PHSE
INTENT
At Holy Spirit, our intention is to promote pupil’s personal, social, spiritual and health education, as well as their emotional development and well-being so that all our pupils can grow and flourish, respect others and be respected. We aspire not have more, but to be more through the PATHS curriculum – we aim to be kinder people, take responsibility of our own actions and to be empathetic towards others. We respect the world we live in by recognising and being tolerant of those who are different or have different faiths an beliefs, celebrating our differences and treating everyone equally. PATHS intends to promote equal opportunities for all and to teach our children to value and celebrate diversity, whilst working together in pursuit of the common good. Our teachings are underpinned by the PATHS Golden Rule – Treat others how you want to be treated - which will empower all our children to develop the fundamental social and emotional learning skills that will enable them to make positive choices throughout life. We provide pupils with the knowledge, understanding, attitudes, values and skills they need in order to reach their potential as individuals and within the community. PATHS develops positive standards of behaviour which will promote the dignity and self-esteem of all learners and encourage pupils to grow in responsibility for their own safety and conduct. We intend to encourage independence and responsibility, for oneself and others, by building confidence in a secure and happy environment through this programme. It teaches children the school values that they need in order to succeed - including aspiration, determination, tolerance, respect and team spirit. Key objectives in promoting these developmental skills are to prevent and to reduce behavioural and emotional problems across the school. Pupil will reflect on their experiences and understand how they are developing personally and socially, tackling many of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. We employ a positive attitude to pupil behaviour and PATHS intends to develop a consistency of approach to the management of behaviour by all staff and pupils. Actively developing pupil character, through PATHS, has proven to improve classroom behaviour, self-esteem, self-control, emotional intelligence, academic engagement and conflict resolution; it has also reduced emotional distress, aggressive behaviour and conduct problems. Pupils are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities and experiences across and beyond the curriculum, contributing fully to the life of their school and communities in order to recognise their own worth.
IMPLEMENTATION
At Holy Spirit, PATHS is a key part or our school curriculum, from EYFS through to Year 6. It is a year by year programme which develops more skills and builds on previous skills that have been mastered. The programme, which has been developed by Barnardo's, empowers all our children to develop the fundamental social and emotional learning skills, which will enable them to make positive choices throughout life. PATHS is explicitly taught two times per week for a minimum of 20-30 minutes per session. Systematic, developmentally based lessons, materials, and instructions facilitate emotional literacy, self-control, social competence, positive peer relations, and interpersonal problem-solving skills, which the children can transfer to other situations. Characteristics and traits are explicitly taught through a well-planned programme, which teaches pupils the school values that they need in order to succeed including aspiration, determination, tolerance, respect and team spirit. PATHS uses different methods in teaching, including collaborative learning, to appreciate the value of working together and having independence. It will also provide opportunities for pupil’s to reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes and to explore the sometimes conflicting range of values and attitudes that they may encounter now or in the future. It provides an inclusive education so that all forms of achievement and learning styles are valued and celebrated. PATHS Pals are trained each year to help teach children to problem solve using the PATHS strategies outside the classroom (during unstructured time), to teach them new games to enable them to engage other pupils on the playground and to help peers with conflict resolution. Through training, they learn what characteristics they need to be a PATHS Pal; how to look out for children who are lonely or hurt; and what to do to help.
IMPACT
Teaching PATHS will give pupils the knowledge, understanding, attitudes, values and skills they need in order to reach their potential as individuals and within the community. It will enhance the social competence and social understanding of our pupils, as well as to facilitate educational processes in the classroom, regardless of subject. As the PATHS activities become a regular part of the school day, less instructional time will need to be used for correcting behaviour, therefore, classroom environment will be improved. Pupils will be able to take part in a wide range of activities and experiences across and beyond the curriculum, contributing fully to the life of their school and communities. In doing so, they will develop further skills to enable them to self-regulate their emotions, work well with others, have a more positive attitude to their learning and recognise their own worth. They will become increasingly responsible for their own learning. PATHS will help equip pupils with the vocabulary and skills to recognise their own and each other’s feelings and emotions and as a result, pupil’s will then be able to reflect on their experiences and understand how they are developing personally and socially, tackling many of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. All pupils will grow confident within themselves and recognise that not only are all feelings okay but that often we can feel more than one feeling at once – and that too is okay. By integrating PATHS into the school day and considering the needs of the whole class we will arm our children with lifelong skills that support their current and future mental health and well-being.
PATHS Curriculum map from Nursery to Year 6
Progression of skills in PATHS from Nursery to Year 6
Anti-Bullying work in Holy Spirit - Choose Respect, not bullying!
Careers and Hobby Fayre
To celebrate Parliament week we held a ‘Careers and Hobby Fayre’, on Monday 12th November from 1:30- 4:00pm. This was an amazing afternoon and we had a number of different stalls that all the children could visit. The stalls had members of staff, pupils and outside agencies sharing with everybody their aspirations and hobbies. It was a truly inspirational afternoon and loved by all.
As Walt Disney said, ‘All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.’
The theme for Anti-Bullying week 2021 was 'One kind word.'