PSHE

What does a global citizen look like at Margaret Wix Primary School?

• Be able to demonstrate that they recognise their own worth and that of others, and identify positive ways to face new challenges.
• The ability to express their views confidently, and listen to and show respect for the views of others. 
• The ability to make choices about how to develop healthy lifestyles (both physically and mentally). 
• The ability to identify some factors that affect emotional health and well-being. 
• Ability to identify different types of relationships and show ways to maintain good relationships.
• Research, discuss and debate topical issues, problems and events. 
• Understand why and how rules are made and enforced, why different rules are needed in different situations and take part in making and changing rules. 
• Demonstrate respect and tolerance towards others, and resolve differences by looking at alternatives, making decisions and explaining choices. 
• Shown an appreciation of the diversity of religious, and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom and describe some of the different beliefs and values in society. 
• Be able to articulate the meaning of the British Values and how these support harmony within their own and wider communities.

Intent – why are we teaching this?

PSHE and Citizenship are non-statutory subjects under the National Curriculum, with the exception of health and relationships education being statutory in primary schools since September 2020.  Despite them being non-statutory, The Department for Education (DfE) has stated: “Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is an important and necessary part of all pupils’ education. All schools should teach PSHE, drawing on good practice, and this expectation is outlined in the introduction to the proposed new national curriculum.”

At Margaret Wix we believe that personal, social, health, and economic (PSHE) education is essential in order to support our pupils to become independent, healthy, safe, kind and responsible members of the community. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development is at the heart of our vision, values and ethos.  It is promoted through a well-organised PSHE curriculum as well as a wide range of additional enrichment activities.   It is our duty to nurture pupils to be thoughtful, caring and active citizens in school and in wider society but we also aim to prepare our pupils to be confident, happy citizens.  We also feel it is necessary to ensure that all pupils know how to keep themselves and others safe.

We believe that our PSHE curriculum and ethos encompasses all of the above and that our learning powers and values are entwined and promoted through our half-termly PSHE topics.  Margaret Wix strives for pupils to achieve their academic potential and to leave school equipped with skills they will need throughout later life.

Margaret Wix Learning Powers and Values:

Respect for Others, Self-belief, Curiosity, Resilience, Kindness

The Margaret Wix community is diverse and we understand the vital need for representation within our teaching. We ensure diversity across the curriculum: careful thought and planning has gone into selecting whose stories we tell and how they are told. Our curriculum has been re-examined and we have endeavoured to reduce the western bias. We strive to ensure that BAME pupils see themselves reflected in our curriculum, all year round. We call our personalised curriculum ‘The Wix Way’. In PSHE, this includes learning about different cultures and comparing these with our own ways of life. 

The EEF 'five-a-day' underpins all we do for our SEND learners in PSHE As part of The Wix Way this means that small tweaks to the way we teach PSHE for all children could make a significant, positive difference for the pupils with SEND in our school.

Implementation – how are we teaching this?

At Margaret Wix we have taken the mindful approach advocated through Jigsaw which includes statutory relationships and health education and have adapted this approach to meet the needs of our children. Jigsaw states that, “Jigsaw 3-11 offers a comprehensive Programme for Primary PSHE including statutory Relationships and Health Education, in a spiral, progressive and fully planned scheme of work, giving children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others.”

Every class from Nursery to Year 6 receives a PSHE curriculum using the Jigsaw scheme of work.  This is underpinned through a whole school approach. Weekly PSHE skills are focussed upon as a whole school and discrete lessons promote these skills.  The Jigsaw skill of the week is introduced at the beginning of the week via a whole school assembly with a PSHE theme. Teachers, support staff and children are encouraged to demonstrate this skill and to notice others showing it.  Teachers ensure that a discrete PSHE lesson is taught, linking to this skill, using the Jigsaw resources.  Every Friday, after considering the pupil voice on who should win, the class teacher selects a pupil as the Jigsaw learner of the week who receives a certificate in celebration assembly for demonstrating this skill. 

Parents and carers are integral to our approach. They attend the weekly whole school assembly and witness the Jigsaw winners. Throughout the term, important updates, links and information is shared via our social media feed and parent mail. In addition, parents and carers are invited to feedback their views regarding this area of curriculum as part of Parent/Carer Forum and policies are shared as and when appropriate. 

Jigsaw consists of six half-term units of work (Puzzles), each containing six lessons (pieces) covering each academic year.

We implement the 'five-a-day' strategy from the EEF within the teaching of PSHE in variety of ways. The five strategies identified as having strong evidence for their effectiveness in supporting pupils with SEND which we use to underpin The Wix Way:

1. Explicit instruction

Explicit instruction refers to a range of teacher-led approaches, focused on teacher demonstration followed by guided practice and independent practice. Explicit instruction is not just ​“teaching by telling” or ​“transmission teaching”

Examples:

• Worked examples with the teacher modelling self-regulation and thought processes is helpful. A teacher might teach examples of the lesson outcome by ‘talking aloud’ their thought process, demonstrating to children how they should approach the task or discussion.
• Using visual aids and objects promotes discussion and links in learning.

2. Cognitive and metacognitive strategies

Cognitive strategies are skills like memorisation techniques to help children remember their learning.

Metacognitive strategies help pupils plan and evaluate their learning.

Examples:

• Word banks and prompt to promote accurate selection.
• Use of floor books to prompt and build on previous learning
• Effective teacher talk to model thinking aloud.

3. Scaffolding

‘Scaffolding’ is a metaphor for temporary support that is removed when it is no longer required. Initially, a teacher would provide enough support so that pupils can successfully take part in class discussions and any follow up tasks that they could not do independently.

Examples:

• Support could be visual, verbal, or written.
• Include a variety of oracy rich opportunities throughout the lesson e.g. use of sentence stems, speaking frames, concept cartoons, discussion prompts, talk tactics to enable all pupils to access learning.

4. Flexible grouping

Flexible grouping describes when pupils are allocated to smaller groups based on the individual needs that they currently share with other pupils. Such groups can be formed for an explicit purpose and disbanded when that purpose is met

Examples:

• Allocating temporary groups can allow teachers to set up opportunities for collaborative learning, for example to work with a learning partner, mixed ability group work, independently carry out a skill, developing a new concept.
• Teachers are flexible in moving the positions of learners to suit the needs of the class and differing abilities.
• Pre-teaching key vocabulary to be used in some PSHE lessons to enhance group discussion is helpful when learning new content.

5. Use technology

Technology can assist teacher modelling. Via the use of the internet, a wealth of videos and sound clips can be shared with children to support learning and understanding.

Examples:

• Use a visualizer to model worked examples of tasks, modelling or sharing good examples from peers.
• Where appropriate, iPads are used to record physical activities or capture discussions/opinions/answers of pupils.

Impact – what is the effect on the pupils?

The children at Margaret Wix Primary will:

• Become independent, healthy, safe, kind and responsible members of the community. 
• Flourish into thoughtful, caring and active citizens in school and in wider society.
• Be prepared to become confident, happy citizens.
• Know how to keep themselves and others safe.

The impact of our PSHE curriculum is continually evaluated by:

• Regular monitoring that includes triangulating data with book looks, lesson drop-ins and pupil voice discussions. This includes ensuring that the EEF 'Five a Day' are utilised to make certain that all pupils make measurable progress.
• Capturing knowledge and teaching carefully through the use of whole class big books that we call Jigsaw Journals.  Each class book records each lesson using photographs of interactive learning, samples of written work, pupil views, a clear learning intention, key vocabulary and a brief description of the lesson. These class books are monitored termly to identify the impact of the teaching and to ensure progression across the year groups.
• Teachers completing summative assessments every half term for each Jigsaw topic, placing pupils appropriately according to the PSHE objectives.  This tracks pupils’ progress and indicates next steps for individual pupils as well as areas for consolidation.
• Pupil voice which is gained during whole class lessons and evidence of this is recorded in the whole class Jigsaw Journal.  This shows a range of learning through verbal discussions and circle times, especially for much younger children.
• Teachers collecting further examples of how the teaching of PSHE has impacted pupils. We talk to small groups of pupils across the school and gain their views about the subject and some of the knowledge and skills that they have learnt.
• CPD carried out by teaching staff at least once yearly to ensure they remain up to date with developments within the subject (particularly in areas including RSE).
• The subject has a link governor who makes at least termly visits to school. In addition, the subject lead also meets with the governing board to ensure that they are aware of the school’s current performance in PSHE, the action plan and the measures being put in place to improve attainment and progress in the subject.

In addition to the Jigsaw scheme of work, we promote PSHE, SMSC and our vision and values through additional opportunities for children that link with PSHE, the wider community, British values and to nationwide/worldwide celebrations. Examples of these include:

• Hello Yellow Day to promote healthy wellbeing, support the charity Young Minds and to celebrate World Mental Health Day
• Black History Month to celebrate difference and promote aspirations
• NSPCC Speak Out and Stay Safe assemblies to teach children to stay safe
• Anti-bullying Week to raise awareness of bullying and support pupils to prevent it and respond to it safely and appropriately
• Links to the Computing curriculum with online safety https://www.margaretwix.herts.sch.uk/online-safety/
• Pupil Leadership through the Parliament, House Captains and the Charity Committee
• Donations to the local food bank
• Various charity days including BBC Children in Need
• NSPCC Number Day
• Various Trips including Crucial Crew and Residentials
• School Parliament empowered by working with the kitchen staff to have their say regarding healthy eating
• Links between older and younger children during playtimes to increase social interaction and well-being
• Various cross-curricular activities including Gardening Club where the produce can be eaten by the children
• Various visits from religious and community leaders including Bishops, Rabbis and Imams
• Aspirations Day

Aspirations For The Future

Pupils develop an understanding of how subjects and specific skills are linked to future jobs. 

Here are some of the jobs you could aspire to do in the future: 

• Guide Dog Trainer 
• Rehoming Assistant 
• Kit Manager 
• Attractions Manager
• Social worker
• Politician
• Counsellor
• Teacher
• Lecturer