PSHE
We hope this page offers you a wealth of information about PSHE at Headfield. If you require any further information or support with PSHE, please contact our subject leader Miss Valli in Year 4.
Personal, social, health and economic education is a crucial part of the curriculum at Headfield Junior School. It helps to give the children the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society.
Children are encouraged to play an active part in school life, underpinned by our school faith values of respect, friendship, honesty, perseverance and kindess. There are also many opporunities for our pupils to develop valuable life skills through initiatives such as School Council, Prefects, E-Safety Ambassadors, Arts Ambassadors, Attendance Heroes, Reading Buddies and various fundraising events throughout the year.
PSHE is about preparing children for the challenges ahead of them and at Headfield Junior School our curriculum ensures just that.
The school plans PSHE education using the 3 core themes as advised by the PSHE Association.
- Relationships
- Health and Wellbeing
- Living in the Wider World
The 3 themes are taught across our bespoke PSHE curriculum, created and developed by our talented staff who have years of experience and knowledge of our local community and our pupils' needs. Classes have 1 PSHE lesson each week.
The PSHE curriculum has been designed to develop fully-rounded pupils who are healthy, sociable and emotionally literate and one which reflects the times we live in. Through their journey from Y3-6 Headfield children will have the opportunities to develop and be ready to become members of society (Staff Survey).
Our PSHE themes for each half term
| Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | |
| Autumn 1 | How can we be a good friend? | What strengths, skills and interests do we have? | What makes up a person’s identity? | How can we keep healthy as we grow? |
| Autumn 2 | What keeps us safe? | How do we treat each other with respect? | What decisions can people make with money? | |
| Spring 1 | What are families like? | How can we manage our feelings? | How will we grow and change? | How can the media influence people? |
| Spring 2 | What makes a community? |
How can our choices make a difference to others and the environment? |
How can friends communicate safely? | |
| Summer 1 | Why should we eat well and look after our teeth? |
How can we manage risk in different places? |
How can drugs common to everyday life affect health? | How can we become more independent? How do friendships change as we grow? |
| Summer 2 | Why should we keep active and sleep well? | How can we help in an accident or emergency? | What jobs would we like? |
Our curriculum is spiral and developmental, building year on year on previous learning.
I like all the units. Y6 Summer 2 encourages learners to show respect and an awareness that other people make different choices which may differ to our own (Staff Survey November 2022).
Which other areas does PSHE link closely with?
Safeguarding
One example of how we teach children to stay safe is through PSHE lessons and assemblies on NSPCC's Speak Out Stay Safe.
What is Speak out Stay safe?
Speak out Stay safe is an online safeguarding programme for children aged 5- to 11-years-old run by the amazing charity NSPCC. It is available to all primary schools in the UK and Channel Islands.
We support children to help them understand that abuse is never their fault - and that they have the right to be safe.
NSPCC's Speak out Stay safe programme helps children to understand that they always have a right to feel safe, and that they can speak to a trusted adult or Childline if they ever need help or support.
With the help of their mascot Buddy, the Speak out Stay safe programme covers topics like bullying and abuse - without using any scary words or adult language.
Children learn about the different types of abuse in a child-friendly and age appropriate way, so they can get help if or when they need it. We help them identify a trusted adult they can talk to if they're ever worried about themselves or a friend. And they learn about Childline, and how it can support them.
Bobby
Bobby is a theatre production just for our older children, already performed to over 6000 children in Kirklees. Bobby follows the experiences of a 12 year old boy who doesn't recognise he is part of a gang until it is too late. It forms part of our PSHE curriculum to increase our pupils' awareness of issues in society in a child-friendly manner.
Mental Health
Miss Holl is our Senior Mental Health Lead here at Headfield and our PSHE curriculum gives high regard to teaching and learning about physical and emotional wellbeing. Health and wellbeing is entwined within our PSHE learning as well as numerous key events across the academic year including:
- Children's Mental Health Week
- Mental Health Awareness Week
- World Mental Health Day (Hello Yellow)
Our most recent parent survey showed over 99% of parents believe their child is happy at school (Parent Survey October 2023).
Learning mentors supporting mental health
Learning mentors work with children and young people on a group or one-to-one basis. They provide support, motivation and guidance to help pupils overcome obstacles to their learning. These could include learning difficulties, family issues, mental health problems or a lack of confidence. Our learning mentors are Mrs Beadnell, Mrs Hans, Mr Moosa and Mrs Shears.
ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant)
Mrs Rollin in Year 6 develops and delivers individualised support programmes to meet the emotional needs of children across the whole school. The principles of ELSA recognise that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are also addressed.
1 to 1 support sessions
Miss Holl leads 1-1 sessions daily with pupils on a wide variety of topics to help improve their personal development. This could be support with bereavement, attendance, behaviour or home issues for example.
Public Health Data
Our PSHE curriulum has been designed using the latest research data for our local area. We ensure common health conerns are taught and discussed in detail to try and improve the health prospects for our next generation. For example:
- Why should we eat well and look after our teeth?
- Why should we keep active and sleep well?
- How can drugs common to everyday life affect health?
- How can we keep healthy as we grow?
The health elements of our PSHE work are enhanced by links with local organisations such as dentists and our school nursing team.
How is this PSHE assessed?
A variety of informal methods are used to assess learning in PSHE to inform teaching:
- At the start of each half termly unit children complete a baseline activity to inform their teacher of their existing knowledge. This ensure that their lessons are suitable and relevant to each group’s needs and abilities.
- Pupils will be provided with opportunities to reflect on their learning through the unit and its implications on their lives.
- Teachers will select from planned engaging activities to best demonstrate progress.
- Teachers, having observed the learning during an activity or series of lessons and through targeted questioning, will be able to voice progress from evidence and identify future learning needs.
- Staff, parent and child questionnaires provide insight into the effectiveness of PSHE teaching and learning and help establish areas for further
development. - Verbal feedback from parents and visitors to the school is used to assess the effectiveness of elements of children’s PSHE development.
- Children’s personal and social development is reported verbally to parents via parents’ evenings and in writing through the annual end of-year report.
How is PSHE monitored?
- Each year a PSHE action plan is created by our PSHE lead teacher to develop the subject which is monitored by governors on the curriculum committee and/or by our senior leadership team.
- The PSHE leader is responsible for monitoring the planning, teaching and assessment of the subject. This is achieved through book looks,
pupil voice, questionnaires, discussions with teachers and liaison with governors. - Feedback from teachers, parents and support staff about children’s personal and social development is also discussed at staff meetings and supports the
monitoring of PSHE provision.