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PSHCE and SMSC in our Curriculum

Mrs Carnall is our PSHCE and SMSC Lead

If you have any questions or would like any more information about PHSE in our curriculum, please contact Mrs Carnall on Class Dojo.

SMSC Statement of Intent:

The Senior Leadership Team and whole school community at Alvaston Infant and Nursery School recognise the importance of teaching children how to be happy, how to thrive and how to care for themselves, one another and their environment. All stakeholders contribute to developing a curriculum pathway document, which looks at any barriers that may prevent children in our school from thriving in the 21st century. In partnership, we will document how we will work with others to plan a bespoke provision, which will enable children to overcome these barriers and help them to live their best life, year upon year.

We value the power of children’s voice and the importance this has on helping improve the school and its community. We will continually provide them with a wealth of opportunities for them to make suggestions and to grow and develop as leaders in their own right. This will be done through suggestion boxes, debates and discussions, school council meetings and many other platforms.  We feel strongly that children deserve to learn how to appreciate each other and differing opinions so that they can live in harmony. We are committed to teaching children social, moral, spiritual and cultural appreciation. As a school, teachers feel that these 4 elements underpin successes in many areas and children need to feel valued and they need to learn about and explore the world around them in order to discover who they are.

Class teachers work with leaders to map out intended yearly outcomes, which are progressive and which will require children to consider and discuss ‘big questions.’ As a result, we believe the discrete SMSC lessons and provision that we offer will be of a high quality and will allow children to explore sensitive issues in an age appropriate manner. This will strengthen children’s critical and philosophical thinking and will help them to become positive members of the community.

Teachers will also observe children and will analyse trends and patterns in order to use both ‘in the moment’ planning and to plan more structured sessions. This is so that we can adapt and respond to the needs of all pupils. SMSC will be further delivered through the structured and agreed assembly provision.

The Senior Leadership Team are committed to ensuring that SMSC runs like a golden thread throughout the school. They will work with all leaders to ensure that children receive a tailored, rich and high-quality SMSC provision. They will be regularly involved in monitoring the subject alongside the SMSC lead and others. As a staff body, we have undertaken copious research and have furthered our own learning so that our behaviour approach is centred around empowering children to self-regulate, resolving conflicts and making the right choices more independently. We are committed to ensuring that there is a common, positive language shared amongst all stakeholders and that we recognise that mistakes are made and should be learnt from and celebrated. We all know that everyone is unique and everyone has differing needs, therefore, we make reasonable adjustments to policy and practice, so that every member of our school family can thrive in our inclusive environment. This ultimately helps them to live their best life and be the best that they can be.

PSHE Statement of Intent

At Alvaston Infant and Nursery School, we aim for all children to be able to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to enable them to become ‘the best that they can be’, both now and in the future.

Through the explicit and implicit teaching of PSHCE, our intention is for all children to reach their full potential and become respectful citizens, making positive contributions to their communities and celebrating differences in our culturally diverse world.

The children will learn how to recognise and develop positive relationships and manage their own behaviour and attitudes. Through our bespoke curriculum, the children will learn the importance of good physical and mental health, including how to look after their own wellbeing and that of others.

At Alvaston Infant and Nursery School, we feel that it is of paramount importance that our children are safe, happy and well cared for.  Through our teaching about the ‘Rights of the Child’, the children will learn how to assess and manage risk so that they are equipped with the necessary tools to keep themselves and others safe.

We aim to inspire our children to believe in their own strengths and abilities so that they can have high hopes and aspirations for the future.

What will I be learning about?

You will be:

  • learning about the key building blocks of healthy and respectful relationships. This will focus on family and friendships, including those friendships online. This learning will sit alongside the essential understanding of how to be healthy.

  • learning about happiness and mental wellbeing. This will include; how to take care of yourself, how to to be kind and care for others and where to go for help if you need it.

  • learning about risk and gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to make safe and informed decisions.

  • developing resilience, fundamental to happiness, success and becoming productive members of society.

  • developing self-belief in achieving goals, both academic and personal and learning how to recover from knocks and challenging periods.Knowledge and Skills Progression:

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.