central to our intent and the curriculum is designed to give pupils the knowledge and capability to take care of themselves and seek support if problems arise. In each theme, children are clearly signposted to how to recognise when they need support in a range of contexts and who they can turn to in different situations. Consistent and progressive teaching about discrimination and equality is woven throughout each theme to ensure children celebrate difference and diversity.The PSHE curriculum is organised over a two- year cycle to meet the needs of our mixed age classes. Lessons are designed to meet the needs of all learners, and flexibility in the units is promoted in order to address emerging or topical issues. Teachers plan using the online resource ‘1Decision’ which is used to provide an interactive session based on real life decisions that the pupils have to make. This planning is blended with teacher planned sessions to meet the bespoke needs of their class.

The same themes run throughout the school to ensure that a spiral curriculum is in place. Key concepts are revisited and built upon at an age appropriate level across the school.

• In the Autumn term pupils study the topic ‘Relationships’ and this links carefully to the topics ‘Feelings and Emotions’ and, in the juniors, ‘Growing and Changing’.
• In the Spring term pupils study the topic ‘Keeping and Staying Safe and Healthy’
• In the Summer term pupils study the topic 'Living in the wider world’

As well as the explicit units of work that are taught in PSHE, strong links are made to our themes in weekly circle times, in assembly sessions across the week, in the language of staff, in projects ran by the school council, in events on our SMSC calendar, RE sessions and the values upheld by the school. British values are woven into the PSHE curriculum and are continuously reinforced in the ethos of Northway.

EYFS

In EYFS, children begin by learning to accept and embrace who they are. They are encouraged to recognise and identify the range of emotions and feelings they experience and how to handle these in positive ways. They then begin to look beyond themselves, developing empathy and the skills to co-operate, integrate and successfully build positive relationships.

KS1

In Key Stage One, as pupils study ‘Relationships’/ ‘Feelings and Emotions’ they recognise what constitutes to a positive relationship, how to deal with conflict or unhealthy relationships and how to foster respect for themselves and others. As they study ‘Keeping and Staying Safe and Healthy’ they learn about how to develop healthy lifestyles both physically and emotionally through learning about making healthy choices, personal hygiene, balanced diets, growing and changing and staying safe in contexts appropriate to their age.  When studying ‘Living in the Wider World’ they develop an understanding of why we have rules, their role in the local environment and they begin to explore concepts linked to money.

KS2

In Key Stage Two, as pupils study ‘Relationships’/ ‘Feelings and Emotions/ ‘Growing and Changing’ they explore concepts around recognising and responding to their own and other’s feelings, understanding how they grow and change both physically and emotionally, building positive relationships and dealing with negative relationships at a deeper level. Concepts of trust, confidentiality, and challenging stereotypes are addressed throughout the curriculum. They study ‘Keeping and Staying Safe and Healthy’ at an increasingly more complex level, appropriate to their age, covering issues around ‘balanced’ healthy lifestyles, appropriate use of drugs, staying safe in the environments that they find themselves as their independence increases, making informed choices and managing feelings, risks and pressures as they grow and change. When studying ‘Living in the Wider World’ pupils develop a greater depth of understanding of concepts including diversity, sustainability, human rights and managing money.

The curriculum is designed to support the physical and mental development of each individual child. The impact of our curriculum is monitored on a very personal level by class teachers, through pupil interactions and their ability to function both academically and socially. The PSHE lead carries out questionnaires and pupil interviews, with the support of the school council, to monitor if whole school values and approaches are embedded in the pupil’s values, attitudes, understanding and attributes.

A whole school ethos.

The teaching and learning in PSHE spans across many different curriculum areas and many aspects of school life to develop a whole school ethos of respect and care for one another. The school council work with the PSHE leader to plan activities that enhance the PSHE curriculum develop a strong sense of community spirit and team work. Each year, for example, following the teaching and learning that takes place during Anti-Bullying Week, the school council plan something such as 'The Respect Pebble Hunt' or 'The Kindness Coin Hunt'. This event is planned to bring the whole school together and showcase the skills and knowledge that they have acquired across the week. The children work in mixed aged teams within their school teams- Resilience, Perseverance, Honesty, Courage or Aspiration to gain points for their team. Many whole school or cross phase events are planned across the year to ensure that children feel a strong sense of belonging and are able to apply the skills that they learn in PSHE in practical contexts. Take a look at our SMSC calendar to get a flavour of some of the whole school events that we hold across the year.

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