It Is the Aim of Elm Road School to Give Pupils the Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Elm Road Primary School

PSHCE Policy - 2013

At Elm Road Primary School we see PSHCE as being at the centre of the teaching and learning. It has a positive influence on the ethos, process and relationships in the school and therefore requires the full commitment and understanding of the school community as a whole.

AIMS

Through PSHCE Elm Road School aims to:

·  Give pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident healthy and independent lives.

·  To become active and responsible citizens.

·  To enable children to develop qualities of mind, body, spirit, feeling and imagination.

·  To develop a sense of self-respect and respect for others.

·  To develop critical thinking and decision making skills.

·  To cope with changes and new challenges.

·  To be self-reliant, self motivated and self-disciplined.

·  To make and sustain good relationships with other members of the school and the wider community.

·  To learn how to understand and cope with feelings

·  To learn ways of developing and sustaining a healthy lifestyle

·  To understand and cope with prejudice

·  To be aware of safety issues.

·  To develop self-confidence and self-esteem, and make informed choices regarding personal and social issues. This includes coping with peer pressure, standing up for what they believe and saying no when necessary

TEACHING AND LEARNING

We use a range of teaching and learning styles. We place an emphasis on active learning by including the children in discussions, investigations and problem-solving activities. We encourage the children to take part in a range of practical activities that promote active citizenship, e.g. charity fundraising, and involvement in an activity to help other individuals or groups less fortunate than themselves. We organise classes in such a way that pupils are able to participate in discussion to resolve conflicts or set agreed classroom rules of behaviour. We offer children the opportunity to hear visiting speakers, such as health workers, police, and representatives from the local church, whom we invite into the school to talk about their role in creating a positive and supportive local community.

Children’s personal, social and citizenship will be developed through a variety of learning opportunities and experiences, in particular the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme. This is taught throughout the school using a thematic approach adopted by all classes.

All pupils have access to the PSHCE programme in a planned and coherent way to match alongside the SEAL and staying safe programmes.

The Cambridge Scheme of work for PSHE is used to ensure that children are taught in a way that builds on their prior knowledge and learning.

A school council and related activities provide opportunities for children to develop citizenship skills. The children choose their school council representatives and those children meet weekly. Classroom time is provided to discuss school council issues and for representatives to feed back.

Many areas of PSHCE are taught in conjunction with other subjects; such as Literacy, Science ,History and Geography.

All children have timetabled PSHCE lessons KS1 (45-60 mins)

KS2 (40-60mins))

PSHCE will also be addressed through everyday occurrences in the school community. All members of staff will strive to encourage reflection on attitudes and self respect whenever possible.

Foundation Stage

PSHE and citizenship is taught in our reception class as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. As the reception class is part of the Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum, we relate the PSHE and citizenship aspects of the children’s work to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals (ELGs). Our teaching in PSHE and citizenship matches the aim of developing a child’s personal, emotional and social development as set out in the ELGs. We also support citizenship education in our reception class when we teach ‘how to develop a child’s knowledge and understanding of the world’. Reception children join the school council from the Spring term.

Assessment and recording

Teachers assess the children’s work in PSHE and citizenship by making informal judgements as they observe them during lessons. We have clear expectations of what the pupils will know, understand and be able to do at the end of each key stage. Assessment should offer the children the opportunity to reflect on their own progress.

Resources

We keep resources for PSHE and citizenship, SEAL assemblies and class work in a central store and use a range of appropriate websites. We have additional resources in the library. Our PSHE and citizenship subject leader holds a selection of reference materials for teaching sensitive issues.

Monitoring and review

The PSHE and citizenship subject leader together with the Headteacher is responsible for monitoring the standards of children’s work and the quality of teaching of this subject. The subject leader supports colleagues in the teaching of PSHE and citizenship, by giving them information about current developments in the subject and by providing a strategic lead and direction for the subject in the school. The subject leader is also responsible for reporting to the headteacher evaluating strengths and weaknesses in the subject and indicating areas for further improvement

Our PSHCE policy also underpins our provision and policies in many other areas of the curriculum and school life in general.

Please refer to:

·  Child Protection

·  Behaviour Policy

·  Substance Use and Misuse Policy

·  Sex and Relationship Education Policy

·  Health and Safety Policy

·  Equal Opportunities Policy

·  Multicultural Policy

·  Bullying Policy