Opening the Mansfield GATE through PSHE

• Generate: Children acquire knowledge and generate an understanding that provides them with an opportunity to explore the behaviours of themselves and others.
   
• Aspire: Children aspire by thinking critically and using information presented to them which challenges them to become good citizens.
   
• Together: Children reflect on events from their lives and around the world to understand how important PSHE is in having a positive impact on themselves and the world today.
   
• Enquire: Children enquire using their thoughts and ideas about how they live in the world and understand change by using evidence and asking questions of themselves.

Our Vision

At Mansfield Primary Academy, we use a mindful approach to PSHE, which brings together Personal, Social, Health Education, emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development in a comprehensive scheme of learning following the 1 Decision programme.

Implementation

At Mansfield Primary Academy, we teach Personal, Social, 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. Lessons are sequenced and flashbacks are provided so that prior learning is considered and opportunities for revision of language and grammar and built in. The lessons are taught weekly and give the relevant context to build skills, attitudes, self-esteem, resilience and confidence, all of which need to be taught explicitly as well as nurtured implicitly, thereby demanding a well-structured, progressive lesson-a-week process.

The PSHE curriculum supports our values “Respect, Responsibility and Resilience” in helping to foster pupil wellbeing and develop character that we know are fundamental to pupils being happy, successful and productive members of society. PSHE will equip our pupils with a sound understanding of risk and the knowledge and skills necessary to make safe and informed decisions.

The 1decision platform has been designed to be interactive, fun, and engaging. At its core are a series of short film clips with alternative endings, which encourage children to consider the consequences of different decisions. The video clip teaching sequence allows children to develop essential skills, knowledge, and vocabulary to manage different influences and pressures in their lives and to make safe and informed choices.

Planning

Each inspiring unit of work is expertly planned and resourced and supported by detailed teachers’ notes. Additional activities and links are planned to provide breadth and balance.

1decision is at the heart of our PSHE curriculum and is proficiently planned however teachers must adapt and personalise lessons to meet the specific needs of individuals, classes and the school.

In Early Years Foundation Stage, the learning experiences are planned from the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. The curriculum identifies seven areas of learning, with Personal, Social and Emotional Development being a key foundation to the PSHE curriculum. From September 2020 this will be supported and enhanced by “1decision” Early Years programme of study

PSHE is a non-statutory subject. However, there are aspects of it we are required to teach.

• ●We must teach relationships education under the Children and Social Work Act 2017, in line with the terms set out in statutory guidance
• ●We must teach health education under the same statutory guidance
• ●We must teach Relationships education and our governors have agreed that we will teach Sex Education.
• ●Our teaching must take due regard of the Equality Act 2011 This policy also complies with the terms of our funding agreement

Impact

Each lesson taught within the unit shows progression. However, the key element of this for school is knowing and being able to evidence the impact of the PSHE curriculum both on learners individually and in the school as a whole.

In accordance with the school’s assessment procedures, achievement and growth in PSHE is observed and recorded by class teachers. Any independent work is marked by the teacher in line with the School’s Marking policy.

The 1decision modules offer ample assessment to recognise student achievement and gaps in learning. They provide comprehensive baseline assessments for every unit, end of unit assessments and reflective self- assessments. These assessments will be used by teachers to inform their next steps in planning for PSHE. Progress for the statutory elements of PSHE (Relationship Education and Health Education) will be recorded on our school tracker in line with other foundation subjects.

The essential skills and attributes identified in the PSHE programme of study are arguably the hardest aspect of learning to assess. It is difficult for teachers to accurately assess a pupil’s self-confidence or sense of their own identity and values. However, pupils themselves will be able to judge, for instance, whether they feel more confident, or have a firmer sense of their own beliefs and opinions than they did before a particular series of lessons. Such personal reflection in PSHE education lessons is essential, so ensuring pupils have time and space within the lessons to reflect on this, either privately or through discussion, is a vital part of the assessment process. Assessing learning in PSHE education must therefore use a combination of teacher assessment and pupil self- and peer assessment.

Regular discussions with pupils to evaluate and understand their skills and to understand exactly what the children feel is the impact on them of their learning.

As 1 Decision PSHE is a whole-school approach, rather than simply a lesson-a-week Scheme of Work for PSHE, there are numerous layers built in that engender a sense of belonging and community, and that value every individual, for example: praising one attitude or behaviour each week through the Weekly celebration and celebrating every child’s contribution to the school community through the end of unit quizzes  (a display or whole-school activity that includes everyone’s involvement or work). The 1 Decision Families Programme outreaches the philosophy of positive psychology and mindfulness into the home too.

Much of the subject-specific knowledge developed through the 1 Decision approach equips pupils with experiences and understanding which will benefit them in secondary school, further education and future workplaces. We want to ensure that PSHE at Mansfield Primary Academy is loved by teachers and children across school, therefore providing children the building blocks that enable them to pursue a wide range of interests and vocations in the next stage of their lives.