PSHE
Intent - What we want for our children?
At Horn’s Mill, our Personal Development curriculum is the umbrella for teaching our Personal, Social, Health and Economic education. Our carefully planned curriculum aims to provide the learning necessary for children to be safe, healthy and prepared for life’s opportunities. We understand the importance of providing a curriculum that is progressive in skills and knowledge and we have ensured that the curriculum opportunities are tailored to best suit our children and our school community.
When developing this curriculum, we wanted the children to be taught how to be physically and mentally healthy. The My Happy Mind scheme is a research based curriculum, backed by the NHS and is used within school to support teaching and promote a culture of positive mental well-being. Horn’s Mill was initially involved in this project at the pilot stage and it was recognised as a valued tool for delivering this curriculum from Reception to Year 6. Children are taught to understand how their brain works and to develop skills and habits to be their best selves.
The Personal Development curriculum aims to ensure that pupils are equipped to make healthy choices and be safe. Our drugs and alcohol curriculum, safety and relationships learning provides the children with the knowledge that they will need at an age appropriate level to help them to develop an understanding of the world around them and make sensible life choices.
The teaching of our relationships curriculum is supported by the My Happy Mind Relationships curriculum and the Christopher Winters Project. Each of these schemes provides carefully mapped, progressive learning opportunities from Year 1 to Year 6 that covers the mandatory relationship education guidelines to provide the essential skills and understanding needed.
Reception’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is supported through the teaching of our EYFS curriculum. During their time in Reception, children are supported to develop their ability to manage their feelings, self-regulate their emotions and build positive relationships with peers and teachers. This is taught within a play based environment during daily continuous provision, where adults model the skills children need to further assist their PSED. Children in Reception are taught to be confident learners, who flourish into successful and confident pupils in preparation for the transition into KS1.
We provide an equality curriculum to prepare children for life where they understand and value diversity and inclusion. Our No Outsider’s curriculum introduces children to thinking about and celebrating differences. We promote the belief that every child should be able to develop and flourish and we provide an accepting and safe environment. Through curriculum and wider school opportunities we ensure that every child can develop a sense of belonging and pride in our school community. Furthermore, alongside our British Values curriculum, our given the opportunities to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society.
Circle Time is planned and taught in every class across the school on a weekly basis. Circle Times provide an opportunity for the children to articulate and explore issues that are pertinent to their PSHE learning in a safe and structured environment.
Implementation - How is the curriculum delivered?
When delivering this curriculum for our children, we ensure that opportunities are created for progression and development in learning across the Personal Development curriculum. Each year group has each of the elements mapped onto a long term curriculum plan. An example of the progression of our mental health learning is that in EYFS, the children learn that we need to look after our brains because they help us to do so many different things. In Year 5 children learn strategies for helping their brain to rest and understanding why this is important.
Our curriculum is delivered in a way that ensures overlearning of key concepts and opportunities to revisit learning. Where it supports the delivery of the curriculum, subjects align with one another to provide these opportunities. However, we also value the consistency of Happy Breathing across the school and class teachers use this with their classes on a daily basis.
Our whole school assemblies introduce the My Happy Mind learning module each half term. When the My Happy Mind learning has been introduced, each class then completes this module with their teacher. However, the assembly slot is then used for No Outsider’s assemblies or assemblies that support our SMSC values.
Our No Outsiders learning is plotted out in teachers’ Medium Term planning so that children can learn about the topics and themes that support their learning in other areas of the curriculum. This is also true for our Money and Finance learning, British values and Relationships learning. For example, Team 5 use the text, 'Where The Poppies Now Grow' in No Outsider’s to support their learning about Remembrance Sunday in November. This is then useful learning for the foundations of the World Wars in the Year 6 history curriculum.
Impact - How do we know our geography 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.
Children present their understanding of the personal development learning in various ways. Throughout their learning, opportunities are planned in for children to show their understanding of what has been taught. Children have learning journeys and My Happy Mind journals which show their progress throughout the curriculum.
Children’s behaviour and relationships around school, and the way they treat others demonstrates the effectiveness of this curriculum. Discussion in regular, weekly circle times allows teachers to realise the stage of personal development of each child.
If you have any further enquiries relating to the PSHE curriculum, please email Mrs Hughes: senco@hornsmill.cheshire.sch.uk