Personal Social Citizenship and Health

Intent

At East Hunsbury Primary School, our brilliant PSHE and C curriculum is aspirational, enabling and inclusive and sits at the heart of everything we do. We value the importance of developing our children as individuals as well as global, healthy citizens.

Our highly effective teaching in PSHE and C is developed through adopting a consistent approach and the follow up and follow through of our curriculum leaders, who monitor delivery and train and develop our teachers. Sessions are taught using a combination of quality circle time, class community time, assemblies, discussion and response tasks.

PSHE and C content is evident in our classrooms daily; it is not constrained to timetabled sessions.  Links within in other subjects are drawn to allow children to develop a more comprehensive understanding of health, wellbeing, relationships and how to be good citizens of the wider world. 

The overarching aims of our curriculum are that children will:

  • Develop the knowledge, skills and attributes that they need to navigate their lives now and, in the future, becoming brilliant global citizens.

  • Understand how to keep healthy and safe, including how to have purposeful and reciprocal relationships.

  • Understand the importance of valuing similarities and differences and how to recognise and manage their emotions. 

Underpinning all learning and woven throughout will be the British Values of: 

  • Democracy

  • Rule of Law 

  • Individual Liberty

  • Mutual Respect and 

  • Tolerance 

And the protected characteristics:

  • Age 

  • Disability 

  • Gender 

  • Sexuality 

  • Relationship Status 

  • Race

  • Religion or world view 

We took the strategic decision to develop our own PSHE and C curriculum tailored and developed for the precise needs of our pupils. Our curriculum is grounded in research, informed by our teachers, pupils and parents and follows a comprehensive and progressive coverage of key concepts. Through the implementation of this curriculum, it is intended that children are taught how to navigate their changing world and supported to develop positive relationships with themselves and others. They will be given the tools to recognise and manage their emotions and the mental fitness to equip them with tools for life.

It is the intent of our curriculum that by the end of Key Stage One pupils will: 

  • Have a positive relationship with themselves, peers and adults within the school 

  • Demonstrate a healthy attitude towards school and learning

  • Begin to demonstrate the British Values of democracy, tolerance, mutual respect, the rule of law and liberty

  • Respect the Protected Characteristics of; age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, relationship status, race, pregnancy and maternity

  • Know how to stay safe in their physical and digital worlds

  • Begin to have an awareness of their emotions and how to manage them

  • Begin to have an awareness of their own mental health and well-being 

  • Begin to develop an inclusive attitude that challenge discrimination in all forms 

  • Understand the changes that happen to themselves and other animals and have taken part in age-appropriate RSE

It is the intent of our curriculum that by the end of Key Stage Two pupils will: 

  • Have a positive relationship with themselves and the wider school community

  • Have developed a positive body image 

  • Demonstrate the British Values of democracy, tolerance, mutual respect, the rule of law and liberty

  • Respect the Protected Characteristics of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, relationship status, race, pregnancy and maternity

  • Demonstrate a healthy attitude towards learning and its place in their future 

  • Understand what constitutes as a healthy relationship and how to seek help if they find themselves in an unhealthy situation 

  • Have respect for themselves and others

  • Know how to stay safe in their digital and physical world

  • Have an inclusive attitude that actively challenges discrimination in all its forms 

  • Have an awareness and understanding of their own mental health and wellbeing and know where to turn for help should they need it 

  • Understand change and have strategies to draw on when they need to approach changes in their lives

  • Have an awareness of their emotions and how to manage them

Understand the physical aspects involved with RSE at a developmentally appropriate level.

 

Implementation 

Our PSHE + C programme is built around our school values and rules of be kind, work hard, believe and ready, respectful and safe. Each unit encompasses health and wellbeing, British Values, protected characteristics and emotional literacy. The curriculum is interleaved with opportunities to learn simple mindfulness tools and techniques.

As our rules and values underpin our brilliant curriculum, PSHE and C is a part of our daily lives at East Hunsbury Primary School. It is evident in all we are and all we do. Discrete teaching takes place in weekly assemblies, PSHE and C lessons and fortnightly Classroom Community time. 

Teaching of PSHE+C is evident in many of our curriculum areas and teams, we work very closely with our Health and Wellbeing and Careers and Aspirations curriculum teams.

 

Impact

Due to the personal nature of the subject, the impact of our PSHE and C curriculum is assessed in a distinctive way. Progress and attainment will manifest itself through:

  • The daily life at EHPS and how children interact with adults, peers and view themselves

  • Pupil’s manners and positive learning behaviours

  • Playground: happy play and lunch times

  • Displays and assemblies promoting the importance of PSHE and C

  • In the conversations that children hold and the values which they display

  • Work and the reflections that children complete

The impact will also be monitored through pupil voice, parent voice, teacher voice, the monitoring of written work and learning walks. 

Formal summative assessment takes place termly, where teachers assess the children against given questions for each learning area. This data is then recorded Insight annually at the end of the summer term.

 

More information about the progression of knowledge and skills through each year group can be found in the PSHE+C progression document. This can be found on our website under Key Information: Our Curriculum: Personal, Social, Health Education and Citizenship. 

As with our approach to all learning in the EYFS, our PSHE and C teaching combines direct taught sessions with hands-on learning through play experiences. The termly focuses of Be Kind, Be Ready, Be Hardworking, Be Respectful, Believe and Be Safe begin in the Early Years. Our pupils are supported and challenged by the adults working with them in whole class sessions, small groups and on a 1:1 basis. We focus on modelling expected behaviours and helping children to participate in purposeful play for learning. In everything we do, we focus on the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’ promoting positive learning behaviours.

As our pupils transition to Year One and beyond, their learning in PSHE and C is built upon through direct teaching in the focuses of Be Kind, Be Ready, Be Hardworking, Be Respectful, Believe and Be Safe. Children participate in weekly PSHE and C lessons and fortnightly Classroom Community time to address these. The curriculum is designed carefully, with consideration of metacognition and the learning memory, to ensure that knowledge and skills are built upon and retrieved sequentially.

The knowledge that our children learn in Key Stage One and Two is broken down into 6 units: Be kind, Be ready, Work hard, Be respectful, Believe and Be safe. Within each unit, children learn how to recognise these values and rules as well as how to identify specific emotions. The foundations are laid in Key Stage One, allowing for more in-depth learning to take place in Key Stage 2. For example, when learning about happiness in Key Stage 1, children may begin to identify how it feels to be happy and where in their bodies they feel this and in Key Stage 2 they start to learn the neuroscience of how and why we feel happy. 

Our children are also taught a discrete SRE (Sex and Relationships Education) unit in which their knowledge is grown from human and animal life cycles in Key Stage One to puberty in lower Key Stage Two and conception in upper Key Stage Two. The skills that children learn within this subject are centred around discussion, managing emotions, voting, listening and teamwork. 

More information about the progression of knowledge and skills through each year group can be found in the PSHE+C progression document. This can be found on our website under Key Information: Our Curriculum: Personal, Social, Health Education and Citizenship.

At East Hunsbury Primary School, our PSHE and C approach is further enriched in many ways. Some examples of this are:

  • Termly e-safety lessons 

  • Anti-bullying awareness 

  • NSPCC visits 

  • Liaison with outside agencies 

  • Reflection Room 

  • Relax Kids and Yoga sessions 

  • School Parliament

  • Pupil Voice 

  • Our positive behaviour strategy based on the works of Paul Dix (ready, respectful and safe) 

  • Inclusion opportunities 

  • Community links 

  • Sports Leaders 

  • Supporting local and wider world charities

  • Visitors such as Life Education, Blue Butterfly, Saints Values Programme and DHL Road Safety

  • Kindness Ambassadors

  • Play Leaders 

  • Mental Health First Aid

  • Mental Fitness Tool Kits

In PSHE and C, British Values and Protected Characteristics are taught with our termly units. The details of this can be seen in the table below.

 

British Values

Children learn about the British Values through assemblies and classroom discussions, and they are threaded throughout the PSHE and C curriculum. Some examples of this are:

Democracy: Children are encouraged to share their views, interests and options and vote for their preferences where appropriate. 

Rule of Law: Children are encouraged to follow and understand the school rules of “ready, respectful and safe” comparing these to the laws of our country.

Individual Liberty: Children are encouraged to reflect up on the freedoms they have such as Freedom of speech, freedom to choose (food, activities etc,) freedom to spend time with their friends and compare these to other people in the world. 

Mutual Respect: Children are encouraged to express different ways in which they can show respect towards our school community and beyond.

Tolerance: Children are actively taught how to make friends and build relationships with all people.

 

Protected Characteristics

The protected characteristics are actively promoted throughout our curriculum to ensure that pupils have an age-appropriate knowledge and understanding of the nine protected characteristics. Our curriculum, including PSHE and C, ensures that, as a school, we:

  • Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010.

  • Provide equality for all.

  • Foster good relations between persons.

Our curriculum is inclusive by design and is adapted carefully so that all children can access it. Adaptations are made to ensure that our PSHE and C sessions are developmentally appropriate for all our pupils. Pupils with identified needs are supported with a multi-modal communication model which includes Makaton signing language and Widget symbols. Pupils in our Specialist Unit access a bespoke curriculum.  Pupils who need additional support with their social, emotional or mental health needs are identified in several ways including using the Boxall Profile. Such pupils receive targeted intervention such as nurture Forest School, Yoga, Zones of regulation and many more. They also have access to our pastoral team which includes a Learning Mentor, Lead Behaviour Support Assistant and Mental Health First Aiders.

Our NEST Curriculum: 

Children in our mainstream nurture NEST provision will be taught an adapted curriculum that is developmentally relevant to their needs. This will change depending on the needs of the cohort and will be built around safe and unsafe behaviours and the Zones of Regulation.

Hive Curriculum:

Our Hive Life Skills curriculum runs throughout the year for all children to access. The topics covered in our SU are: 

  • My community

  • Keeping Safe

  • Love, and other feelings 

  • It’s Good to be Different 

  • Healthy Me 

  • Changes (including RSE) 

 

Due to the cohort of children, and the nature of their special educational need, these units are sometimes taught flexibly with individual children accessing learning appropriate to their developmental level.

We have worked closely with our Health and Wellbeing Team to develop our very own “Mental Fitness Tool Kit,” based on the NHS 5 ways to wellbeing. This is a physical tool kit that they add to and keep for their school career and beyond. Each year they learn new skills and techniques to help them develop their mental fitness within the areas of:

With the support of the Enterprise and Economics Team we provide financial education for all including using lessons from the Bank of England and visitors from Nationwide Bank. 

Alongside the Carers and Aspirations team we hold careers events and regularly invite inspirational speakers to come into our assemblies, such as British Gymnastics, to inspire our pupils in their future endeavours.

In 2025, our hard work in promoting kindness within our school and beyond was recognised by the national charity “52lives,” they voted us to be the national “school of kindness.” As a result of this, a group of our dedicated Kindness Ambassadors travelled to the House of Commons to lead a discussion around kindness with Members of Parliament, including the Leader of the House. We are very proud of this achievement and this wonderful group of children.