St Augustine's Catholic Primary School

At St Augustine's,  Personal Development is at the heart of our school ethos and runs throughout all that we do.  

Children are taught PSHE and RSHE units over a term with teachers timetabling each lesson into their weekly timetable. Our bespoke curriculum follows the Ten Ten Life to the Full Plus scheme alongside A Journey in Love (which is authentic to the teachings of the Catholic Church). In addition to this, we use a range of high quality PSHE resources to ensure that we are following the National Curriculum alongside the statutory requirements. Lessons reinforce the importance of everyone being treated fairly through a focus on British Values, Gospel Values, Catholic Social Teaching and the Equalities Act which underpins our school mission statement: 'Following in the footsteps of Jesus, to serve others'. 

Our curriculum maps show progression throughout the whole school. Lessons are adapted to meet the needs of all learners and are planned responsively to issues as they arise. All lessons promote a safe and respectful environment whilst we discuss real-life issues appropriate to the age and stage of pupils, including friendships, families, consent, loving relationships and appropriate relationships online.

Throughout the year, our theme days include: Anti-Bullying, Safer Internet Day, Mental Health  Awareness, Water Safety, Healthy Living Day, NSPCC Speak Out, Stay Safe, Time to Talk Day and an RSHE Day focusing on a specific theme each year.  Our School Council members and Junior Safety Officers promote and support the organsation of these events as well sharing important updates in assemblies. 

At St Augustine's we have ELSA provision to help us meet the needs of individual children and make sure that they are being supported in class and home.

The theme for this year is 'Communication' and exploring how important it is that we are communicating honestly and openly helps strengthen our relationships, can ease our worries, and get us the help we need. The children experienced a range of activities to help them understand how good communication is so important. 

Our annual NSPCC Speak Out, Stay Safe programme aims to help children understand abuse in all its forms and to recognise the signs of abuse. Children are taught to speak out if they are worried, either to a safe adult or Childline. 

This year's theme for Safer Internet Awareness Day was 'Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online'. The children explored the theme through a range of activities and had plenty of new information to share with their families at home time about how to be more alert whilst online and strategies for protecting themselves from harm whilst using the internet. 

"Find your healthier you" was the theme for this year's Healthy Eating Day. Each class were set a budget and explored a variety of healthy snacks. 

Our children were visited by Tasmin and Jane from David Lloyd leisure club who work as swimming instructors there. They came to each class and talked to the children about how to keep safe in the water and what to do if they were to find themselves in difficulty. Our children who attend swimming lessons also had an extra session on what they should do if they become unsafe in the water. 

At St Augustine’s, British Values are taught through our personal development curriculum and rooted in the teachings of Christ. We provide lots of opportunities for children to experience democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance in action – whether through school council, classroom responsibilities, collective worship, Ten Ten Life to the Full, or wider curriculum projects. In this way, pupils learn how to live a good life, show respect for all, and contribute positively to society.

This year's theme was 'Embracing Change'. We used a variety of stories and creative tasks to help the children understand that change is something to be embraced and not frightened of.