Personal Social and Health Education

St Mary's Primary School – Personal, Social and Health Education Curriculum Statement

At St Mary's Primary School we want every child to be happy and enthusiastic learners of PSHE, and to be eager to achieve their very best in order to fulfil their God-given talents. We firmly believe that the recipe for success is high quality first-wave teaching in PSHE, which is central to the life of our happy, caring school.

Intent – What we are trying to achieve?

Our principal aim is that children leave St Mary's School with a wide range of happy and rich memories in PSHE formed through interesting and exciting experiences driven through vehicles that enhance a child’s awareness of their own abilities and strengths as a learner; thus ensuring that children see learning in PSHE as an on-going process not a one-off event.
Children will meet the National Curriculum expectations in PSHE, which will be taught by highly-qualified, enthusiastic staff who will support children to develop mastery of concepts and inspire enthusiasm and interest in the subject.
All children will study PSHE within the curriculum, Key stage 1 for 30 minutes per week and for Key Stage 2, although not a specified time, it will be woven throughout the curriculum vehicles.
Opportunities will exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This will allow them to enrich their knowledge by, for example, pupils will have access to healthcare professionals to think about healthy lifestyles or for older pupils, mental health professionals to discuss wellbeing.
Children will develop a deep understanding of the subjects they are studying. They will increasingly use their prior knowledge to solve problems and develop the sophistication of PSHE.
Children will understand how Catholic virtues and British Values relate to PSHE.
In PSHE, children will develop the skills to develop confidence and a sense of responsibility within themselves, develop their own God-given attributes, develop positive relationships built on mutual respect and develop a healthy and safe lifestyle.
Children will develop a real understanding and appreciation of the world learning from the best that has been developed and said. For example: Local health and support workers, dieticians, emergency service providers, National campaigns (NHS Change for life).

Implementation – How do we translate our vision into practice?

The curriculum hours in PSHE are non-negotiable and will be followed by all staff in the school. Fixed timetables will be set before the academic year and monitored by the Senior Leadership Team of the school.
Subject specialists from our partner secondary school, Blessed William Howard are and will continue to be integral to the planning process. This will aid transition to Key Stage 3.
The subject leader for PSHE will meet the senior leadership team on a monthly basis to evaluate provision in order to ensure that teaching and learning in PSHE is outstanding. Where necessary, staff will receive coaching and training in PSHE.
Carefully designed schemes of learning in PSHE ensure consistency and progress of all learners.
Vehicles drive learning throughout the term. Therefore, PSHE is taught through the vehicle.
Vehicles include guest speakers who are specialists in their field, trips to businesses, fieldwork to relevant places of interest, innovative use of technology to name but a few.
PSHE is taught individually but plays a key role in the achievement of the learning aims of the vehicle. For example, a focus on a healthy living produce market could involve the children producing healthy living leaflets or recipe book for children. This would involve speaking with healthcare professionals/ chefs to look at what a balanced diet looks like and support and advice on healthy recipes that appeal to children.
Success criteria in every PSHE lesson are set in order to guide children to achieve their potential. This ensures work is demanding and matches the aims of the curriculum.
High quality teaching responds to the needs of children. Spiral learning is a key focus of all formative and summative assessment with teachers providing feedback in lessons in order to identify misconceptions early.
High quality input from experts and educational resources complement the delivery of specialist learning admirably. Children understand how PSHE is used in the wider world including careers.

Impact – What is the impact of our curriculum on the students?

Children are happy learners within PSHE. They experience a wide range of learning challenges within the art and know appropriate responses to them.
Through PSHE, children deepen their appreciation of their faith and fulfil their God-given talents.
Visits within PSHE have enriched the lives of the children and they are able to discuss how the experience impacted their knowledge and understanding.
Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in PSHE reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey. Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in PSHE and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education.
There is a proven track record of test success that reflects the impact of deep learning.
Clear outcomes focus and guide all PSHE development plans and drive improvement.
Fundamental British Values are evident in PSHE and children understand how it can celebrate difference.
Through this exposure, children will produce work that is influenced by the best of the best.