At William Austin Infant School we understand that a child’s social and emotional development is central to all aspects of their well-being and learning. It is our strong belief that in order for a child to reach their full educational potential they must first feel happy, safe and secure in their learning environment. 

We deliver our PSHE curriculum (Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education) through a mixture of year group and key stage assemblies, class assemblies and circle time sessions.

PSHE is taught throughout the year. The school uses the SEAL and PSHE Association’s Programme of Study to support the teaching of PSHE from Reception to Year 2. PSHE has cross curricular links with the RHE statutory curriculum which addresses the personal and social aspects of relationships. The teaching of RHE includes the ‘Revised Adaptation to the Christopher Winter Project Overview.’ RHE Lessons are taught in the Summer 2^nd term – see RHE link below for more information regarding this area.

Our PSHE curriculum is implemented through schemes of work which are based on the SEAL and PSHE Association’s Programme of Study. The 6 key themes are New Beginnings, Getting On and Falling Out, Going for Goals, Say No to Bullying, Good to Be Me, Relationships and Changes.

The PSHE curriculum links to Online Safety, Science, Maths and RHE. It is strongly linked to our Values Education programme which stems from the British Values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Respect and Tolerance. PSHE is also delivered through natural conversations that occur daily between adults and children and when dealing with any incidents that may arise.

Each theme is taught for half a term. During class assemblies, children take part in a variety of activities including whole class discussions, small group discussions, listening to stories or watching video clips. They also complete small pieces of work such as pictures or short written tasks.

The children learn to recognise, name, describe and control feelings. They have time to reflect on the choices, actions and words they and others make, thinking about the consequences for all. Children think about friendship and looking after themselves and others. They celebrate similarities and differences, learning from and supporting one another.

It is our aim at William Austin Infant School to teach and equip all children with the skills that will enable them to efficiently deal with social and emotional issues they may encounter throughout their time at school and to prepare them for the rest of their lives.