Orchard Park Community Primary School

PSHE at Orchard Park – What It’s All About

Intent – What We Want for Your Child

At Orchard Park, we believe PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) is essential for helping children grow into happy, healthy, confident individuals who can play a positive role in society.

Our PSHE curriculum is designed to:

• Support children’s emotional wellbeing and mental health

• Help children learn how to form positive relationships and keep themselves safe

• Teach them about rights and responsibilities as members of a diverse community

• Encourage resilience, confidence, and a strong sense of self-worth

We want children to understand how they are growing and changing, both personally and socially, and to give them the knowledge and tools to make good choices in life. Through PSHE, we also help pupils understand and respect British Values, including democracy, the rule of law, mutual respect, and tolerance.

PSHE plays a big role in promoting safeguarding and links closely with our work on spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development.

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Implementation – How We Teach It

We follow a clear, well-structured programme of PSHE lessons provided by the Cambridgeshire PSHE Service. These lessons cover all the key areas of learning, including those that became compulsory in 2020 (such as relationships and health education).

Our lessons are taught in paired year groups (e.g. Years 1/2, 3/4) and build on children’s knowledge as they grow. Children in Nursery and Reception begin learning about their feelings, friendships, and how to keep safe, laying the foundations for learning in later years.

Each new topic begins with children sharing what they already know and what they’d like to learn. This helps teachers to tailor lessons to children’s needs and interests. We make sure that all children, whatever their ability or background, have full access to the PSHE curriculum.

Although PSHE is taught as a subject in its own right, it also links to everything we do at school. Our values are woven through daily life – in assemblies, in the playground, in class discussions, and in how we support one another.

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Impact – The Difference It Makes

As children move through the school, they:

• Learn how to manage emotions and speak confidently about their feelings

• Understand how to build healthy relationships and stay safe in the real and online world

• Gain a deeper understanding of mental and physical health

• Develop the tools to be kind, respectful and thoughtful members of society

• Learn to celebrate differences and become responsible global citizens

You’ll see this in their PSHE books, their everyday interactions with others, and their ability to talk about the topics we cover. Most importantly, you’ll see children who are growing in confidence, empathy and self-awareness – skills that are vital for life, not just for school.