Intent

At St. William’s we encourage and inspire our children to achieve their personal best everyday. Within our community we aim to nurture individuals and develop pride and mutual respect for each other and our school. We believe PSHE gives children the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives and to become informed, active responsible citizens. We aim to ensure our pupils become self-aware, recognise their own worth, manage their own feelings, make and sustain relationships, work well with others and become increasingly responsible for their own learning. They are encouraged to reflect on their own experiences, and to understand how they are developing personally and socially. Children are given the opportunity to explore many of the moral, social, cultural and spiritual issues that are relevant to their lives.

Our Intent is underpinned by:

  • Safe and Loving Environment -Our strong Catholic ethos provides a safe and loving environment where children feel confident to try new things and make mistakes. Children know they are able to discuss fears and worries within school and will be supported in any way we can.
  • Behaviour Management - We have a positive behaviour management policy, focusing on rewards as opposed to sanctions. Children are encouraged, through restorative questioning to take responsibility for their actions and given opportunities to learn form mistakes and grow.
  • Knowledge - Through explicit teaching in PSHE lessons we provide children with an understanding of their own physical and mental health and wellbeing. We aim to provide all pupils with self-help strategies so they may live safe, healthy, happy lives in school and beyond.
  • Modelling - Staff are positive role models for children in school. We aim to exemplify good practice from PSHE making and maintaining good relationships, being honest and being available to talk with the pupils.

Implementation

  • Life to the Full -The Life to the Full programme is based on the structure of ‘A Model Catholic RSE Curriculum’ by the Catholic Education Service. This model curriculum was highlighted as a work of good practice by the Department of Education. Life to the Full is much more than a series of lessons. It is an entire platform of creative resources that will engage, inform and inspire children. This includes interactive video content, story-based activities, employing a wide range of teaching tools, original worship music and an accompanying programme of classroom prayers.
  • Team Up Kids - Team Up Kids explores the science behind our brain -it’s chemicals and how an imbalance in these can lead to certain feelings or behaviours. It equips children with real world techniques to restore chemical imbalance.
  • School Council - Our pupils experience the process of democracy in school through the election of class representatives, who make up the school council. They are encouraged to voice their views, ideas and opinions through this process, thus making a positive contribution to the school community.
  • Celebration Assembly - Weekly celebration assemblies are held in school to promote the positive actions of members of our school community. Awards are given not just for academic achievements but also for those exemplifying positive behaviours and attitudes towards themselves, others and their learning.
  • Counselling Services - Two members of staff are trained as Rainbows Counsellors within school to offer internal counselling to children who may need extra support. Rainbows is a small support group format and children are encouraged to support their peers. We also have a service level agreement with 'The Road Centre' - an external counselling service who support children with blocks of counselling sessions when the need arises..
  • Visitors - Where it is appropriate visitors will be invited into school to help support PSHE teaching and learning. The school nurse visits different classes at different times to deliver specialist sessions and FISCH visit school every 2 years to monitor the health and wellbeing of year 5 and 6 pupils.
  • Interventions -For children identified as needing extra support we have a range of age-appropriate interventions in school. Examples include socially speaking, brick therapy and the anxiety gremlin.
  • External Trips -School visits are arranged to support PSHE. Class 5 have a yearly opportunity to attend a county organised safety carousel. We have also attended a wellbeing festival organised by Go Well (formerly Sedgefield Sports Partnership.
  • Mental Health First Aider - We have a trained mental health first aider in school. All concerns are passed to her and she is able to provide direction to staff, children and their families of the appropriate course of action.
  • ELSA -  Emotional Literacy Support Assistant's (ELSA's) support children over an initial period of 6 -12 sessions to provide them with a safe, private space where they can be reflective about their emotions and explore strategies to help themselves self manage their anxieties and worries. Children are set SMART targets to raise their self-esteem.

Impact

We monitor the impact of our PSHE curriculum through:

  • Pupil Voice - Discussions with children in school show they feel safe and listened to. They enjoy participating in school council and feel their voice is listened to and respected. The children know what to do should they feel unsafe and are able to display some self-regulation strategies.
  • Monitoring - A sample of children from each class are monitored each half term using a wellbeing questionnaire from the Good Childhood Index so we assess the impact of our PSHE teaching. Teachers also monitor the wellbeing of children in their class daily and we aim to create a safe environment in which pupils feel able to discuss any issues they may have. Children identified as having additional PSHE needs are quickly provided with the necessary support they may need.
  • Parent Voice - Surveys completed by families to check on their child's happiness and well being