Trotts Hill Primary School and Nursery
"Today you are You, that is truer than true!
There is no-one alive who is you-er than You!"
- Dr Seuss
At Trotts Hill School, we believe that personal, social and health education (PSHE) is crucial in order to enable our children to become healthy, safe, independent and responsible members of society. Our PSHE curriculum aims to help all children understand how they are growing and changing, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues which arise in school, our local community and the wider world. Our aim is to ensure that Trotts Hill is a supportive, stimulating and caring school which has high expected standards of behaviour and manners. Our school behaviours and attitudes to learning are underpinned by our whole school values and learning behaviours, which are taught through PSHE lessons, whole school assemblies and are an integral part of all lessons to the success of the whole school.
We are a member of the PSHE Association and follow their Programme of Study in Years 1 to 6. We make use of the Statutory Framework and Development Matters in the EYFS. For a full and detailed overview of the learning across each year group, including specific learning objectives, please contact your Key Stage Leader or a member of the Welltech faculty.
Year 3 children discussed what makes a person unique and special. We discussed the different qualities, personality and interests which makes each individual special and unique. Children then produced a list highlighting these in their partners.
As part of children's mental health week, we had a discussion about what we are good at and how it makes us feel. We then though about what we might like to do in the future that we cannot do now. We listened to relaxing mindful music whilst watching the bubbles on the screen. We completed some mindful colouring and laid down snuggled up in cushions, listening to stories.
As part of Mental Health week, Year 3 discussed the things which they are good at and the things which they would like to learn. They discussed the feelings which they might experience when they are learning something new.
Stevenage Sporting Futures led a lesson for year 4 about health and well-being. They discussed the importance of exercise, eating healthy, sleep and mental health. They even bought in mini fruit kebabs for the children to enjoy and gave each child a water bottle.
Year 5 were posed the question What makes us who we are?
They identified their strengths and their struggles and reflected on how easy or difficult it was to do this. The children discussed strategies to deal with their struggles. Then, they reflected on what this tells them about themselves.
Year 6 created a video to celebrate diversity.
Nursery have been looking at many different areas of PSED this half term, including taking part in Hello Yellow, thinking about what makes a good friend and comparing ourselves as babies and what we are like.
Reception have been learning all about manners. We looked at different scenario's and talked about whether they showed good or bad manners.
Year 6 learnt about everyone's right to be loved. We watched a video called 'Love has No Labels' to spread this message. Year 6 then chose how they wanted to express this message themselves, which included art, poetry, drama and dance.
The Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) team from M Group Services’ Plant & Fleet Solutions led two sessions raising awareness on the hazards that can occur on and near roads.
The day began with a presentation from Mark Dixon, SHEQ Director and Leanne Sheff, SHEQ Manager. Through a range of interactive activities, they gave the pupils an insight into who we share the road with, including some they may have thought about, such as bikes, cars and buses, but also some they may not have, including highways and infrastructure workers.
The team also explained how the pupils can be safer when crossing the road, using road crossings and looking both ways. In our effort to make sure all road users ‘be bright, be seen’, we gave each pupil a high-vis vest, which they loved.
The highlight of the day, however, was when the pupils were given the chance to sit in one of our diggers, even getting the chance to press the horn.
Speaking on the importance of Road Safety education, Mark Dixon, said: “We had a fantastic experience presenting to Trotts Hill Primary School about road safety, as well as an interactive experience with two excavators. It was wonderful to see the children engaged and excited, wearing the high-vis vests we had given them, to reinforce the importance of being seen and staying safe.
“A big thank you to the school for their excellent organisation and for allowing the children hands-on learning opportunities, and to the children for their participation and knowledge regarding road safety. All in all, it was an impactful day of safety and exploration.”
They loved being able to sit in the digger and look at the control. Thank you, M Group Services, for such a wonderful morning.
As part of our 'Hello Yellow' mental health day, the children were given the opportunity to try doodling. We discussed the benefits.
"We can do it anytime we want." Georgia
"It calms me a lot." Bailey
"I feel relaxed." Aaruhi
"You can be free with your designs. If you're feeling sad you or worried you can sit down and do it." Sophia
"You can do it at home when you have nothing else to do and if you're bored." Samiya
Year 4 were proud to show off their odd socks today. They children then thought about how to make people feel happy by doing simple things. They made a kindness jar full of ideas to cheer someone up and make their day.
Year 1 shared their odd socks with the class and discussed why we were wearing odd socks. The children then created a respect web as a class, to show how important it is to work together.
Year 3 took part in Anti-Bullying week: Choose Respect. On Monday they wore Odd Socks. During our PSHE lesson the children identified whether behaviours were respectful. Finally, they played a Respect board game.
Anti-bullying week: Year 6 have learnt to choose respect and have presented this learning in a number of ways eg. through presentations, role play and posters.
Michael: 'We are learning to stick up for ourselves and choose respect!'
Trotts Hill had a fabulous day focusing on mindfulness and wellbeing. The children created doodles throughout the day and discussed how it made them feel.
I felt calm and showed my creativity- Karolina Y6
It made me relax- Owen Y1
I loved doing art- Ella Y2
In PSHE we learnt about positive learning attitudes. We sorted statements into positive and negative and reflected on how and why having a positive learning attitude helps us to learn. We then put these to the test whilst completing some tricky challenges.
Year 1 role played different jobs. The children asked questions to each other to find out what jobs they had. They then thought about the skills that they would need in their job role.
Year 6 attended the multi-agency Crucial Crew safety event at The Lamex Stadium, learning about essential skills and knowledge they may need to stay safe as they prepare for secondary school. They engaged with interactive activities to learn these skills and learnt life-saving skills such as CPR.
In Year 4, we discussed what makes a healthy lifestyle. Doing things we enjoy is just as important to our mental health as eating a balanced diet is to our physical health. We talked about how getting a good sleep each night is important for staying healthy and how sport and activity can help both our physical and mental health. We shared hints and tips with each other, before designing posters which we presented to the class and have displayed around our classroom as a reminder to stay healthy!
As part of the Safe Relationships unit, Year 5 discussed what do to if touched inappropriately and in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. Using Conscience Alley they came up with reasons why a child may not tell and why they should. They all learned that there different sources of support to turn to and that they should always inform a trusted adult.
Year 1 have been learning about how to show kindness. We made our own kindness jar for our classroom and chose a monitor to look out for acts of kindness. They put a cube in jar when they spot one. We have also been thinking about our families and how they are not all the same.
The children were given a team challenge to go outside and in groups of 6 to make the tallest tower. They could use sticks, rocks, leaves and any other natural resources and had just ten minutes.
After the challenge, the children shared how they feel their team worked.
What did they do well?
What could they have done better?
In PSHE we explored respectful behaviours. We sorted different behaviours into 'Respectful' and 'Disrespectful' and then played a game which helped us to think more about showing respect.
Year 6 learnt about everyone's right to be loved. We watched a video called 'Love has No Labels' to spread this message. Year 6 then chose how they wanted to express this message themselves, which included art, poetry and dance. This promoted the values: liberty, respect and tolerance.
Today was Hello Yellow Day, which we celebrated in our school houses. We read a book about how to be a ‘bucket filler’, being kind to others and ourselves. In our house groups we took part in lots of different activities to find out how to be bucket fillers.
Our House captains talked to us about the Zones of Regulation and showed us some things we can do to get back into the Green zone when we are in the Blue, Yellow or Red zones. We had lots of fun trying out their ideas. They did a really excellent job presenting to the rest of the school and were so proactive with their own ideas about how to contribute to the day.
We all wore yellow to school on October 13th to celebrate World Mental Health Day. As our curriculum has a high focus on mental health throughout the year, we used Hello Yellow as a day to focus on positive affirmations for ourselves and others. Children and adults were able to choose positive messages to send one another, or keep for themselves, in order to build self confidence and self esteem. Mrs Cook said that Year 6 really enjoyed sharing their positive affirmations. In Early Years, the children used a mirror to give themselves positive messages. Willow said 'I am fun!' and Scarlett said 'I am positive!'
Children in EYFS learnt how to stay safe on their scooters. We practised crossing the road safely and learnt how to stop and start safely with a cycling coach. We also learnt how to be polite and share the pavement with pedestrians.
Walk to School Week has been a great success with lots of children walking, scooting, cycling or park-and-striding to school. Classes were set a challenge to record the number of children walking to school each day, and children were able to add their walking miles to their Marathon May tally. In assemblies, we talked about how walking improves our health and mental wellbeing, as well as reducing pollution.
Lincoln B - We parked further away every day so we could park and stride.
Mrs Chumbley - We had more children walking every day this week!
The Spring term sees our focus change to Living in the Wider World, where all year groups look at issues such as money, jobs and citizenship. Many classes also discuss the different community groups they are members of and we learn about how to be thoughtful consumers of the media, including online materials. In the Early Years, we focus on being safe and healthy, including how to look after our teeth.
In the Autumn term our focus in the main school is Relationships. In Key Stage One the focus has been on close friends and family, including treating one another with respect and who to ask for help if we need support. Key Stage Two focus on more complex issues such as discrimination and prejudice, as well as peer pressure and using the internet responsibly. In EYFS, children focus on their own feelings this term and settling in to the school environment.
To kick off Anti Bullying Week, the children wore odd socks to school today to show how we are all unique. The theme for AntiBullying Week is 'One Kind Word' so we have been thinking about using kind words to one another all week and the impact our choice of words and actions can have on others.
"Oliver (to Caiden) - I love playing with you every day"
Penny - "We are celebrating our differences, coming together for anti-bullying week"
CT - "I checked if my friend was okay after she fell over today. I also help Mrs Allen pick things up when she needs it because I know she has a bad back."
The whole school celebrated 'Hello Yellow' World Mental Health day by wearing yellow to support those with mental health issues. The breakfast club started the day with some yoga, then all children took part in wellbeing activities in class. We focussed on the mantra 'I am, I can, I have' and thought about affirming the positive aspects in our lives.