PSHEe/ RSE Intent Statement:

 Birches First School is committed to providing a high-quality educational experience for all pupils. Our vision is to be a place of great love and great learning, built upon our school values of ‘Belief Independence, Resilience, Curiosity, Honesty, Enthusiasm, Success’ where everyone thrives on encouragement, support and challenge. Birches First School supports children to “Believe, Grow, Succeed… to be the best ‘ME’ I can be”.

Our curriculum determines and underpins the whole ethos of our school. Our vision is for all children to have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they need to effectively navigate the complexities of life in the 21^st Century. As part of this vision, we aim to deliver a high-quality Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEe) and Relationship, Sex and Health Education (RSE) curriculum in which we convey accurate, relevant, and age-appropriate information to pupils. The curriculum covers key areas which will support our children to make informed choices now and in the future around their health, safety, wellbeing, relationships, and financial matters and will support them in becoming confident individuals and active members of society. This will ensure that our children can achieve their full potential and will leave our school prepared for the demands of society in their future. ‘Relationships Education is defined as supporting pupils in their understanding of healthy friendships, families and relationships with children and adults’. At our school we consider PSHEe to incorporate all elements of RSE as well, however for clarity within this document we will write both terms. Although RSE is taught through discreet lessons, it also underpins all activities, assemblies, educational visits, and extra-curricular clubs. It is intended that we will offer a cohesive whole-school approach which enables our children to become healthy, independent, and responsible members of society.

We intend to teach children about PSHEe and RSE in an engaging, meaningful, and age-appropriate manner through a carefully considered progressive curriculum which takes into account the Emotional, Physical and Social maturity of our children. We very strongly believe that the education we provide should reflect both the universal needs shared by all pupils as well as the specific needs of individual pupils at Birches First School. As such, the RSE strand of our PSHEe curriculum has been carefully considered and will be constantly reviewed so that it is inclusive and meets the needs of each and every one of our children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

PSHEe/ RSE Implementation:

At our school, KS1 and KS2 are following the PSHEe and RSE curriculum from KAPOW and EYFS are using the Entrust PSHE scheme. Both KAPOW and Entrust schemes ensure that all children have access to high quality teaching and learning opportunities. They are complete PSHEe and RSE programmes which have been designed to cover the statutory content and wider aspects of the PSHEe curriculum such as economic wellbeing, citizenship and living in the wider world.

Our PSHEe/RSE curriculum promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of our pupils preparing them for life in the wider world. At Birches First School our children are taught: 

To develop the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and, in the future with:

1. Opportunities to explore, clarify and if necessary, challenge, their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities.
2. The skills, language and strategies they need in order to live healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced lives.
3. Opportunities to develop positive personal attributes such as resilience, self-confidence, self-esteem, and empathy.

In KS1 and KS2, using the KAPOW programme will ensure that the learning is sequenced into age-appropriate units which show progression from Year 1 to Year 6.  Each area is revisited every year to allow children to build on prior learning throughout a progressive programme. It is a whole school approach that consists of five areas of learning.

• Families and relationships
• Health and wellbeing
• Safety and the changing body
• Citizenship
• Economic wellbeing.

In EYFS the children learn through daily engagements and opportunities of skills within the provision and planned discrete lessons utilising Entrust PSHEe Foundation Stage lesson plans, including specific links to Physical, Social and Emotional Development (PSED). In provision, children will explore the ideas of relationships, feelings and appropriate behaviours, self-confidence and self-awareness, rules and routines, empathy and restorative justice. Entrust PSHEe scheme of work consists of 6 topic areas throughout the year.

A range of teaching and learning activities throughout PSHEe and RSE lessons will be taught by Birches staff and are based on good practice in teaching PSHEe/RSE education to ensure that all children can access learning and make progress. In each year group, an introductory lesson provides the opportunity for children and teachers to negotiate ground rules and clear parameters will be established in class.  These introductory lessons can then be referred to throughout the year to help create a safe environment. Special consideration will always be given when teaching particularly sensitive material ensuring that classes create their own ground rules. Staff will be fully aware of the children in their class and of any sensitivities which might need to be acknowledged when delivering particular units.

The programme offers lesson plans, resources and PowerPoints that can be used to support our teachers’ planning and adapted to our pupils’ needs each year.  All lessons include ideas for differentiation to stretch the most able learners and give additional support to those who need it. Many lessons and scenarios, and video clips provide the opportunity for children to engage in real life and current topics in a safe and structured way. Some lessons will include the use of learning partners and small group work; whole-class teaching; enquiry tasks; research activities; independent learning and discussion groups; use of appropriate film clips, books and websites; problem-solving and challenge activities. Role-play activities are also included to help children play our scenarios that they may find themselves in. The lessons are also designed to `develop key skills such as empathy and the ability to articulate ideas clearly and to listen to and engage with other points of view’

The resources are reviewed regularly, and we provide updates to parents to keep them informed regarding teaching and learning, supporting their children’s learning and policies where appropriate. Staff have undertaken training to enable them to teach RSE and have worked supportively together discussing the implementation of the curriculum alongside PSHEe. The Headteacher will also assist the PSHEe/RSE coordinator to facilitate PSHEe and RSE training and CPD where needed.

It is important that all teaching staff are aware of the progression before and beyond their own year group to build on prior learning and develop their learning further. In order to support this, Birches First School have access to the learning objectives beyond Year 4. Birches First School curriculum pathways for PSHEe can be viewed on the school website.

British Values:

Through the teaching of RSE/PSHEe we aim to equip children with the skills to:

• deal with the diverse beliefs, values and attitudes that individuals and societies hold.
• develop an understanding of who they are, of the world in which they live and an ability to communicate and express their feelings.
• acquire British values and attitudes, which are necessary if they are to make sense of their experiences and modern life as a British citizen within school and within the local and wider community.
• value themselves, respect others, appreciate differences and diversity and feel confident and informed as a British citizen.
• reflect on and clarify their own values, attitudes and feelings by having the opportunity to explore a range of values and attitudes they encounter in their lives and in their future lives.

RSE/PSHE identifies links to British Values, and SMSC and is taught in such a way as to reflect the overall aims, values, and ethos of the school. British Values are promoted through the overarching aims and objectives of RSE/PSHE by supporting our children to learn about rights and responsibilities, appreciating what it means to be a healthy and valuable member of an ever-changing diverse society, as well as preparing them for life and work in modern Britain. It is our aim to deepen our pupils’ understanding of the fundamental British values of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and mutual respect and tolerance. We will help them to understand and consider many of the moral, social, and cultural issues that are part of growing up in modern Britain. RSE/PSHE, including SMSC and BV, is an integral part of the whole school curriculum, and is therefore often taught within another subject area. Assemblies are linked to RSE/PSHE, British Values and SMSC and cover any additional sessions that would benefit the whole school. 

Impact:

Assessment and self-assessment are a vital part of learning in PSHEe and RSE. Each lesson gives an opportunity for assessment which can be adapted to suit the assessment policy of the school.

Our 2022/24 EYFS data reflects the impact our PSHE curriculum is having on our children at Birches First School, with 93% reaching expected levels in ‘self-regulation’, ‘managing self’ and 100% for ‘building relationships’. 

The KAPOW PSHEe/RSE scheme provides ‘I Can’ statements to ascertain the children’s understanding of the lesson objective and will be assessed against them as- Working Towards and Greater Depth within each ‘I Can’ statement overview.

Pupil voice is also a key feature of our learning at Birches First School. We encourage our children to express opinions on how and where they would like their learning to ‘go’. Which we take into account when planning and teaching units from the curriculum. Children’s comments help us to assess and monitor their progress. Listening and responding to the views of our pupils ensures that our policy and curriculum is responsive and meet the needs of all our learners from year to year.

Through having been taught the full scheme, children will have met the objectives set out within the Relationships and Health Education statutory guidance and can utilise their learning within their daily lives, from dealing with friendship issues to resilience, to making healthy choices. They are well equipped with the knowledge of where and how to get help when needed and are increasingly aware of their own and others PSHEe/RSE needs becoming considerate and respectful children.