PHSE

At Monkwick Infant and Nursery School, we believe that our comprehensive Personal, Social, Health, and Economic (PSHE) education, alongside our Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), plays a crucial role in nurturing children's personal, social, and emotional development. Our approach promotes not only the well-being of each child but also empowers them to become independent, confident, and responsible members of society. By engaging pupils in a broad range of activities, both within and beyond the curriculum, we ensure that they actively contribute to the life of the school and the wider community.

Our PSHE curriculum is designed to foster self-awareness, collaboration, and accountability, enabling children to recognise their worth and work effectively with others. Through reflection on their experiences, children gain insight into their personal and social development while understanding their rights and responsibilities as citizens. We also emphasise the importance of British values and diversity, teaching children what it means to live in a multicultural society and to respect and celebrate differences.

Children experience democracy first-hand through participation in, voting for the class read, circle time discussions, and the School Council and Eco-council, allowing them to understand democratic principles and the power of collective decision-making. Our goal is for personal development to be at the heart of our curriculum, equipping children with essential "skills for learning and life."

The objectives of PSHE are to empower our children to:

• Understand and maintain a healthy lifestyle

• Stay safe and navigate safety issues

• Develop teamwork, empathy, and conflict-resolution skills

• Show respect for others and the environment

• Grow into positive, active, and responsible community members

• Build independence, self-confidence, and self-esteem

• Form effective and meaningful relationships, embracing diversity

We employ a variety of teaching styles to meet the Department for Education’s PSHE guidelines, ensuring that personal development is embedded in our whole school environment. Through active learning, including discussions, problem-solving, and community projects, we encourage children to take ownership of their behaviour, resolve conflicts constructively, and participate in charitable and artistic initiatives. The values we teach are reinforced by visitors from local clergy, law enforcement, and healthcare professionals, who help children understand their roles in building a supportive and positive community.

By prioritising personal growth alongside academic achievement, we aim to equip our students with the skills and mindset they need to thrive—both now and in the future.

The impact of our PSHE curriculum is evident in the development of well-rounded, responsible, and confident young learners. Through our broad and balanced approach, pupils gain the essential skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to make informed, positive choices both in and out of school. This progress is captured in our PSHE floor books, showcasing how children apply their learning in real-life contexts. Our aim is for all pupils to thrive as individuals, equipped with the tools to maintain a healthy and safe lifestyle, build positive relationships, and approach challenges with resilience and a growth mindset. By fostering self-confidence, empathy, and respect for others, we prepare children to be successful, active members of their community and lifelong learners.

We believe that all pupils learn best when they can understand, articulate and regulate their emotional responses. For the very young children that attend our school, this often needs to be taught explicitly through carefully planned activities in PSHE and in our approaches to wellbeing.

These are just some of the approaches we use:

The Colour Monster

We use this book throughout the school, starting in nursery so that children can identify the emotions they may be feeling. They can often point to the colour monster that they identify with, even if they do not have the words to explain. These are displayed in all classes and children have the opportunity to discuss these with their teachers.

Do be Mindful

All of our staff have completed training in developing mindfulness’ through accreditation with the ‘Do be Mindful’ programme. This means children are given a daily mindfulness session where they can develop a focused and calm head space to support regulation.

Stories for resilience and emotional intelligence

We know that many of our children need to access their own experiences through the world, story or the creative arts. We use these to generate discussion or for children to talk indirectly about their experiences if they need to.

ReflectED Curriculum

We have also trained our staff to deliver the ‘ReflectED Curriculum’ which gives children the skills to reflect on their learning and to self-assess what they need to do to progress.

Growth Mindset

In school, we teach resilience and meta cognition through the ELLI animals, each representing key learning behaviours. Every Friday, we celebrate pupils who demonstrate these attributes with special certificates, reinforcing their growth as confident and reflective learners.