RSHE
Intent
At Woodlands Primary School, our RSHE curriculum is designed to support the personal, social, emotional and mental wellbeing of all children from nursery to year 6. We recognise that many of our pupils require strong foundations in emotional literacy, self-regulation, positive relationships and resilience in order to succeed both in school and beyond.
Our intent is to:
Help children understand themselves and others.
Build confidence, self-esteem and emotional resilience.
Teach pupils how to form healthy, respectful relationships.
Support children to make safe and informed choices.
Prepare pupils for life in their local community and wider society.
The curriculum is inclusive, age-appropriate and responsive to the needs of our school community, with strong links to safeguarding, behaviour, attendance and wellbeing.
To complement the RSHE taught in our school, we follow the RSHE Association scheme of work underpinned by the Medway Public Health Directionate, which also reflects the changes to the RSE expectations implemented from September 2020. Our RSHE curriculum encompasses important and relevant themes including drug education, financial education, sex and relationship education (RSE) and the importance of physical activity and diet for a healthy lifestyle. This also includes the use of social media and teaching the children about the influence of social media in today’s world.
At Woodlands, we pride ourselves on being reflective practitioners and continuously evaluate our curriculum. Through our whole-school approach to RSHE, we will enable all our children, including those with SEND and vulnerable children, to understand and respect who they are, to empower them with a voice and to equip them for life and learning.
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to build on prior learning and experiences, in order to attain well defined end points. It places a high priority on giving children the tools to keep themselves and others safe in modern day society.
Weaving through the heart of our RSHE teaching and assessment, is a commitment to enhancing and promoting our core Woodlands values: Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. We provide children with the knowledge and skills they need so they are able to flourish and be the very best they can be.
Implementation
RSHE is delivered through a progressive, spiral curriculum from nursery to year 6. Ensuring skills and knowledge are built upon year on year.
In EYFS, RSHE is embedded within PSED and taught through:
Play-based learning
Stories. Role play and circle time
Adult modelling and daily routines
In Key Stage 1 and 2, RSHE is taught through:
Weekly planned RSHE lessons
Whole-school themes and assemblies
Discussion, role play, reflection and P4C
Cross-curricular links (e.g. Science, Computing and RE)
Teaching and learning:
Consistent language and expectations
Staff guidance and CPD led by the RSHE lead
A safe, supportive environment where children feel confident to share.
Lessons are age-appropriate and responsive to pupils’ needs
Teaching is inclusive and adapted where necessary
Sensitive topics are taught carefully by trained staff
Safe learning environments encourage discussion, reflection and pupil voice
Visitors to the classroom will be encouraged to bring their expertise or personal stories to enrich pupil’s learning. However, the teacher should always manage this learning, ensuring that learning objectives and outcomes have been agreed with the visitor in advance, and that any input from visitors should be part of a planned, developmental programme rather than a substitute for it. Teachers should always be present to manage the learning, and to ensure that it is safe.
This programme will be led by the RSHE lead and supported by the Curriculum lead and will be taught across the school, in all phases by teaching staff. It will be supported by teaching assistants who play a vital role in supporting all pupils.
Our planning
With the belief that RSHE is a cohesive theme in all subjects, we strive to ensure that children are well prepared for life in today’s world. Each year group from Foundation 1 - year 6 teach RSHE. In the Early Years Foundation Stage; Personal, Social and Emotional development is recognised as one of the building blocks of success in life. It supports children’s development by helping them to interact effectively and develop positive attitudes to themselves and others.
At Woodlands we have chosen the question-based model for our RSHE curriculum, in order to support our focus on oracy across the school. This is taught as discrete lessons or cross curricular links ie: Science: life cycle, ICT: Internet safety, RE: Cultural differences. Staff are trained in adopting a P4C approach to teaching and learning, and this will be implemented across all subjects of the curriculum, particularly in RSHE.
RSHE covers:
Relationships
Health and Wellbeing
Living in a Wider World
At appropriate times in the year, there are themes such as Anti Bullying Week, Internet Safety Week and Money and Economic Wellbeing Week.
In addition, Relationships Education is also taught in line with the most current guidance set out from the DFE. This is taught by male and female staff and ensures that sensitive subjects are dealt with in appropriate ways. Parents are fully informed of when this takes place and the content involved when delivering this to the children, through an open evening in September.
Impact
The impact of RSHE at Woodlands Primary School is seen in the positive attitudes, behaviour and emotional development of our pupils.
All children, regardless of their starting points, will make good progress socially, emotionally and physically. Children will have knowledge, skills and understanding that will be secure and embedded so they are able to reach their full potential and have the best possible start to secondary school.
Children:
Can talk about their feelings and emotions using appropriate language.
Show improved self-regulation and resilience, along with the ability to try new things, push themselves and persevere.
Develop positive relationships with peers and adults.
Understand how to stay safe and ask for help.
Demonstrate respect for others and an awareness of right and wrong , with an appreciation of what it means to be a positive member of a diverse, multicultural society.
Will have a strong self awareness, interlinked with compassion of others.
Develop a sense of responsibility and become confident in their own abilities.
Health Education will focus on teaching:
Mental wellbeing
Internet safety and harms
Physical health and fitness
Healthy eating
Drugs, alcohol and tobacco
Health and prevention
Impact is monitored through:
Pupil voice
Behaviour and wellbeing observations
Staff feedback
Floor books
Learning walks
Assessment in RSHE should focus on learning set against the lesson objectives and outcomes. Children inform the learning process by identifying needs, collecting information to certify achievement and competence and informing others by reflecting on what they have learnt and putting this into action. The impact of RSHE is reflected through school displays, our staff who are all dedicated to the children of Woodlands Primary, extra-curricular activities offered, parental involvement, pupil voice opportunities and children’s behaviour and attitudes both in and out of the classroom and on the playgrounds. RSHE is reflected in how the children of Woodlands Primary consistently treat each other and adults with tolerance, patience and respect.
It is also important to ensure assessment of learning is specific to RSHE and no other areas of curriculum, such as English. Assessment in RSHE is not about ‘passing or failing’ or behavioural outcomes, both teachers and pupils both need to know what has been learned, and how learning and understanding has progressed.