Intention:

The aim of St Thomas of Canterbury Primary School is to provide opportunities for children to develop as independent, confident and successful learners who know how to make a positive contribution to their community and wider society. We focus on developing children’s moral, spiritual, social and cultural understanding, as well as actively promoting the British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs to prepare our pupils for life in modern day Britain. 

We use the Zones of Regulation with the aim of teaching children to understand their emotions and feelings, as well as to think about how to deal with these emotions and feelings.

Implementation:

At St Thomas of Canterbury, we implement our PSHE curriculum through the use of Life to the Full resource. This allows us to cover all the statutory requirements of RSE, based on the structure of the Model Primary RSE Curriculum from the Catholic Education Service. We supplement this with our own planning to cover elements of ‘Living in the Wider World’, such as: Digital Literacy and Media Resilience, Shared Responsibility, British Values, Money and Aspirations. Alongside this, we also ensure we cover important events throughout the year such as: Anti-Bullying Week, Black History Month, Online Safety, Children’s Mental Health Week and Remembrance Day. 

Based on Life to the Full, our PSHE curriculum is split into 3 main modules:

Module 1: Created and Love by God

The module explores the individual and is rooted in the teaching that we are made in the image and likeness of God. It helps children to develop an understanding of the importance of valuing themselves as the basis for personal relationships.

To begin with, children will focus on a Bible story that communicates the key idea that we were created out of love and for love. Building on this, children are then taken through a variety of age-appropriate sessions which explore body and health issues.

Module 2: Created to Love Others

This module explores how we take the calling we have created out of love and for love, into our family, friendships and relationships, and teaches strategies for developing healthy relationships and keeping safe. 

To begin with, children will focus on a key Gospel story which provides the religious foundation for the teaching that will follow. Children will deepen their understanding of the concept of sin and the importance of forgiveness in relationships. This understanding is then applied to real-world situations. 

Module 3: Created to Live in Community

This module explores the individual’s relationship with the wider world. It explores how human beings are relational by nature and are called to love others in the wider community through service, through dialogue and through working together for the Common Good. 

Children will develop a concept of the Trinity and that we are made to love God and love others, and we are made to be loved by God and others. This extends not only to us, our families, our friends and our personal relationships, but also to the wider world. 

This is applied through real-world situations, such as the community we live in, and through exploring the work of charities which work for the Common Good.  

In addition to this, the children also learn about:

• Laudato Si’ – a letter written by Pope Francis addressed to every person on the planet, asking us all to protect the earth and our common home.
• Eyes of the World – Focus on climate change, how the poorest communities are the ones suffering the most, and the work that CAFOD does to help.
• Fratelli Tutti – a letter written by Pope Francis to everyone, asking us to reach out to our sisters and brothers in need, whoever they are, wherever they may come from. We are all challenged to think of ourselves as a single global family living in a common home, and neighbours to all. 

British Values

To ensure we cover the statutory guidance published by the Government alongside British Values, we supplement our PSHE curriculum with the following:

Whole School Curriculum Themed Days

At St Thomas of Canterbury, we also ensure to cover the following important events within our PSHE curriculum:

• Black History Month
• Recycling Week
• Remembrance Day
• Anti-Bullying Week
• Children’s Mental Health Week
• Internet Safety Week
• International Women’s Day
• VE Day

Impact:

We have many areas of PSHE that occur in our school regularly. These include (but are not limited to): weekly PSHE lessons, exposing children to a wide range of literature and asking them to see things from different perspectives, key stage assemblies, student council, etc. We are confident our children are developing their PSHE skills both in and our lessons at every possible opportunity. 

Our Life to the Full scheme also offers us the opportunity to evaluate children’s understanding, firstly through a baseline assessment and then through the evaluation of each topic. This then allows teachers to confidently assess the children using Target Tracker.

Life To The Full Parent Portal

Life To The Full has an online parent portal so that you, as parents and careers, can engage with the teaching and deepen the experience for your child.

To access the online parent portal, please visit:

 www.tentenresources.co.uk/parent-portal/ 

Username: ParentPortalSTOC

Password: stthomas