Learning for Life
Our PSHE/ RSHE curriculum is called "Learning for Life" at Handcross Primary School.
At Handcross Primary School we believe that teaching personal, social, health education (PSHE) and citizenship is vital in providing a broad and balanced curriculum. Statutory RSHE helps children to become confident, responsible and independent young people, who are developing vital skills to keep themselves safe.
Our Learning for Life Lessons at Handcross Primary provide children with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. These skills and attributes help children to stay healthy, safe and prepares them for opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in later life.
Our weekly Learning for Life lessons supports the development of skills, attributes, values and patterns of behaviour which enable pupils to:
- Value themselves and others
- Form and maintain healthy relationships
- Know how to keep safe and recognise dangers
- To understand their rights and responsibilities as members of families, other groups and citizens
- Respect equality and to be productive members of a diverse community
- Understand the importance of respecting and protecting the environment.
- Understand how their bodies grow and change
At Handcross we have tailored the PSHE Associations’ programme to suit the needs of our pupils, school and community. We follow three core themes: Health and Wellbeing; Relationships; and Living in the Wider World. Where possible, cross-curricular links are made between Learning for Life lessons (RSHE/PSHE) and other subjects, for example in Science and English.
Learning for Life takes many forms: through whole-class teaching, smaller group activities, assemblies, guest speakers and discrete lessons. During Learning for Life sessions children are encouraged to both ask and answer questions, to deepen their knowledge and understanding. Children spend time considering scenarios and possible responses to them.
Each child has a ‘Worry Warden’, this is an adult within the school that they children have chosen because they are someone with whom they feel they can share their worries. Every class also has a “Worry Monster” to give pupils a voice and to enable them to share their feelings anonymously in a safe environment if they wish. Pupils can pop their thoughts into the mouth of the cuddly soft toy Worry Monster, a child in Key Stage 1 explains the monsters job, “he eats up all our worries so we don’t have to worry about them anymore.” These worries can then be addressed in circle time.
We encourage children to take part in a range of activities that promote active citizenship, e.g. charity fundraising, school fundraising, assemblies, class performances. The children have the opportunity to hear guest speakers, such as athlete’s, the local vicar and parents/ carers whom we invite into school to talk about their role in creating a positive and supportive community. We also take part in themed weeks such as Anti-Bullying week, to ensure children know what bullying is and how to deal with it.
Our Pupil Learning for Life Champions
We have special Learning for Life Champions, who help promote wellbeing and mental health amongst their peers. They have been specially trained and "know their limits" so will always get a trusted adult involved if there is a worry. They have helped run assemblies and have supported with other wellbeing activities. They were instrumental with ideas such as our wellbeing corner and the friendship bench in the playground. They are always willing to listen and help their friends.
ANTI-BULLYING
We work hard on educating pupils about how to speak out if they have a worry. As well as our Anti-Bullying Policy, we have a child-friendly anti-bullying leaflet, to ensure children know what to do if they are being bullied, if their friend is being bullied or even how to act if they are the bully.
Anti-bullying Leaflet 2023.pdf
Anti-Bullying Week 2022 - 'Reach Out'
The theme was Reach Out. We reached out through training our Learning for Life Champions, having anti-bullying assemblies and Learning for Life lessons. We made anti-bullying posters in class. The Learning for Life Champion chose the winners. They are on display around school.
Anti-Bullying Week 2021 - 'One Kind Word'
Kindness is more important today than it has ever been. The isolation of the last year has underlined how little acts of consideration can break down barriers and brighten the lives of the people around us. This is one of the reasons, that ‘One Kind Word’ has been chosen as the theme of Anti-Bullying Week taking place from 15 to 19 of November 2021.
Throughout the week the children will be involved in lots of different activities to raise awareness around bullying.
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Children's Mental Health Week 2023
This year we linked the theme of "Let's Connect" to our Learning for Life Champions. Watch our video of the fantastic support our Learning for Life Pupil Champions give to other children.
Children's Mental Health Week 2022:
This year's theme was "Growing Together". During the week, the children had great discussions about how we have grown as people, how we can support others and what our future ambitions are. Everyone at Handcross created a leaf to show how they had grown to create our whole school tree. In class they also reflected on the goals they had set for the previous term and made goals for the coming term, they thought about how they would achieve these.
We made a video to show how we have grown together at Handcross.
Children's Mental Health Week 2021:
Last year's theme was "Express Yourself". Expressing yourself is about finding ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas, through creativity. This could be through art, music, writing and poetry, dance and drama, photography and film, and doing activities that make you feel good.
Watch our video to see how we express ourselves at Handcross!
Talking about Mental Health:
Wellbeing for children:
Many young people and their families may be feeling anxious and worried at different times in the school year. The following links are to support your child's wellbeing and mental and physical health. Keeping active, getting outside, being creative (e.g. baking or art), mindfulness time (e.g. yoga or colouring), can all help support your child and yourselves.
Coronavirus and your wellbeing
LETS TALK PANTS
An important aspect of our Learning for Life curriculum is teaching safeguarding messages, including how to help children stay safe at school and outside school.
Meet Pantosaurus - our pant-wearing Dino! He wants every child to stay safe and strong, just like him, and he's on a mission to share an important message. We teach this important safeguarding message to our children:
PANTS Guide for Parents and Carers
