Blackwater PSHE strategy
INTENT
Our PSHE programme of study aims to equip our pupils with the knowledge, understanding, skills and strategies required to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society.
Our curriculum intends to develop the whole child through carefully planned and resourced lessons that foster pupils’ knowledge and skills necessary to grow personally and socially, to protect and enhance their wellbeing, to stay safe and healthy, build and maintain successful relationships and become active citizens, who are able to responsibly contribute to our diverse society.
PSHE promotes a deep understanding of British Values, developing appreciation of others and their value in society, as well as building positive views of themselves, so as to develop their self-worth, a strong sense of identity and to become confident citizens by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community. All the topics support social, moral, spiritual and cultural development and provide all pupils with appropriate and essential safeguarding knowledge to enable them to know they can ask for help.
Our PSHE programme of study is fully in line with the learning outcomes and core themes of the PSHE Association scheme of work. It covers all the required objectives and follows the three core areas of Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World. It also fulfils the requirements of the 2020 Statutory Relationship and Health Education which enables all pupils to build good, safe and healthy relationships now and in their future lives.
IMPLEMENTATION
At Blackwater Community Primary School we have a clear and comprehensive programme of study for PSHE. This is a high-quality, inspiring curriculum with excellent enrichment experiences to enable pupils to develop essential life skills. It is designed to be taught in thematic units with a spiral approach, ensuring themes can be revisited, enabling pupils to recall and build upon previous learning, exploring the underlying principles of PSHE education regularly at a depth that is appropriate for the age and stage of their education. All lessons include supporting materials, including building a rich bank of vocabulary.
Embedded within our PSHE curriculum is our clear and comprehensive RSE scheme of work. We aim to deliver our PSHE curriculum in a creative way by using strategies such as role play, music, singing, discussion, debate, games, etc. These strategies enable pupils to build upon our Learning Behaviours such as confidence, resilience, curiosity, and responsibility. PSHE is an important part of our school assemblies where pupil’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural curiosity is stimulated, challenged and nurtured. Pupils work is recorded in Floor Books.
Assessment for learning opportunities are built into each unit, which enables self-evaluation, reflective learning, allowing teachers to evaluate and assess progress. It also offers a tool for summative assessment, creating opportunities to record and track achievement.
IMPACT
Our programme of study provides our school with an effective framework for pupils’ wellbeing. Pupils are enabled to develop the vocabulary, confidence and resilience to clearly articulate their thoughts and feelings within an environment that encourage openness, trust and respect and know when and how they can seek the support of others. They will apply their understanding of society to their everyday interactions, from the classroom and the school to the wider community they are part of. PSHE actively supports physical and mental health, providing pupils with the skills to evaluate their own wellbeing needs, practice self-care and contribute positively to the wellbeing of those around them.
Our PSHE provision has a positive impact on the whole child, including their attainment and progress, by mitigating any social and emotional barriers to learning and build on their self-esteem. In our school we promote wellbeing, safeguarding and SMSC outcomes. We believe that through the effective delivery of the PSHE curriculum we enable pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to succeed at school and in the wider world.
LGBT+ at Blackwater
LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender. The “plus” represents other sexual identities.
At Blackwater School, we celebrate that our children come from different families. We know that like many other schools in the UK, some children have a mum and a dad, some children live with just one parent, some children live with their grandparents and some children have two mums or two dads.
In 2018, almost 250,000 people in London identified as Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual and there are now at least 20,000 children growing up in same-sex parent families. Many children will have or know relatives, family friends or neighbours who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Trans. It is important to us at Blackwater School that we represent different families in our community as we know that children who see their families reflected in class and around the school will grow up to be confident, respectful and successful citizens.
Aside from our moral duty, it is also our statutory duty to teach children about different families and relationships and therefore all primary schools in England are expected to teach Relationships Education. In teaching Relationships Education we ensure that the needs of all pupils are appropriately met, and that all pupils understand the importance of equality and respect. We ensure that all of our teaching is sensitive and age appropriate in approach and content.
In order to prepare children for the diverse society they live in and to prevent bullying and discrimination, it is important to talk about difference in general and different families in particular. At Blackwater School, the children learn about and celebrate different family structures primarily through our PSHE scheme of work, science scheme of work and other awareness days. In addition, our school library and class book corners are stocked with books that represent different family structures and some of the texts we use within our English lessons feature an LGBT character. All children are encouraged to talk positively about their own and each other’s families and the school does not tolerate any homophobic, biophobic or transphobic language.
