Why we teach Personal, Social and Health Education

At St. Anne’s Infant School, we believe that high quality Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is crucial to children learning about themselves and others.  Through high quality, hands on experiences, children develop their self-esteem, positive attitudes and behaviours, enabling them to make informed decisions and judgements.

Our children learn to keep themselves safe and gain knowledge of how to live a healthy lifestyle both physically and emotionally.  We recognise wellbeing and mental health is not only a vital precursor to their academic success but ensures children are ready for the next stage in their education and the wider world.

Children are equipped with the knowledge and empathy to become responsible citizens, showing respect and understanding for others whilst gaining a sense of their own role within their community.

The knowledge, skills and understanding children develop

Through our engaging PSHE curriculum, our adventurous children develop their resilience and are equipped with the skills to navigate, participate and stay safe in our ever-changing world.  Building successful relationships is of prime importance at St Anne’s and focus is placed on children working collaboratively to explore themes of a social and emotional nature.

Children widen their vocabulary through opportunities to explore and discuss real life issues that challenge their thinking, encourage self-reflection and develop their skills to communicate effectively. 

Having a growth mindset underpins children’s approach to learning, therefore through our stimulating PSHE experiences, children’s self-belief and ‘can-do’ attitude is nurtured.  Children benefit from every opportunity taken to practise and apply their reading, writing and maths skills within the PSHE curriculum.

The learning experience

Every child in our school engages in PSHE as a fundamental building block to becoming a happy, healthy and responsible member of school and society. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is at the heart of everything we do and is a thread that runs throughout the curriculum from Nursery to Year 2.  Our chosen learning platform ‘Jigsaw’, gives children the opportunity to reflect on topics that help them to understand relationships, their changing bodies, their dreams and goals, healthy lifestyles, a sense of self in this world.  Children’s interest is captured through the use of the class ‘Jigsaw’ characters who encourage them to feel safe to express their thoughts and feelings, whilst respecting those of others.  

Class discussion, whole school assemblies, stories, powerful images and role play inspire the children to broaden their knowledge and explore current themes.  British values are promoted though the over-arching aims and objectives of PSHE, preparing all of our children for life and work in modern Britain.