PSHEE & C

The aim of PSHEE&C teaching at The Brent is to develop kind, healthy and independent individuals who know and value who they are.

Through our whole school approach to PSHEE&C children revisit key themes each year, building on and deepening their understanding. PSHEE&C is taught through weekly class discussions and assemblies, this is then embedded throughout the school day. As a result of this they will become responsible members of a society who understand how they are developing personally and socially, and give them confidence to tackle many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. We provide our children with opportunities to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.

Using their Growth Mindsets children take responsibility for their learning showing resilience when faced with a challenge and respect for others and the world around them.

In EYFS, we start with a focus on sense of self through introducing different communities and building the children's confidence to share their needs, wants, interests and opinions. During child initiated the children work on making relationships and understanding emotions with themselves and others.

Term 1: Being Me In My World

Each class starts the year with a focus on rights and responsibilities. They use this to then work as a class to create and agree on a class charter. Rights and responsibilities is revisited each year and expanded upon.

In Year 1, the children start to discuss rights and responsibilities, choices and consequences. They talk about how they can make everyone feel safe in their class and begin to recognise their own safety.

In Year 2 we build on this by recapping rights and responsibilities, with a focus on how to work collaboratively, listening to each other and making the classroom a safe and fair place. They talk about feeling worried and recognising when and who they should talk to.

In Year 3 we continue to look at rights and responsibilities and link this to the need for rules. The children explore choices and consequences, working together and seeing things from other people’s points of view. We expand on Year 2s learning around feelings by looking at a variety of different feelings and the ability to recognise these in themselves and others.

In Year 4 we look at being part of a team and how our attitudes and actions impact others. The children learn about their school and its community. They discuss democracy and link this to their own School Council, what its purpose is and how it works. We focus on working together - how to make positive contributions, collective decisions and how to deal with conflict. They also talk about considering other people’s feelings.

In Year 5 they learn and talk about their rights and responsibilities as a member of their class, school, wider community and the country they live in. They talk about their own behaviour and its impact on a group as well as choices, rewards, consequences and the feelings associated with each. They revisit democracy looking at how it benefits the school and how they can contribute towards it.

In Year 6 we look at The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. They talk about their choices and actions and how these can have far-reaching effects, locally and globally. The children talk about their own behaviour and how their choices can result in rewards and consequences and how these feel. They talk about how an individual’s behaviour and the impact it can have on a group. They also talk about democracy, how it benefits the school and how they can contribute towards it.

Term 2: Celebrating Difference

In Year 1 they identify similarities and differences between people and recognise that these make us unique and special. We look at what bullying is, how it might feel to be bullied and when and who to ask for help. The children talk about friendship, how to make friends and that it is OK to have differences from their friends. The children also talk about being nice to and looking after other children who might be being bullied.

In Year 2 we introduce gender stereotypes and that boys and girls can have differences and similarities and something they are bullied because of this. The children talk about feelings associated with bullying and how and where to get help. They talk about similarities and differences and that it is OK for friends to have differences without it affecting their friendship.

In Year 3 they learn about families, that they are all different and that sometimes they fall out with each other. We revisit the topic of bullying and talk about what a witness to this should do. We look at name-calling and choosing not to use hurtful words. They also talk about giving and receiving compliments and the feelings associated with this.

In Year 4 we talk about judging people by their appearance, first impressions and what influences their thinking on what is normal. We expand upon bullying, now including online bullying and what to do if they suspect or know that it is taking place. They discuss the pressures of being a witness and why some people choose to join in or choose to not tell anyone about what they have seen. The children are encouraged to talk about their own uniqueness and what is special about themselves.

In Year 5 they explore culture and cultural differences. They link this to racism, talking about what it is and how to be aware of their own feelings towards people from different cultures. They revisit the topic of bullying and discuss rumour spreading and name-calling. The children talk about direct and indirect bullying as well as ways to encourage children to not use bullying behaviours. We talk about happiness regardless of material wealth and respecting other people’s cultures.

In Year 6 we talk about differences and similarities and that for some people, being different is hard. The children talk about bullying and how people can have power over others in a group. We discuss strategies for dealing with this as well as wider bullying issues. The class talk about people with disabilities and look at specific examples of disabled people who have amazing lives and achievements.

Term 3: Dreams and Goals

In Year 1 we set simple goals and look at how to achieve them. The children learn to recognise the feelings associated with facing obstacles when achieving their goals as well as when they achieve them. They discuss partner working and how to do this well.

In Year 2 we look at setting realistic goals and how we can achieve them. We discuss perseverance when things are difficult and recognising their strengths as learners. The children talk about group work and reflect on who they work well with and who they don’t. They also talk about sharing success with other people.

In Year 3 they look at examples of people who have overcome challenges to achieve success and discuss what they can learn from these stories. The children identify their own dreams and ambitions and discuss how it will feel when they achieve them. We talk about obstacles which might stop them from achieving their goals and how to overcome these. They reflect on their progress and successes and identify what they could do better next time.

In Year 4 we discuss how it feels when dreams don’t come true and how to cope with / overcome feelings of disappointment. The children talk about making new plans and setting new goals even if they have been disappointed. They reflect on their successes and the feelings associated with overcoming a challenge.

In Year 5 we look at jobs that people they know do. They look at the fact that some jobs pay more money than others and reflect on what types of jobs they might like to do when they are older. The children look as the similarities and differences between themselves (and their dreams and goals) and someone from a different culture.

In Year 6 they expand upon setting challenging and realistic goals. They discuss the learning steps they’ll need to take as well and how to stay motivated. The children explore various global issues and explore places where people may be suffering or living in difficult situations. The class also talk about what they think their classmates like and admire about them as well as working on giving others praise and compliments.

Term 4: Healthy Me

In Year 1, the class talk healthy and unhealthy choices and how these choices make them feel. They talk about hygiene, keeping themselves clean and that germs can make you unwell. The children learn about road safety as well as people who can help them to stay safe.

In Year 2, they further develop their knowledge on healthy food; they talk about having a healthy relationship with food and making healthy choices. The children talk about things that make them feel relaxed and stressed. We begin to look at medicines, how they work and how to use them safely.

In Year 3, we focus on the importance of exercise. They talk about their heart and lungs, discussing what they do and that they are very important. The children talk about calories, fat and sugar and how the amount they consume can affect their health. The class talk about different types of drugs, the ones you take to make you better as well as other drugs. The children think about things, places and people that are dangerous and link this to strategies for keeping themselves safe.

In Year 4, the class look at the friendship groups that they are part of, how they are formed, how they have leaders and followers and how they fit into them. The class also look at smoking and its effects on health, they do the same with alcohol and then look at the reasons why people might drink or smoke. Finally, they talk about peer pressure and how to deal with it.

In Year 5, they continue to look at smoking and alcohol misuse, looking at the risks and how this affects their bodies. They are taught a range of basic emergency procedures and learn how to contact the emergency services when needed. The children look at how body types are portrayed in the media, social media and celebrity culture. They also talk about eating disorders and people’s relationships with food and how this can be linked to negative body image pressures.

In Year 6, the children discuss taking responsibility for their own physical and emotional health. They expand on their learning from Year 5 around drug use and the effects of this. The class discuss exploitation as well as gang culture and the associated risks. They also talk about mental health / illness and that people have different attitudes towards this. They learn to recognise the triggers and feelings of being stressed and that there are strategies they can use when feeling this way.

Term 5: Relationships

In Year 1, we look at the children’s own significant relationships (family, friends and school community) and why these are special and important. As part of the learning on healthy and safe relationships, children learn that touch can be used in kind and unkind ways. This supports later work on safeguarding.

In Year 2, family relationships widens to include roles and responsibilities in a family and the importance of co-operation, appreciation and trust. Children consider the importance of trust in relationships and what this feels like. Children reflect upon different types of physical contact in relationships, which are acceptable and which ones are not. They practise strategies for being assertive when someone is hurting them or being unkind. The children also discuss people who can help them if they are worried or scared.

In Year 3, we revisit family relationships. They identify why stereotypes can be unfair and may not be accurate. They also look at careers and why stereotypes can be unfair in this context. They discuss what a family relationship should look like. Online relationships are explored and children are introduced to some rules for staying safe online. Children also learn that they are part of a global community, they investigate the wants and needs of other children who are less fortunate and compare these with their own.

In Year 4, they start to focus on the emotional aspects of relationships and friendships. Children explore jealousy and loss/ bereavement. The children learn that change is a natural in relationships. Children revisit skills of negotiation particularly to help manage a change in a relationship. They also learn that sometimes it is better if relationships end, especially if they are causing negative feelings or they are unsafe. Children are taught that relationship endings can be amicable.

In Year 5, Children learn about the importance of self-esteem and ways this can be boosted. They learn about age -limits and also age-appropriateness. Within these lessons, children look at the SMARRT internet safety rules and they apply these in different situations. Risk, pressure and influences are revisited with a focus on the physical and emotional aspects of identifying when something online or in social media feels uncomfortable or unsafe. Children are taught about grooming and how people online can pretend to be whoever they want.

In Year 6, they explore how to take care of their own mental well-being. They talk about the grief cycle and its various stages. The children talk about people who can try to control them or have power over them. They look at online safety, learning how to judge if something is safe and helpful as well as talking about communicating with friends and family in a positive and safe way.

Term 6: Changing Me

In Year 1, Children are introduced to life cycles of animals, we compare this to human life cycle and look at simple changes from baby to adult. As part of a school’s safeguarding duty, pupils are taught the correct words for private parts of the body (vagina, anus, penis, testicles, vulva) and that nobody has the right to hurt these parts of the body. Change is discussed as a natural and normal part of getting older which can bring about happy and sad feelings. Children practise a range of skills to help manage their feelings.

In Year 2, children recap looking at different life cycles in nature including that of humans. They reflect on the changes that occur when growing up (not including puberty) Within this, children also discuss how independence, freedoms and responsibility can increase with age. As part of a school’s safeguarding duty, pupils are re-taught the correct words for private parts of the body. Children practise a range of strategies for managing feelings and emotions. Change is taught as a natural and normal part of growing up and the range of emotions that can occur with change are explored and discussed.

In Year 3, we begin with an exploration about babies and what they need to grow and develop including parenting. This leads onto lessons where puberty is introduced. Children first look at the outside body changes in males and females and then inside body changes, this includes periods in females. Children discuss how they feel about puberty and growing up.

In Year 4, bodily changes at puberty are revisited with some additional vocabulary, particularly around menstruation. Sanitary health is taught alongside conception and sexual intercourse. Children understand that a baby is formed by the joining of an ovum and sperm. They also learn that the ovum and sperm carry genetic information that carry personal characteristics. We end the term by looking at the feelings associated with change and how to manage these.

In Year 5, the children revisit self-esteem and self/body-image. Puberty is revisited with further detail explaining bodily changes in males and females. Sexual intercourse is explained in slightly more detail than in the previous year. Further details about pregnancy are introduced including some facts about the development of the foetus and some simple explanation about alternative ways of conception e.g. IVF. Children look at what becoming a teenager means for them with an increase in freedom, rights and responsibilities.

In Year 6, the children expand upon their knowledge of puberty and the changes that will happen and reflect on how they feel about these changes. The children learn about childbirth and the stages of development of a baby. They discuss relationships and the importance of mutual respect. Finally, they look at the transition to secondary school and what they are looking forward to / are worried about and how they can prepare themselves mentally.

The Brent Primary