Intent
At Cathcart Street the wellbeing of our pupils is at the heart of all we do and our overall aim is to develop happy, confident and safe children. The PSHE curriculum in our school has been designed to support the development of the knowledge, skills and attributes our pupils need to keep themselves healthy, safe and to manage life’s challenges and make the most of life’s opportunities. The curriculum design reflects the needs of our pupils and surrounding communities and is continually reviewed and altered where necessary.
Our PSHE curriculum covers the following main areas: mental health and wellbeing, keeping healthy, celebrating differences and radicalisation, respect and domestic violence, drugs education, goals and dreams and Relationships, Sex and Health education (RSE). Each of these areas aim to support the development of the whole child and allow opportunities for reflection on their own thoughts and beliefs as well as developing vital life skills and attributes. Our PSHE curriculum also makes a major contribution to the development of our pupil’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural learning and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. Although our curriculum has been divided into these main areas it must also be noted that PSHE learning opportunities are not restricted to this standalone subject. This curriculum area is supported by our safeguarding overview and an abundance of cross curricular opportunities which can be seen throughout our other subject areas, including the regular use of Philosophy for Children (P4C) lessons.
PSHE in Cathcart Street has been designed and planned to be a robust, spiral curriculum where the children can progress and develop their learning and skills year on year. It challenges pupils to think deeply and have the confidence to share their opinions and the courage to challenge their own and others views in a respectful way. Through this curriculum area, we hope to equip our pupils with vital attributes such as self-esteem and resilience or those vital communication skills such as advocacy, negotiation and persuasion that would enable them to manage risk effectively, know how to keep themselves safe, build healthy relationships with those around them and become responsible citizens ready for life in modern Britain.
Implementation
PSHE is taught as a stand-alone subject across the school on a weekly basis and we primarily follow the Jigsaw scheme of work, however because of the depth and breadth of coverage required in PSHE and the current needs of our pupils, we have sourced an additional range of high quality, accredited schemes and resources to support the teaching and learning of the main areas covered. In addition to Jigsaw we have also selected resources from ‘The NSPCC’, ‘CWP Resources’, ‘Women’s Aid’ ‘The Ariel Trust’, ‘The PSHE Association’ and ‘eAWARE’. Through the use of the range of schemes, we are confident that age appropriate, up-to-date and relevant concepts are being delivered and are accessible to all pupils.
In addition to our PSHE curriculum, staff have also accessed Philosophy for Children training which is implemented throughout all subjects. P4C complements and enhances our PSHE curriculum through encouraging our pupils to think critically, collaboratively, creatively and caringly. It also enhances children’s communication skills, boosts their self-esteem and promotes their Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural development (SMSC).
Beyond the planned programme for PSHE education, the curriculum provides children with a variety of experiences that have the potential to promote their personal, social development and economic education. These include:
- A wide range of planned assemblies
- External visitors
- Drama and music activities and productions
- Residential visits and day trips
- Clubs – sports, choir, art & craft, first aid etc
- Theme days/events
- Opportunities to vote
- Charity events
- Leadership opportunities, for example Playground Leaders, School Council, Eco-school Council etc
- Thrive interventions
- Cross curricular links
Impact
Progress and impact in PSHE can be seen though the children’s knowledge and understanding of the range of topics taught, for example, an understand of the physical aspects involved in RSE at age appropriate levels, an understanding of rules, how to keep themselves safe physically, mentally and technologically, an understanding of how drugs affect the body etc. Each of our core areas in each year group have specific learning intentions which can be used to measure pupils understanding of the content. However, at Cathcart Street we understand that assessment in PSHE should not simply focus on factual knowledge and so we provide opportunities to assess a range of impacts, such as: an increase in knowledge; an increase in understanding; a change or reconfirmation of a belief; a richer vocabulary; increased competence in skills; new strategies acquired; an increased confidence or changed and challenged assumptions.
Through our PSHE education programme, we give our pupils at Cathcart Street specific opportunities to explore and develop skills and attitudes that promote:
- a confidence in sharing their own thoughts and opinions with others
- an understanding of how to keep themselves healthy and safe and the language and confidence to ask for help if needed
- the empathy and a willingness to perceive and understand the interests, beliefs and viewpoints of others
- A willingness and ability to apply reasoning skills to problems and to value a respect for truth and evidence in forming or holding opinions.
- the attitudes of responsible global citizens
- the ability to build positive, respectful relationships with other people both now and in the future.