PSHE (Personal, Social, Health, Economic)
Aim:
We aim to help children develop their knowledge, skills and understanding of themselves and others to support them in leading confident, healthy and safe lives. We want to help children learn about themselves as they grow and develop, and to understand their responsibilities as individuals and as members of their community whether financial, political or related to their health and wellbeing.
Teaching & Learning
Schemes of Work
We follow the SCARF (Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship) scheme of work. Learning is organised into six units across the year: Me and My Relationships; Valuing Difference; Keeping Myself Safe; Rights and Responsibilities; Being My Best; and Growing and Changing.
The scheme is mapped to the Department for Education’s statutory requirements and PSHE Association programmes of study, and promotes a holistic, whole-school approach to PSHE.
Teaching approaches
PSHE at Wolvercote is taught in weekly focused sessions using a range of approaches, including video clips, discussions, interactive activities, small group tasks, and learning through story books.
The SCARF resources are underpinned by the importance of building a growth mindset. PSHE lessons at Wolvercote provide a positive, safe environment to learn. We value curiosity and critical thinking, and our lessons use language and activities that promote thinking skills and debate, rather than ‘right or wrong’ answers, showing the value in learning as a process.
This approach is embedded in our school culture; through making clear links between what is taught in the classroom, what is modelled in our school culture, and what is taught in the wider curriculum, we aim to support children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development in a holistic way.
Relationships Education and Physical Health & Mental Wellbeing
From September 2020, the teaching of Relationships Education and Physical Health and Mental Well-being will become a statutory requirement of all schools.
Our PSHE curriculum and school culture promote positive behaviour, and an understanding of how behaviour impacts on ourselves and relationships with others. Children learn to recognise what makes healthy relationships through the context of kindness, consideration and respect for all, including themselves. The building blocks of healthy relationships with friends and family, other children and adults are explored in an age-appropriate way, and link with our wider school teaching around values and positive behaviour. Children also learn about recognising healthy relationships in a range of contexts as well as how to recognise less positive relationships and what to do if they encounter these.
Equality of opportunity:
SCARF is a whole-school approach to promoting behaviour, safety, achievement and wellbeing. All children can access high quality PSHE and Relationships Education through our scheme of work.
Teaching and learning with SCARF materials supports our school culture of the importance of respecting others even if they are different. We aim to normalise the diverse range of trusted people in children’s lives through teaching about different choices, preferences or beliefs, and that we can all expect to be treated with respect.
