PSHE

INTENT

Curious - Recognising, valuing and celebrating our differences in a variety of ways

Ethical - Understanding our rights and responsibilities and staying safe in our modern world

Aspirational - Developing children’s confidence, resilience and self-esteem which in turn boosts academic progress and aspirations for life

Creative - Using role play, singing, discussion, debate, and games, which build a rich bank of vocabulary to allow children confidently to explore sometimes complex or conflicting issues in a safe, supported and familiar environment.

PSHE Curriculum Overview

At Charlbury School we aim to develop our children so that they achieve their full potential as active and effective young citizens. We aim to build on and complement the learning begun in their early years at home to provide the knowledge, understanding and skills they will need to lead healthy, fulfilling, productive and responsible lives. Our Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education underpins all our children’s learning in the classroom, school and wider world. It links with our school values of community, integrity and mastery and supports us in the teaching of British values.

In addition, it contributes significantly to personal development, helping to build confidence, resilience and self-esteem, which in turn is linked to academic progress. Children become more competent in identifying and managing risk, making informed decisions and in understanding the influences driving their decision making. PSHE enables them to recognise, accept and shape their identities, to understand and accommodate difference and change, to manage emotions and to communicate constructively in an increasingly complex social world.

Our PSHE programme of study – SCARF (Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship) 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 positive, safe and healthy relationships now and in their future lives. Topics are taught in thematic units with a spiral approach, ensuring themes are revisited. Children can build upon previous learning, exploring the underlying principles regularly at a depth that is appropriate for the age and stage of their education. Lessons are taught in a creative way using role play, singing, discussion, debate, and games, which prioritise the building of a rich bank of vocabulary to allow children confidently to explore sometimes complex or conflicting issues in a safe, supported and familiar environment. Learning is consolidated through whole school assemblies and opportunities are built into each unit to enable self-evaluation, reflective learning and teacher assessment.

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 building on their self-esteem. It is important to remember that assessment in PSHE education is not about levels, grades, passing or failing, but should compare each child’s progress with his or her own starting point. The impact of SCARF can be monitored and assessed in a number of ways. We can look at the extent to which children are engaged in discussions with their peers, sharing their own beliefs and ideas, and the extent to which they listen to and appreciate the ideas of others. We can observe behaviour in the classroom and the playground, and engage children in more formal discussions and interviews. SCARF also offers pre and post assessment activities, ‘I can’ statements and opportunities for personal reflections which allow teachers to summarise learning either individually or as a class against each unit's key learning outcomes.