PSHE Education

At Keelham Primary, we use The Story Project to deliver a rich and inclusive PSHE and RSHE curriculum. Our approach is rooted in storytelling, using carefully chosen, diverse books to spark discussion, build empathy and develop essential life skills. Through these stories, pupils explore themes that help them understand themselves, others and the wider world, while learning how to stay safe and healthy.

Our curriculum is fully aligned with statutory RSHE requirements (excluding sex education) and enhanced with non-statutory PSHE content, British Values and SMSC. It is designed to be flexible and adaptable for mixed-age classes, ensuring progression across the primary years.

Intent

Our PSHE curriculum aims to:

• Equip pupils with the knowledge and skills to lead healthy, safe and fulfilling lives.
• Foster respect, empathy and understanding of diversity and equality.
• Develop resilience, confidence and strategies for managing change and challenges.
• Prepare pupils for life in modern Britain and as responsible global citizens.

We group learning into six key themes, which spiral through the curriculum:

• Being a Good Friend – building positive relationships, managing conflict and understanding respect.
• Celebrating Families – exploring family diversity, love and support, and coping with change.
• Looking After My Body and Mind – promoting physical and mental health, self-care and wellbeing.
• Keeping Safe – learning about consent, privacy, online safety, first aid and risk awareness.
• Becoming a Global Citizen – understanding rights, responsibilities, money, online behaviour and equality.
• Growing Up – learning about body changes, puberty and aspirations for the future (without teaching sex education or conception).

Implementation

Our lessons follow a consistent structure:

• Settle – emotional regulation strategies to prepare for learning.
• Read – engaging with a high-quality text that introduces the theme.
• You – practical activities to apply learning, with choices to suit different needs.

Each unit is based on a story and includes guided discussion, creative tasks and opportunities for reflection. Mixed-age planning ensures that objectives are tailored to the developmental stage of each group, while maintaining progression across EYFS, KS1 and KS2.

Teachers are supported with detailed plans, adaptable activities and resources for differentiation. Knowledge organisers and suggested further reading help extend learning and reinforce key concepts.

Impact

We assess PSHE through formative strategies such as discussion, reflection and pupil self-assessment, alongside summative checks at the end of units. Evidence of progress is gathered through pupil voice, work samples and observation.

By the end of primary school, pupils will:

• Understand how to form healthy relationships and manage emotions.
• Know how to keep themselves safe in a range of contexts, including online.
• Recognise the importance of physical and mental health and know strategies to support both.
• Show respect for diversity and challenge discrimination.
• Understand body changes and how to manage transitions confidently.
• Demonstrate resilience, ambition and awareness of future opportunities.

• Parent Guide to the Story Project
• Story Project Objective Tracker
• Story Project Curriculum
• Contextual Safeguarding Mapping