Intent
At St George’s Catholic Primary School, we recognise that children today are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also challenges and risks. We aspire to responsibly educate our children so that they know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal, and social lives in a positive way.
We recognise that PSHE/RHE have a key part to play in the personal, social, moral and spiritual development of young people. We aim to provide our children with the information they need to develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds, not just intimate relationships.
Through our PSHE/RHE curriculum, we aim to stimulate our children’s interest and understanding by equipping them with the skills needed to develop positive attitudes, values, and high levels of self-esteem, to challenge prejudice and negative attitudes in society and promote the skills needed for effective communication. We seek to develop ambitious, confident citizens and successful learners who are creative, resourceful, aspire to succeed and demonstrate ability to identify and solve problems. The social and emotional development of pupils is embedded throughout the entire school’s curriculum and culture.
Implementation
At St George’s Catholic Primary School, we also recognise that we are preparing our pupils to become global citizens. Through our PSHE curriculum, we aim:
• To encourage and support the development of social skills and social awareness
• To give pupils knowledge and develop their self-esteem, confidence and self-awareness to make informed choices and decisions;
• To promote responsible attitudes towards the maintenance of good physical and mental health, supported by a safe and healthy lifestyle;
• To enable pupils to make sense of their own personal and social experiences;
• To enable effective interpersonal relationships and develop a caring attitude towards others;
• To encourage a caring attitude towards and responsibility for the environment;
• To help our pupils understand and manage their feelings; to build resilience to be independent, curious problem solvers;
• To understand how society works and the laws, rights and responsibilities involved.
RHE is taught through the implementation of a high quality, diocesan approved curriculum, ‘Life to the Full’.
Curriculum
Our curriculum content is taught through a carefully considered sequence of engaging topics in an age appropriate order which reflects the development of the child, with key concepts revisited throughout each phase. This allows our children to engage with their developing sense of identity and understanding of their place in the world as they progress through school and beyond. At St George’s Catholic Primary School, the teaching and learning of PSHE/RHE focuses on a holistic approach to learning. We plan for progression across these key concepts:
• Religious Understanding
• Me, My body, My health
• Emotional Well-being
• Life-Cycles
• Keeping Safe
• Living in the Wider World
• Our changing bodies
• Drugs, alcohol and tobacco
• Families and close positive relationships
• Managing hurtful behaviour and bullying
• Safe relationships
• Respecting self and others
• Shared responsibilities
• Communities
• Online safety
• Economic well-being: Money
• Economic well-being: Aspirations, work and career
Teaching Styles
RHE is taught using the ‘Life to the Full’ programme as a discrete subject, timetabled across all phases. PSHE is also taught as discrete sessions with strong links to topics in English, Science, PE and RE for each year group. Taught with a spiral approach to learning in which pupils will revisit the same topics at an age-appropriate stage through their school life, the programme includes teaching about personal health, physical and emotional well-being, strong emotions, private parts of the body, personal relationships, family structures, trusted adults, growing bodies, puberty, periods, life cycles, the dangers of social media, where babies come from, an understanding of the Common Good and living in the wider world.
The entire teaching is underpinned with a Christian faith understanding that our deepest identity is as a child of God – created, chosen and loved by God. The programme is fully inclusive of all pupils and their families.
English
Teaching of PSHE/RHE actively promotes the speaking and listening elements of English by ensuring that each year group takes part in a range of high-quality discussion activities where children are taught to respect the opinions of others, whilst sensitively sharing their own thoughts and feelings.
Science
During science lessons, children gain a greater depth of knowledge about the impact of healthy eating, exercise, sleep, the use of harmful substances and puberty on their bodies. They also learn about human reproduction.
RE
RE lessons promote the basic underlying message that we are created and loved by God and as such, we should show respect to our bodies.
PE
Pupils learn practical ways to keep their bodies healthy and the impact of safe, high- quality exercise on their health.
Impact
We believe that if children have successfully developed their knowledge and understanding of PSHE/RHE, then they will be able to articulate their understanding with confidence and demonstrate their learning through the way they manage relationships and cope with their changing emotions. The work produced by our children and the discussions they have, demonstrate that they are equipped with the social and emotional skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the secondary curriculum and for life as an adult. By the end of year 6, children have a sound understanding of relationships, emotions, how to look after themselves, different families and human reproduction. They are equipped with the appropriate knowledge to develop their skills and form positive beliefs, values and attitudes which will greatly benefit them as they move on to Key Stage 3.
A Guide to ZUMOS!
At St George’s we are passionate about building strong mental wellbeing and resilience in all our pupils. This is why as a school we have embraced Zumos as a part of our school’s pastoral care. Zumos is a leading online wellbeing system that is CAMHS kitemarked and was developed as part of the HeadStart project.
Children take part in daily sessions using Zumos to help improve their mental health and wellbeing. Each day the children log their feelings and take part in mindfulness breathing techniques. These feelings are then logged by the teacher and followed up if children are feeling not too great. Zumos is also used as a tool to support children who may experience different worries or who are faced with difficult situations.
Children have a personal Zumos homepage with their own personal log in details. On this homepage children are able to play CAHMS registered games and log their worries through their diary or their own worry box. These worries are then sent to both the classroom teacher and the PSHE Lead who monitor and reply to these worries.
On top of this, the children will also have access throughout each week to play the games, add in any worries to the worry box and listen to personalised podcasts in their toolbox. The messages are very powerful for all children and our teachers love to hear them too!
Children will access the daily check in and the How To Be Happy section. This is a short daily recording that offers a simple mind technique written by experts. It is designed to make us feel good, think positively, motivate and empower us.
Children will also access tasks throughout the week.
Chill room – a mindfulness area with guided breathing techniques, visualisations and ambient sounds to encourage regular practise of mindfulness.
Games room – to access to a library of vocal recordings of actions and steps to self-empower.
Worry Box – children can send messages to Teacher’s and are delivered emotional first aid.
About Me Quiz – 4 power quizzes focusing on resilience, self-confidence, well-being.
A Guide to the Zones of Regulation
At St George’s we incorporate The Zones of Regulation curriculum into our daily practise to create a climate where all students can thrive.
Regulation is something everyone continually works on whether we are aware of it or not. We all encounter trying circumstances that can test our limits. If we can recognise when we are becoming less regulated, we are able to do something about it to manage our feelings and get ourselves to a healthy place. This comes more naturally for some, but for others it is a skill that needs more attention and practice. This is the goal of The Zones of Regulation​.
Feelings are complicated. They come in different sizes, intensities, and levels of energy that are unique within our brains and bodies. To make them easier to talk about, think about, and regulate, The Zones of Regulation organises our feelings, states of alertness, and energy levels into four coloured Zones – Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red. The simple, common language and visual structure of The Zones of Regulation helps make the complex skill of regulation more concrete for learners and those who support them. We learn to regulate our Zones to meet our goals and task demands, as well as support our overall well-being.
All staff at St George’s have been trained to proactively teach and support students in their emotional growth through:
- regular opportunities for students and staff to check in with their Zones,
- common Zones visuals throughout the school,
- common Zones language used by all staff in all settings,
- easy access to Zones’ regulation tools for students and staff.
