Me and My World (including Relationships and Health Education)

At Bishops Waltham Infant School, we want all our children to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding to grow and develop into healthy, independent and responsible members of society. We take a holistic approach to children’s development throughout Bishops Waltham Infant School and recognise the importance of not only how they develop intellectually but also spiritually, morally, socially and culturally. This is underpinned across the whole school with our Learning Values –thinking, creativity, independence, interdependence, spirituality and emotional intelligence. These are focussed upon throughout the curriculum which allows the children to develop the skills they need to succeed in their lives. Staff and children refer to these learning values when reflecting upon learning and experiences.

We recognise that children are growing up in an ever-changing world and we help the children establish a strong understanding of diversity and awareness of others. We encourage children to take an active role in our school community to support their understanding of the roles and responsibilities they will encounter later in life.

We intend for our PSHE/Relationships and Health curriculum to be inclusive and accessible to allow all children to maximise their opportunities to know more, remember more and understand more. We understand that each child and group of children have different experiences so we adapt our approach to different aspects of the curriculum depending on the children and these experiences.

To ensure that children get a broad and meaningful learning experience, we believe that PSHE/Relationships and Health Education must be taught weekly but also be integrated into other areas of school life such as assemblies and manners and behaviours around school. All KS1 classes follow the Discovery Education Health and Relationships Programme with additional discrete lessons added in as needed. There is also the flexibility to address issues and questions that may arise in individual classes.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) is one of the Prime Areas of Learning for our Year R children and is central to ensuring children are happy and secure in school and are able to form friendships and positive relationships with adults. This is key to our ethos and in is reflected in our curriculum and provision. Personal, Social and Emotional Development focusses on the three following areas:

• Self-confidence and Self-awareness
• Managing Feelings and Behaviour
• Making Relationships

We place high importance on the children’s understanding of relationships and how they interact with others to enable the children to have healthy and happy relationships in their lives.

When they leave Bishops Waltham Infant School we intend that our children will take their developing knowledge, skills and understanding with them so that they make the most of their future opportunities.

At Bishops Waltham Infant School, we implement PSHE/Relationships and Health Education by building on and developing the children’s experiences and understanding. We use discussion and group work to allow all children to participate fully in the learning process. To stimulate children’s thoughts and feelings we use visual stimuli such as objects, stories, photographs and video clips.  Children take part in daily discussions and reflections through a range of activities including stories, celebration assemblies and collective worship.

PSHE/Relationships and Health Education is taught as a discrete subject and when appropriate it is integrated with our projects such as at the start of the year when children are developing relationships with their new class. Staff also address issues and questions that may arise on a daily basis with their class or individual children.

At Bishops Waltham Infant School, we recognise and value the children’s thoughts, feelings and viewpoints. Each KS1 class has two School Councillors who take part in regular children’s voice meetings to discuss school and community matters and share their class’s viewpoints; they then feed back to the rest of the class. School Councillors plan and lead fundraising events, such as Children in Need and meet with representatives of the local community to discuss local issues.  

The whole school is underpinned by our BADGER Values which reflect the ethos of our school community.

Our Ethos - BADGER Values

We enjoy Belonging to a successful school in the heart of Bishops Waltham, knowing that we are a united community, committed to being responsible citizens of the future.

Our Aspirations are shaped by the rich opportunities and experiences, open to all, that reveal new horizons, taking us to a world beyond.

We show Determination in becoming resilient, growing in confidence and building self-esteem to secure happiness and fulfilment.

We find Goodness in ourselves by showing kindness, thoughtfulness and consideration to others.

We strive for Excellence in all we do, having high expectations and standards, which reflect our uniqueness and inspire a sense of pride.

We Respect each other by developing trust, honesty and open-mindedness, as we grow in understanding the beliefs and values of friends and neighbours.