PSHE

PSHE permeates every aspect of our school life including Collective Worship, our Core Values, how we communicate with one another, our curriculum, pastoral support and so much more. We recognise the value that a high quality PSHE education can offer to our pupils and how well it prepares the children for the next part in their lives. We strive to have each child leave Bywell with a clear set of Core Values and understanding of the meaning of ‘justice, endurance, compassion, friendship and peace’.

Children at Bywell are given opportunities to create personal understanding to explore and challenge a variety of values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities. They will develop a range of skills and strategies to live a healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced life.

Our curriculum is a progressive and effective scheme of work, based on a commercial scheme – Jigsaw, which is tailored to meet the needs of our pupils. This prepares children for their next stage and into adult life, helping them to know and value who they are and understand how they relate to other people. It helps to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development for pupils, to ensure they are prepared for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in later life.

At Bywell we understand that PSHE is more than just a lesson and implement a range of strategies to help children with everyday life. We use the By Well-being Wall with personal markers each morning as a way of allowing the children to express how they are feeling and provide them with the opportunity to talk with key adults in their classes and our Learning Mentor team. We also use pupil voice to ensure that children’s voices are being heard and that every child feels safe and listened to.

The introduction of myHappymind has meant that Class Teachers are also involved in teaching emotional well-being via taught modules including, celebration, appreciation and character strengths which helps them to engage with and take responsibility for their class pastorally also.

• High quality PSHE lessons are delivered weekly to all pupils across school by an experienced Learning Mentor/HLTA who is ELSA trained. The school uses the Jigsaw Scheme as a starting point and includes other relevant themes from other sources including Anti-bullying Alliance, NSPCC, PolEd, PSHE Association as well as research and resources from the ELSA training.
• Engaging with the Kirklees/NHS scheme – myHappymind has ensured that Class Teachers are also involved in teaching and engaging with their pupil’s mental health and well-being.
• Daily acts of Collective Worship cover our Core Values and assemblies including British Values and Praise Assemblies (Famous for a Fortnight, Dojo Awards for learning) help to ensure our values are brought to life.
• School gives pupils the opportunity to take part in charitable events such as Children in Need children’s mental health week, odd sock day, anti-bullying week and collecting for local food banks to develop our children’s compassion and justice towards others.
• We use pupil voice to assess how the children feel about a variety of topics and themes both in lessons and by and various other pupil leaders.
• We ensure Core Values are spotted, pointed out, recognised and reinforced at every opportunity.
• We ensure Learning Mentors have time to spend with pupils identified as requiring pastoral support by using the By Well-being Wall, conversations at break and lunchtimes, visibility pre-school and at break and lunch times, parent and teacher referrals and Pastoral Team regular meetings.
• Our Pastoral Team of Learning Mentors support pupils via termly interventions which include; Happy to be Here, Bee Myself, Lego Therapy, Welcome to Bywell (for new pupils) and Transition in the last term as well as 1:1 support.
• Referrals for pupils requiring additional support for emotions and anxiety can be made to Kirklees Keep in Mind (KKIM) for specialist support.
• A variety of external visitors are welcomed into school to supplement the PSHE curriculum – police – responsibilities and good communities, health service, school nurse – puberty workshops, drug awareness – county lines, guns and knife crime, Dogs’ Trust etc.
• From September although the bulk of the PSHE curriculum will be delivered by our Learning Mentor as part of PPA, this will change from a rolling program that meant 1 class out of 3 did not receive PSHE, to 3 45 minute lessons. This will have the effect that all pupils will access the same learning in the same week that will make is easier to tie in with whole school initiatives.

myHappymind

We have continued to embed the myHappymind scheme into our school throughout the year with a different module each half term. We submitted an application for Bronze Accreditation and have just found out that Bywell has achieved the standard. This enables us to display the Bronze Accredited Badge on our website and letterheads as well as being invited to the myHappymind forum, an exclusive online meeting with the founder, Laura Earnshaw. The forum brings together Accredited schools and nurseries to actively contribute to shaping the future of myHappymind. We are also eligible to become a myHappymind Ambassador which means that we would be happy for prospective schools, or existing schools looking for inspiration, to be put in touch with us to hear about the impact we have seen.

Our pupils have enjoyed the time to discuss feelings and views as well as using their own personal journals in creative and independent ways. Staff have been supportive of the scheme and pupils have been able to voice what they have learnt and how it supports their well-being.

In January we launched applications for Happiness Heroes and have 12 children from across school who were successful, sharing through a creative process why they should be given the role. Since then children have enjoyed attending.

We also launched the myHappymind free Parent App with a number of letters asking parents to sign up to resources and video clips for them to support their children. The uptake of this has been slow (60) with many of the parents seeking pastoral support, not accessing this resource. A request has been made to the Yr2 parents to download this at the New Parent Meeting and Learning Mentor support from September will not be automatic, but after parents have downloaded and accessed the free resource.

Celebrations

Dojo assemblies have taken place throughout the year. Children have received certificates for achieving Dojos specifically for learning with a new certificate introduced this year – Diamond for achieving 300 Dojos.

All classes have held Marble Jar parties (at least 2) – these support the reinforcement of our school Core Values of Friendship, Compassion, Endurance, Peace and Justice.  They also support our ‘Ready, Respectful and Safe’ behaviour expectation. Children have voted in their classes for the rewards and there have been film shows, craft activities, sport, juice and biscuits and extra play amongst others.

Supporting Others

Pupils and staff have supported a number of initiatives and have taken part in various themed days across the year. As a school we have helped to raise money for a variety of charities including Children in Need, Comic Relief,  and a staff collection for a local foodbank. We also raised money and the profile of Marfan Syndrome which affects one of our pupils by wearing red.

Pastoral Support/CPD

Our Learning Mentors continue to support pupils with group interventions and 1:1 support with  over 100 pupils accessing this each term. Some pupils are from referrals from teachers and discussed at the weekly pastoral meeting whilst others are as a result of incidents, parental concerns or things that have come to light and require support. Miss Dent our ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) continues to access training to support this and uses resources to set specific targets for children she works with to deliver this. Mrs Allen an additional Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead has taken on more cases to support pupils and families being referred to external agencies such as Kirklees Keep in Mind (KKIM) and Early Help Assessment as well as attending meetings for any Child in Need and Child Protection Conferences.

Looked after Children

We continue to support Children Looked After in school and recently were requested to provide information to OFSTED who were inspecting Kirklees, as one of our children was chosen as a case study. We continue to work with the Virtual School, foster carers and Social Care to ensure our pupils are given opportunities and interventions to improve their education. Miss Dent is the designated Learning Mentor for Children Looked After and provides emotional and well-being support 1:1 every week for the whole time the child is at Bywell.

 Transition

Pupils in both Year 6 and Year 2 have been supported with transition arrangements both into and from Bywell. This included extra transition sessions for vulnerable pupils. myHappymind lessons this summer term have been focused on transition and also the PSHE lessons delivered by Miss Dent have been about moving on and up, expectations and allaying worries or concerns.

Other

Regular PSHE lessons have been protected with high quality lessons and progression across the year groups being delivered for all pupils with the curriculum reviewed to ensure appropriate content is included.

Pupil voice has been collected both within lessons and as additional surveys

Learning mentors have dedicated time to work with children who need additional support both in intervention groups and 1:1 if required. Some pupils require long-term support across the year or even their whole time at Bywell and others benefit from short interventions.

The mechanism for daily pupils’ voice has been evaluated and has worked better in some classes than others. The most successful are where established routines are embedded, lollypop sticks are ready in the same place for pupils each morning and monitoring of if pupils are using it is robust.

• Replace the Happiness Heroes leaving with new ones
• Increase the profile of myHappymind – working towards achieving further accreditations.
• Continue to engage with parents and increase the uptake of the myHappymind Parent App to enable parents to support children’s well-being
• Reduce the number of pupils that Learning Mentors support by signposting parents to other external bodies, websites, training, leaflets and booklets to support.
• To continue to work with class teachers to ensure consistency of approach across school in awarding Dojos to ensure that pupils receive awards for learning in a fair and consistent way.
• Learning Mentors and other staff to research and attend training provided by the EP service to support pastoral/mental health and well-being in classes and interventions.
• A new resource will be purchased to engage pupils in sharing their emotions and mental health/well-being which will also enable us to track pupils who may not access this option. This will allow us to engage with parents by sharing pupil voice and also showing that some pupils/families who sometimes question what they perceive as a lack of support for their child is available and just not being used.
• In September 1 member of our pastoral team will be supporting pupils in our Blossom unit, which will mean that there is less capacity for groups/1:1 support and a need to signpost parents to other sources.
• Review of PSHE curriculum to ensure that all requirements are covered, adapting our curriculum to include resources from external sources eg PolEd (police) and encouraging external specialists eg school nurse, first aid team etc to deliver aspects of the curriculum

• myHappymind has started again this year, with the first half term focusing on ‘meet the Brain’ and the second half term, ‘Celebrate’. Both topics have started with a whole school collective worship and continued in each class every Monday. Children enjoy the sessions, especially using the journals in creative ways.
• Our Happiness Heroes that only started in Spring last year and who are still in school, have all chosen to keep this role. We also have 5 new Happiness Heroes from Year 3 who have carried out this role in their infant schools and have agreed to continue.
• Our Happiness Heroes supported at the recent Parent Consultation Meetings, showing parents to their children’s classrooms. They did a fantastic job and enjoyed the responsibility.
• As a school, children were keen to support the Royal British Legion by buying poppy related items, snap bands, key rings etc. Again, our Happiness Heroes took on the job of selling to each year group for 4 afternoons and also again at break.
• In the Autumn term our PSHE lessons have changed to 3, 45-minute lessons, with every class accessing the subject every week. We have looked at how the lessons needed to change to ensure children still have time to discuss and learn about the important topics. There is more focus now on class discussion and collaborative work with less written work that supports the inclusion of all pupils. Children continue to enjoy PSHE lessons with Miss Dent.
• At the start of the year as part of the INSET day, the Dojo reward system was discussed with clear expectations to ensure pupils achieve the certificates in a fair and objective way. All classes’ Dojos have been shared at staff meetings so teachers can see the whole school picture. Some Bronze certificates for 100 Dojos have been achieved in all classes in the Autumn term.
• Although anti-bullying week has already taken place in November, we have decided to move this to the Spring term so that it is not in the same week as inter-faith week and Children in Need. In PSHE lessons Miss Dent will support the children with creating art work to celebrate and an odd socks day to raise money for resources to support friendship, chosen by our children.
• The Pastoral Team have met regularly from the start of term to discuss any children requiring support and review support for safeguarding cases. There have been a number of cases referred to KKIM for outside help for low mood. There continues to be a wide range of need from children struggling to come into school, anxieties, behavioural issues, parental concerns and difficulties. It has been possible for some group work even with the reduction in the team, with children new to Bywell being welcomed, some friendship groups and some 1:1 work as well.
• Children at Bywell supported Children in Need in November and we were able to send over £300 from donations to the charity.
• Just this week, our Happiness Heroes were once again busy, when they helped Ms Adam and a couple of other adults to create a winter wonderland of Christmas trees in the main hall.
• Our older children in school have really taken their wide range of responsibilities seriously with children supporting in the hall for Collective Worship, Bywell Buddies helping in the playground and units, Play Leaders leading interesting games at lunchtimes – all giving up their own time to help others.
• Our new whole school attendance reward scheme has engaged the children with those classes above 96% moving around our Classopoly Board in the hall, to achieve rewards. So far classes have been rewarded with; extra 5 minutes of playtime, non-uniform day and juice at break time served by Ms Adam and Mrs Appleyard.

• PSHE lessons have continued to be taught weekly as part of PPA. Lessons are now 45 minutes so that all 3 classes can be fitted into the afternoon. This has meant that children receive PSHE lessons weekly rather than the rota as before. Miss Dent has refined some lessons to adapt to the time and some topics now take more than 1 session, particularly those that are art based.
• This term, the focus for PSHE is Dreams and Goals and Healthy Me with all year groups covering different content linked to this theme. Years 3&4 are learning about jobs and personal goals with some collaborative goal to support teamwork. They are also learning about safety both personal and in the home including the ‘Pants Rule’
• Years 5&6 are looking at job roles and the skills needed for their personal, ideal choices and strengths and skills making a difference in the wider world. As part of Healthy Me, Year 6 are focusing on mental health awareness, creating a self-care plan identifying activities to relax, support and enjoy as well as routines to support them in tricky times.
• Anti-bullying week had been moved from November as it coincided with Interfaith week and Children in Need. PSHE lessons looked at Power for Good and as a class, children discussed what powers a superhero would have. They created their own art work based on their own characters.
• The Pastoral Team has welcomed back Mrs Turver in the afternoons to support group and 1:1 interventions. We will now be able to offer bereavement support if required and also small group work on Transition in addition to that taught in the myHappymind lessons.
• Our Attendance Reward Scheme – Classopoly continues with a number of classes receiving treats ranging from extra play, time on the tyre park, biscuits and juice at break to Class Teacher choice and for 1 class, storming ahead, an Easter Egg hunt, Water Olympics and Outdoor Quiz as Mrs Walker, Mrs Sharif and Mrs Appleyards’ treats. Ms Adams’ lunchtime disco is within reach for 4AN!
• Parent/Carers are notified each Monday of those classes moving along the game. Where there are persistent absentees or those pupils who do not attend school fulltime, the figures are adjusted to ensure fairness to the class, while they are supported in group and personal interventions with Miss Bancroft.

• Children’s Mental Health Week was also celebrated in PSHE lessons and art work created on the theme of How Do we Belong. Children worked together collaboratively showing how they belong at our school and in their classes.

• The Pastoral Team continue to meet weekly to discuss children requiring support and review safeguarding cases. This has worked really well – allocating specific children to different interventions. Children are discussed and referrals made to KKIM and for Family Support where needed.
• Miss Dent, our ELSA continues to support pupils on an individual basis using resources from her training – usually 3 children each term and she has attended ELSA training and support sessions from the Educational Psychology Service.
• Learning Mentors and SLT continue to be a visible presence daily at the gate and in the playgrounds, with Learning Mentors outside at lunchtimes.
• myHappymind has supported pupils with a variety of strategies covering the key themes. This term is devoted to targets and personal goals looking forward to children transitioning either to a new year and class or new school.
• As a school, we have supported Comic Relief, raising over £300 and also £82 for anti-bullying towards our friendship bench.
• Our older children continue to give up their own time supporting the school with Bywell Buddies, Play Leaders and in the Hall at lunchtimes.
• We have also had a number of celebration assemblies for pupils achieving Dojos for learning. All children who started with us in September have received Bronze Awards with the majority of those joining us at a later date also achieving this. Other children have received Silver Awards and there are some already at Gold. The assemblies have been well attended by parents/carers.