PSHE

At Hartley Primary Academy, we teach Personal, Social and Health Education as a whole-school approach to underpin children’s development as people and because we believe that this also supports their learning capacity. Our curriculum also supports the “Personal Development” and “Behaviour and Attitude” aspects required under the Ofsted Inspection Framework, as well as significantly contributing to the school’s Safeguarding and Equality Duties, the Government’s British Values agenda and the SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural) development opportunities provided for our children. 

Here, at Hartley Primary Academy, we value PSHE as one way to support children’s development as human beings, to enable them to understand and respect who they are, to empower them with a voice and to equip them for life and learning. Our children will be prepared for life in modern Britain and will be taught the importance of mutual respect, tolerance and democracy. Our curriculum is taught through the International Baccalaureate philosophy and we will deliver this to a high standard, providing our children with the essential life skills, which will later help them to navigate through a variety of real life situations. 

To ensure progression and a spiral curriculum, we use Jigsaw as our chosen teaching and learning programme and tailor it to our children’s needs. The mapping document: Jigsaw 3-11 and statutory Relationships and Health Education, shows exactly how Jigsaw and therefore our school, meets the statutory Relationships and Health Education requirements. PSHE will be taught both discreetly, as stand alone lessons, as well as within our transdisciplinary themes via assemblies and collective worship, praise and reward systems, Learning Charters, through relationships child to child, adult to child and adult to adult across the school. We aim to ‘live’ what is learnt and apply it to everyday situations in the school community. The six topics that are taught throughout each year of school are:

Autumn 1: Being Me in My World

Includes understanding my own identity and how I fit well in the class, school and global community. Jigsaw Charter established.

Autumn 2: Celebrating Difference

Includes anti-bullying (cyber and homophobic bullying included) and understanding 

Spring 1: Dreams and Goals

Includes goal-setting, aspirations, who do I want to become and what would I like to do for work and to contribute to society

Spring 2: Healthy Me

Includes drugs and alcohol education, self-esteem and confidence as well as healthy lifestyle choices, sleep, nutrition, rest and exercise

Summer 1: Relationships

Includes understanding friendship, family and other relationships, conflict resolution and communication skills, bereavement and loss

Summer 2: Changing Me

Includes Relationships and Sex Education in the context of coping positively with change

The DfE Guidance 2019 (p.23) recommends that all primary schools ‘have a sex education programme tailored to the age and the physical and emotional maturity of the pupils. However, ‘Sex Education is not compulsory in primary schools’. (p. 23) At Hartley Primary Academy, we believe children should understand the facts about human reproduction before they leave primary school. Our Sex Education will begin in Year 4, where the children will learn about characteristics inherited from eggs/sperm and the basics of menstruation and how this enables women to have babies when they are older. In Upper Key Stage Two, in Year 5, the children will learn about the basics of conception, including understanding the role of sperm and ovum. In Year 6, they will learn how a baby, from conception, grows and develops until birth.

By the end of a child’s time at Hartley Primary Academy, they will be a happy, confident and responsible individual. The impact will be seen through their positive interactions with one another and their healthy outlook towards school and the wider community. They will have an understanding and acceptance of how people in a community can be different and celebrate this. Children will be aware of how their own actions, as well as the actions of others, can have an impact and will confidently apply their understanding of the world to deal with situations responsibly. Each class creates a floorbook that includes examples of work undertaken throughout the term. These provide evidence of learning and a tool to promote discussion with the children about their learning. When a child leaves us, the knowledge and skills learnt through PSHE/RSE will support them on their journey to becoming a well-rounded individual, capable of making well-informed decisions.