Subject Statement – Intent, Implementation and Impact

Subject: PSHE and RSE

Subject Lead: Sandeep Ubhi

Intent:

Personal, Social, Health and Economic education at Victoria Junior School has been designed to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes our pupils need to manage their lives, now and in the future.

This reflects our vision for all of our pupils to ‘live fulfilled, curious, compassionate and honest lives, and feel prepared to be successful in whichever paths they choose to take in life’.

By the time our pupils leave Victoria Junior School, we want to them to have experienced a wide, rich set of learning opportunities from three main themes:

• Health and Wellbeing

• Relationships

• Living in the Wider World

These themes have been chosen and adapted to directly meet their needs, whilst being an anchor to the tailored Relationships and Sex Education curriculum we deliver.

Implementation:

At Victoria Junior School, PSHE (with RSE) takes place once a week where all pupils are given opportunities to explore our core values of fulfilment, curiosity, compassion, kindness, honesty and problem-solving. These sessions are delivered by class teachers and follow the following structure: exploration, knowledge, rehearsal and a chance to develop positive attitudes.

Opportunities to develop PSHE skills are also given within our wider school offer, such as within assemblies, whole school events, school trips and visitors, and will often be led by the wider school community. Information is also given via the school website and newsletters.

We will also often work with external agencies to enhance the delivery of the topics, bringing specialist knowledge, and different ways of engaging pupils.

Impact:

For all of our pupils to have safe and effective sessions, class teachers and other adults in the school are required to ensure the following:

Create safe learning environments

• By applying appropriate ground rules in order to help pupils express opinions and consider those of others safely

• Use distancing techniques effectively to teach about personal issues without drawing on the pupil’s own personal experiences

• Encouraging questions from pupils, including anonymously, to prevent them leaving the lesson with uncertainty, or needing to find answers beyond the lesson from potentially biased, unsafe or inaccurate sources

• Protecting pupils with vulnerabilities by identifying them beforehand and adapt the lesson accordingly

Start from where their pupils are

• Including baseline assessments to help recognise what pupils already know, think, believe or can do in relation to a topic, and then amend teaching to quickly confirm accurate knowledge, address misconceptions and fill in any gaps in knowledge

Balance knowledge with understanding, skills and attributes

• Opportunities are given to explore, learn about, rehearse and reinforce relevant skills and develop positive attributes in preparation to manage situations in the real world

• Class teachers draw on a range of resources within their teaching to support delivery. These resources have been assessed to ensure that it is age-appropriate for the age and maturity of pupils, and sensitive to their needs.

• Children use journals to create a ‘handbook’ to refer to, when developing their knowledge, skills and attributes for managing their lives, now and in the future.

Make the learning as interactive as possible

• A range different, interactive, engaging of teaching approaches and activities are used to engage all pupils, including a mixture of group, pair and individual activities

• Ensuring differentiation to enable all to access learning that is appropriate, relevant and meaningful for them. Lessons are adapted according to different pupils’ needs to ensure all pupils participate and are able to make progress from their starting point. Learning outcomes, activities and resources are all differentiated to provide additional support or challenge for those who need it

• Pupils with SEND or have an Education, Health, Care Plan have content tailored to meet their specific needs at different developmental stages. Lesson outcomes link to preparing for adulthood outcomes.

Take a positive approach that does not attempt to induce shock, shame or fear

• Avoiding attempts to induce shock, fear, or shame, as it is not an effective method in promoting behaviour change and can have unintended consequences, including inducing an excited response that promotes risky behaviour, ‘message blocking’ where pupils tend to believe that “it will never happen to me”, or re-traumatising a pupil who has prior experience

• Promoting positive messages focusing on what pupils can do to keep healthy and safe, balanced with practical suggestions of ways

• Ensuring learning reflects what is agreed in this policy, and other relevant policies such as the school’s Inclusion and Transition policies

Provide realistic, relevant information that reinforces positive social norms

• Ensuring learning is age and stage appropriate

• Providing opportunities to reflect on the relevance of the learning by being able to see the relevance to their own lives. This is most effective towards the end of a session once pupils have approached the learning from a distance perspective first. These personal reflections should not be shared with the rest of the class or teachers

• Reflecting the diverse society pupils are growing up in, by ensuring characters, scenarios and examples used in activities reflect the lives of all pupils in modern Britain

• Challenging stereotypes and / or assumptions in order to clarify their beliefs, values and understanding formed through their friendship groups, families, the media and online

• Providing pupils with accurate, nonbiased and balanced information that is well-evidenced, up to date and accurate

Not providing a ‘how to’ guide, role model, or inspiration when teaching about dangerous behaviours

• Avoiding unnecessary detail in resources, or unwittingly appealing descriptions of harmful experiences, so that it does not lead to encouraging risky behaviours, prolonging harm and/or delaying access to help for pupils.

Always signpost sources of support

• Signposting pupils to appropriate support during the interactive aspects of the sessions, so that if pupils have further questions, concerns or anxieties, or want to make a disclosure, they have the confidence to do so with the right support.

Evaluate PSHE education

• Examining the experience so that education can be started from where the pupils are and tailored for their needs, and that future planning of topics are informed. This is done through pupil and teacher surveys, pupil voice, focus groups and school council. Class teachers will also use observations during sessions to understand pupils’ needs.

Build in assessment

• Providing clear learning objectives supports differentiation and informs lesson content. Precise outcomes make it clear of what is expected and assist class teachers in accurate assessment of their pupils’ learning. Both of these are created before designing the activities for each session.

• Providing opportunities to check understanding and progress throughout the session are used so that teaching can be adapted accordingly. This is done either through questioning, or mini-plenaries.

• Including an opportunity for summative assessment to help class teachers identify the progress that has been made, and to clarify what still needs to be taught in the future. All activities are designed to demonstrate individual pupils’ progress from their baseline assessment.

• Monitoring this progress is then shared with parents and carers through Parents’ Consultations and the end of year report.