“Here at St. Joseph’s, we aim to provide a high-quality PSHE curriculum which will enable children to participate successfully in today’s diverse society.”
PSHE Curriculum
Our intention is that when children leave St. Joseph’s, they will do so with the knowledge, understanding and emotions to be able to play an active, positive and successful role in today’s diverse society. As such, we follow Islington’s ‘You, Me, PSHE’ sequence of work, which aims to equip pupils with essential skills for life. It intends to develop the whole child through carefully planned and resourced lessons that develop the knowledge, skills and attributes pupils need to protect and enhance their well-being. Through tailored lessons, pupils will learn how to understand and implement the key values of a PSHE curriculum independently. This will include staying safe and healthy, building and maintaining successful relationships – and becoming active citizens who participate in society responsibly – now and in the future. Within PSHE a cross-curricula approach is also adopted, incorporating learning in RE, RSE, Science, Computing and PE.
In the Foundation Stage, PSHE is an integral part of the topic work covered throughout the year. The sequence of work is intended to be taught in topics and across other strands to enable pupils to build upon previous learning and explore areas both relevant and appropriate to their level.
Throughout KS1 and KS2 PSHE has been sub-divided into 7 different strands and within each strand, there are age appropriate topics for the different year groups.
The seven strands of PSHE are as follows:
• Careers, financial capability and economic wellbeing
• Drug, alcohol and tobacco education
• Relationships, health and sex education
• Identity, society and equality
• Keeping safe and managing risk
• Mental health and emotional wellbeing
• Physical health and wellbeing
The units are designed to be delivered in a creative way, using many approaches such as role play, discussion and games with groups of various sizes. The activities should help pupils to build confidence and resilience. Evidence of the work completed is gathered into individual pupil folders as well as a whole-class big book so that the focus is on the discussions and the children’s understanding of what is taught and not on the written aspects.
Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing
At St Joseph’s the mental health and wellbeing of the school community is extremely important. Teaching about mental well-being is central to ensuring that pupils are well-prepared for the challenges that lay ahead of them. Our curriculum will equip pupils with the knowledge and capability to take care of themselves and show them how to get support if a problem arises.
We aim to foster pupil well-being and develop resilience and virtues that are fundamental to pupils being successful, productive members of society. We have taken all factors into account to design a bespoke curriculum that nurtures social and emotional development. Support is also provided to children when they find particular topics more challenging.
Children are supported in other ways throughout the school to support positive mental health and wellbeing. In EYFS and KS1 each child has a care bear, which they can share with their teacher to raise any concerns or worries they have. In KS2, each class has a worry box where children can share any concerns, whether they arise from lessons or from something else.
We have dedicated nurture groups that meet weekly to support wellbeing, and Islington CAHMS, visit the school every week, providing support for pupils, parents and staff.
Events are organised throughout the year to support children’s health and wellbeing including:
• Visits from the school nurse to talk about a variety of health issues across the school, from personal hygiene to diet and nutrition.
• Islington Junior Citizenship Programme
• Online Safety
• Knife Crime and Youth Violence Workshops through the Ben Kinsella Trust.
Whole School PHSE Curriculum Map 2022
Mental Health Awareness
Watch our video to find out how we stay mentally healthy at St. Joseph’s Primary School.