PSHE

Intent - What we want for our children?

At Horn’s Mill Primary School, our PSHE curriculum helps children grow into confident, healthy and respectful individuals who are ready for life in modern Britain. Through PSHE, we teach pupils the essential knowledge, skills and values to make positive choices, build healthy relationships, and understand the world around them.

Our aim is simple: to help every child be safe, happy and prepared for life’s opportunities. We aim for our children to:

• Follow a progressive and purposeful PSHE curriculum (from EYFS) that engages learners
• Be physically and mentally healthy
• Be equipped to make informed choices about healthy eating, fitness and their emotional and mental well-being.
• Gain the knowledge that they will need to make sensible life choices
• Value equality and inclusion
• Celebrate differences
• Have a sense of belonging and pride within the school community
• Have an understanding of British Values in the context of their experiences
• Become healthy, independent and responsible members of society. 

Implementation - How is the curriculum delivered?

At Horn’s Mill, we deliver our Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum through a carefully structured and progressive approach that supports the development of positive mental well-being, emotional literacy, and essential life skills. Our PSHE curriculum is designed to ensure that skills and knowledge are taught progressively and tailored to meet the needs of our children. Learning is age-appropriate and carefully sequenced to prepare pupils for the challenges of later life. The PSHE curriculum is covered in the following strands

• My Happy Mind
• My Happy Mind Relationships and Christopher Winters Relationships and Sex Education
• Money and Me finance curriculum
• No Outsiders
• Christopher Winters – Drugs and Alcohol Education

British Values and Protected Characteristics themes are introduced in weekly Picture News assemblies. These assemblies provide a safe space to explore current affairs and links directly to one of the British Values, helping children understand and apply this vocabulary in context.

In Reception, Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) is embedded within the EYFS curriculum. Children are supported to manage their feelings, self-regulate, and build positive relationships through play-based learning and continuous provision. Adults model key behaviours and skills, helping children become confident learners ready for transition into Key Stage 1.

My Happy Mind

My Happy Mind is a research-based curriculum endorsed by the NHS, designed to promote a culture of mental wellness across the school. This scheme equips children with an understanding of how their brains work and supports them in developing lifelong habits to become their best selves. Horn’s Mill was proud to be involved in the pilot phase of this initiative and has since embedded it as a core element of our curriculum from Reception through to Year 6.

Each year group follows a long-term curriculum plan that maps objectives to ensure progression and continuity. For example, in EYFS, children learn the importance of caring for their brains, while in Year 5, they explore strategies for rest and recovery, gaining insight into how these support mental health.

Whole-school assemblies introduce each new My Happy Mind module at the start of every half term. Class teachers then deliver the module content in their classrooms.

Our curriculum delivery emphasises overlearning and revisiting key concepts, allowing children to consolidate their understanding. Where appropriate, subjects are aligned to reinforce learning across the curriculum. A consistent feature across all year groups is Happy Breathing—a daily mindfulness practice used by class teachers to support emotional regulation and focus.

Relationships Education

• My Happy Mind – Relationships
• Christopher Winters – Relationships and Sex Education

The Relationships curriculum is delivered through both the My Happy Mind Relationships module and the Christopher Winters Project, ensuring full coverage of the statutory Relationships Education requirements. These schemes offer mapped, progressive learning from Year 1 to Year 6, supporting children in developing the understanding and skills needed to form healthy relationships.

Wider Curriculum Links

• Money and Me finance curriculum
• No Outsiders
• Christopher Winters – Drugs and Alcohol Education

We integrate No Outsiders, Money and Finance, and Relationships Education into medium-term planning. These themes are purposefully linked to other curriculum areas to deepen understanding. For example, in Team 5, the book Where The Poppies Now Grow is used within No Outsiders to support learning about Remembrance Sunday. This also serves as a meaningful introduction to the Year 6 history unit on the World Wars.

Impact - How do we know our PSHE curriculum is effective?

Our inclusive ethos and approach to creating our curriculum offer means that we have thought about how children can demonstrate their learning in a way that is accessible for all. Pupil Voice is one of the ways that we ensure learning is sticking and that the curriculum is achieving our aims. Pupil Voice is an important tool in assessing whether children have made progress.

Throughout PSHE learning, age-appropriate opportunities are planned, for children to show their understanding of what has been taught.  Children have learning journeys, My Happy Mind journals and Reflection books which are used to record learning when appropriate and also evidence the essential learning.

By the time children leave us they will: 

• Demonstrate kindness and respect towards themselves and others 
• Demonstrate resilience
• Have a good understanding of how to stay safe and healthy and be able to make informed choices
• Know what good relationships look like
• Have an appreciation of what it means to be a positive member of a diverse, multicultural society.  
• Demonstrate and apply the British Values of Respect for the Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Democracy, Mutual Respect and Tolerance of Other Faiths and Beliefs
• Be on their journey preparing them for life and work in modern Britain and beyond
• Be confident, tolerant and well-rounded individuals

If you have any further enquiries relating to the PSHE curriculum, please email Mrs Hughes: senco@hornsmill.cheshire.sch.uk