Personal, Social, Health and Economic ( PSHE ) Education
PSHE at Velmead
‘Today’s children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also challenges and risks. In this environment, children and young people need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way.’
(Adapted from the foreword by the Secretary of State, in the Department for Education’s Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education statutory guidance)
Here at Velmead we put in place the key building blocks of healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships, in all contexts, including online. This sits alongside the essential understanding of how to be healthy and to foster pupil wellbeing, developing resilience and character that we know are fundamental to pupils being happy, successful and productive members of society.
It is vital that we develop pupils’ ability to believe that they can achieve goals, both academic and personal; to stick to tasks that will help them achieve these goals, even when the reward may be distant or uncertain; and to recover from knocks and challenging periods in their lives. This is complemented by development of personal attributes including kindness, integrity, generosity and honesty. The knowledge and attributes gained through PSHE will support pupils’ own, and others’, wellbeing and attainment and help young people to become successful and happy adults who make a meaningful contribution to society.
In addition, PSHE lessons are also linked to the statutory requirement to teach about the British Values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those with different faiths/beliefs.
Here at Velmead we follow the SCARF PSHE scheme of work provided by Coram Life Education. Coram Life Education is one of the leading providers of relationships, health, wellbeing, and drugs education. Meeting all DfE requirements for statutory Relationships and Health Education, and mapped to the PSHE Association programmes of study, they provide a framework of lesson plans, online planning and assessment – a whole-school approach to promoting behaviour, safety, achievement and wellbeing.
To learn more about Coram Life’s SCARF scheme of work, please follow this link: Coram Life
Coram Life Education Lessons April 2024
In April, our PSHE provider, Coram Life Education visited Velmead and delivered high-quality workshops to all 12 classes. Their expert educator provided inspiring enrichment experiences designed to develop essential life skills, covering topics such as drug use, safe and unsafe relationships and mental health.
Our pupils are always delighted to welcome Harold the Giraffe back to Velmead for his annual visit!
Year 4 These are our Rights Posters Apri l 2024
These are our Rights!
Rights for children can be described as things that every child should have, or be able to do, in order for them to be healthy, safe and happy.
In PSHE, Year 4 have been learning about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Year 4 know that with rights come the need to respect the rights of others - one person's rights can't be harmful to another person's rights. Here is a selection of the posters they created.
Life Education Lessons - 18th - 20th April 2023
This week Coram Life Education visited every class in the school, delivering high-quality workshops providing inspiring enrichment experiences, developing essential life skills. Their expert educator delivered workshops covering sensitive issues including drug use, safe and unsafe relationships and mental health.
Year 6 Friendship Poster February 2023
Year 6 know that all humans have basic emotional needs. One of the ways these needs can be met is through friendship, as shown in this poster by P6 and C6.
Year 4 Drama Freeze Frames March 2023
Through drama and freeze frames, Year 4 examined the concept of aggressive behaviour and what this might look like. They know that people are not aggressive in themselves but may show aggression - it is a behaviour. They discussed the reasons why someone might behave in an aggressive way and what witnesses could do to de-escalate the situation (active bystander behaviour).
PSHE Documents
Year 6 Assertiveness Skills October 2024
In PSHE, Year 6 have been working on their ASSERTIVENESS SKILLS
Most people, at some point, have felt under pressure to do something dangerous or unhealthy. Something that makes them feel uncomfortable, anxious or that they believe is wrong.
Most people overcome this pressure most of the time. They do this by being assertive.
Year 6 can now recognise peer influence and pressure and have developed their assertive behaviours, through role-play, to resist this peer influence and pressure. We hope you enjoy these posters created by P6 …
Year 4 Different Feelings October 2024
In PSHE recently, Year 4 have been identifying a wide range of feelings. They recognise that different people can have different feelings in the same situation and that you can experience more than one feeling at a time – like at a party when you can feel nervous but excited too.
Year 4 can explain how feelings can be linked to physical state, for example when feeling nervous you might get butterflies in your tummy.
We hope you enjoy these photos of some of our freeze-frame feelings poses …
The SCARF Hotel May 2024
The aim of the SCARF Hotel is to make all its guests comfortable, happy and fit & healthy. In their PSHE lesson, 04 designed the Scarf Hotel’s advertising brochure and had to consider the following points:
- What things will be there so that guests can exercise? [e.g: swimming pool, gym, tennis courts etc.]
- How will guests be able to get a good night’s sleep there? [e.g: comfortable beds, restrictions on noise]
- What are the other things guests can do to relax? [e.g: quiet areas both indoors and outdoors where guests can go by themselves or with friends to get away from it all, a library room where guests can go to read quietly from a selection of different books and magazines]
- Where are the places that guests can meet other people [e.g: a lounge area with comfortable seating]
- What will be on the menu so that everyone can choose a suitable balanced healthy diet?
Having thought carefully about what guests would need, we concluded the lesson with discussion about how each of us can help to keep a healthy balance in our own lives, choosing one thing they could do to improve one aspect of their health and wellbeing.
Year 6 - 5 Ways to Wellbeing Posters April 2024
Year 6 know that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health.
They are aware of the benefits of physical exercise, time outdoors, community participation, voluntary and service-based activity on mental wellbeing and happiness. In PSHE we have been examining simple self-care techniques, including the importance of rest, time spent with friends and family and the benefits of hobbies and interests.
Here are some examples of the posters they have created to promote 5 Ways to wellbeing.
Year 4 Stereotypes March 2024
In PSHE, Year 4 have been learning about Stereotypes and gender expectations. They understand that a stereotype is when we think one way of being fits all situations and that this can negatively influence behaviours and attitudes towards others. Part of the lesson involved working in pairs, looking at newspaper headlines and deciding what the stereotypical gender would be. One pupil drew the stereotype with the second pupil drawing the opposite. This lesson certainly generated some interesting discussion amongst our pupils.
Year 6 RESPECT Acrostics - January 2024
Whilst learning about tolerance and respect for others, Year 6 created RESPECT acrostics, examples of which are shown in the photos. Year 6 understand that the term prejudice means ‘pre-judgement’. A person is prejudiced when s/he has formed an attitude towards a particular group of people before having enough information on
