PSHE - Statement of Intent

At Elmtree Infant School and Nursery we pride ourselves on being a caring and happy place of learning where all children feel safe and secure. Our values of respect, curiosity, resilience, inclusivity and ambitiousness are at the heart of everything we do. Children will be supported to be happy, healthy and safe, equipping them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. 

From September 2020, Relationships Education and Health Education became compulsory across all schools. We teach this as part of our PSHE curriculum. Relationships Education is not sex education and, as this is a statutory curriculum, parents do not have the right to withdraw their child from any part of our teaching.  

This policy has been devised taking account of the age of our children, their physical and emotional maturity and keeping in mind any children with special needs or disability. As with all other curriculum areas, our Quality First Teaching, which is adapted and personalised, enables all children to access all aspects of this curriculum. At Elmtree School, every teacher is a teacher of SEND. As such, inclusion is a thread that runs through every area of the school. As part of our broad and balanced curriculum, PSHE lessons will be delivered by the class teacher and taught sessions will take place once a week. It is, however, important to note that due to the nature of the subject and the age of our children, much work in this area is happening every day through the ‘hidden curriculum.’ The teaching of PSHE is treated as a spiral curriculum and many objectives are repeated yearly, with deepening layers of complexity, as the children mature and develop greater understanding as they move through the school. For children in EYFS these objectives will be taught alongside the PSED aspect of the EYFS Development Matters as we work towards the Statutory Early Learning goals. 

Implementation

Early Years will continue to use the Early Years Framework - Personal, Social and Emotional Development is a prime area which is strengthened and applied throughout the specific areas. Elmtree School are early adopters of the new Early Years Foundation Stage 2020 and changes to the curriculum will come into force in September 2021.  

In Key Stage 1, our PSHE education takes place through a dedicated weekly discreet lesson as well as through assemblies, enrichment days / weeks and Science lessons. PSHE lessons will mainly involve class discussions but can also include paired discussions, drawing and writing. We will help pupils make connections between their learning and ‘real life’ behaviours by incorporating role play and real-life scenarios in our teaching, as much as is possible and appropriate with the age of our children. 

Impact 

The assessment of PSHE is very different to that of subjects of the National Curriculum but is no less important. Throughout the EYFS, children are assessed against the Development Matters and the Early Learning Goals for PSED. 

We will determine pupils’ prior knowledge/starting points by beginning each half term with a discussion led lesson where we find out what the children know about the objectives we will be teaching. We will also carry out a regular wellbeing survey. Typically, 3 times across the year. 

We will assess pupils’ learning and progression through discussion led activities, written work and an end of term pupil voice.  

We will evidence pupils’ learning and progression by keeping records of their work and discussions. 

Here at Elmtree we use a programme called Jigsaw to deliver our curriculum.