PHSE
At Downholland Haskayne, our primary aim is to make sure that we equip our children with the right skills and knowledge to stay safe and achieve their full potential. We believe that teaching our children to make informed decisions should lie at the heart of our teaching in PSHE. The decisions that we make define who we become and the experiences that we will encounter. For this reason, our curriculum is designed with a series of interactive lessons and videos, created by 1Decision, that teach our children how to make good decisions that will keep them safe and well. 1Decision provide life changing resources for children, that are focused on prevention not cure. The 1decision resources have been produced for the media generation and include interactive content suitable for all learning styles.
Our PSHE curriculum has been created from the statutory guidance published by the DfE and includes bespoke lessons that meet the needs of the children at Haskayne The lessons have been designed by the PSHE leader and teachers to make sure that they are appropriately matched to the social context of our school. he PSHE medium term plan is designed to be flexible to meet the needs of all our children.
Curriculum Aims
The aim of our PSHE curriculum is to equip our pupils with the skills to integrate themselves successfully into society. It provides opportunities for pupils to learn about and discuss how to conduct themselves in an increasingly complex world. It addresses how to stay safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way both on and offline. Our PSHE curriculum supports pupils to put in place the key building blocks for maintaining healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships, in all contexts. A strong sense of self- respect and esteem is established from EYFS to ensure that children are protected and equipped to stand up to any form of abuse. Teaching our pupils about physical and mental well-being is central to our intent and the curriculum is designed to give pupils the knowledge and capability to take care of themselves and seek support if problems arise. In each theme, children are clearly signposted to how to recognise when they need support in a range of contexts and who they can turn to in different situations. Consistent and progressive teaching about discrimination and equality is woven throughout each theme to ensure children celebrate difference and diversity.The PSHE curriculum is organised over a two- year cycle to meet the needs of our mixed age classes. Lessons are designed to meet the needs of all learners, and flexibility in the units is promoted in order to address emerging or topical issues. Teachers plan using the online resource ‘1Decision’ which is used to provide an interactive session based on real life decisions that the pupils have to make. This planning is blended with teacher planned sessions to meet the bespoke needs of their class.
Key concepts are revisited and built upon at an age appropriate level across the school.
As well as the explicit units of work that are taught in PSHE, strong links are made to our themes in worship/assembly sessions across the week, in the language of staff, in projects ran by the school parliament, RE sessions and the values upheld by the school. British values are woven into the PSHE curriculum and are continuously reinforced in the ethos of Downholland Haskayne
EYFS
In EYFS, children begin by learning to accept and embrace who they are. They are encouraged to recognise and identify the range of emotions and feelings they experience and how to handle these in positive ways. They then begin to look beyond themselves, developing empathy and the skills to co-operate, integrate and successfully build positive relationships.
KS1
In Key Stage One, as pupils study ‘Relationships’/ ‘Feelings and Emotions’ they recognise what constitutes to a positive relationship, how to deal with conflict or unhealthy relationships and how to foster respect for themselves and others. As they study ‘Keeping and Staying Safe and Healthy’ they learn about how to develop healthy lifestyles both physically and emotionally through learning about making healthy choices, personal hygiene, balanced diets, growing and changing and staying safe in contexts appropriate to their age. When studying ‘Living in the Wider World’ they develop an understanding of why we have rules, their role in the local environment and they begin to explore concepts linked to money.
KS2
In Key Stage Two, as pupils study ‘Relationships’/ ‘Feelings and Emotions/ ‘Growing and Changing’ they explore concepts around recognising and responding to their own and other’s feelings, understanding how they grow and change both physically and emotionally, building positive relationships and dealing with negative relationships at a deeper level. Concepts of trust, confidentiality, and challenging stereotypes are addressed throughout the curriculum. They study ‘Keeping and Staying Safe and Healthy’ at an increasingly more complex level, appropriate to their age, covering issues around ‘balanced’ healthy lifestyles, appropriate use of drugs, staying safe in the environments that they find themselves as their independence increases, making informed choices and managing feelings, risks and pressures as they grow and change. When studying ‘Living in the Wider World’ pupils develop a greater depth of understanding of concepts including diversity, sustainability, human rights and managing money.
The curriculum is designed to support the physical and mental development of each individual child. The impact of our curriculum is monitored on a very personal level by class teachers, through pupil interactions and their ability to function both academically and socially. The PSHE lead carries out questionnaires and pupil interviews, with the support of the school parliament, to monitor if whole school values and approaches are embedded in the pupil’s values, attitudes, understanding and attributes.
In 2025 a consultation took place with parents, staff, governors and children to implement an updated and contextual PSHE and relationships curriculum. The schools PSHE policy outlines this in more detail here. The responses to the consultation can be found below.
PSHE consultation
PSHE Documents