Subject Leader: Mrs V Hughes
At Applegarth Primary School, we believe in the value of personal development and the unique opportunities this creates for our young people. We want our school family to thrive not just in lessons, but in life. Our comprehensive Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum ensures every child leaves us equipped with the emotional literacy, resilience, and lifelong personal and social skills they need to navigate the modern world.
Our provision is anchored in our core school values of Courage, Collaboration, and Compassion, alongside our daily expectations to remain Ready, Respectful, and Safe.
Our Vision and Aims
Through a carefully planned, structured, and progressive curriculum, we aim to:
- Build Pupils’ Confidence: Foster healthy self-esteem, resilience, and strong empathy for others.
- Develop Self-Regulation: Equip pupils with concrete, practical strategies to support emotional regulation, mental wellbeing, and positive relationships.
- Prepare for Modern Life: Ready children for the opportunities, responsibilities, and unique experiences of the modern world.
- Exceed Standards: Satisfy national requirements through inclusive, high-quality, and evidence-informed learning.
Documents – PHSE – Intent
| PHSE – Intent Policies & Documents | Download |
| PSHE and RSE Long-Term Plan | Download |
| Progression in PSHE & RSE | Download |
| National Curriculum – PHSE & RSE | Download |
Our intent is to provide a structured, sequenced, and inclusive curriculum that equips every child with the lifelong knowledge and emotional tools they need to thrive. We are explicitly mindful of updates from myHappymind; their scheme fully includes all aspects of Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE). Our curriculum intent is to seamlessly integrate these updates, ensuring comprehensive, age-appropriate coverage that meets the developmental readiness of all pupils, including those with SEND or additional vulnerabilities.
Through a carefully planned and progressive curriculum, we aim to:
- Build pupils’ confidence, resilience and empathy
- Equip pupils with strategies to support emotional regulation, wellbeing and positive relationships
- Prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of modern life
- Meet and exceed the statutory requirements for PSHE, Relationships Education and Health Education
Our approach is grounded in the belief that PSHE is most impactful when it is:
- Consistent – delivered regularly across the school in a structured, sequenced curriculum
- Relevant – adapted to meet the needs of specific cohorts, including SEND, neurodiverse and vulnerable pupils
- Engaging – supported by high-quality, age-appropriate and evidence-informed resources, including myHappymind video lessons, character-led activities, journals and worksheets
Implementation
To deliver on our vision, we embed the innovative myHappymind and myHappymind Plus frameworks across the entire school. This digital, resource-rich scheme helps children understand how their brains work, how thoughts and behaviours are connected, and how to develop a lifelong growth mindset.
The curriculum follows five core modules:
- Meet Your Brain: Understanding brain structure and learning self-regulation strategies like Happy Breathing.
- Celebrate: Discovering and celebrating unique character strengths to build self-esteem.
- Appreciate: Developing an “attitude of gratitude” by reflecting on the positive things in our lives.
- Relate: Fostering positive friendship blocks and communication skills like Active Listening.
- Engage: Building determination and perseverance through meaningful personal goal setting.
Our extended myHappymind Plus pillars integrate full coverage of health and physical wellbeing (myHappybody), families and friendships (myHappyrelationships), and money, safety, and media literacy (myHappyworld). This platform seamlessly incorporates all statutory aspects of Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE).
Promoting Britsh Values
We are deeply committed to actively promoting fundamental British Values: Democracy, the Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, and Mutual Respect and Tolerance.
While these concepts are explored during classroom activities, they are central to our whole-school assembly provision. To ensure these values are delivered in a way that is highly meaningful and contextualised for our children, we use no outsiders in assembly. Our own school staff personally lead and model these discussions, making certain that our British Values provision is directly connected to our specific school community and everyday life.
Working in Partnership
Our PSHE and RSE curriculum is not delivered in isolation. It links closely with our Science and PE curricula, is fully integrated with our school Behaviour Policy, and operates under strict Trauma-Informed Safeguarding Practices. This guarantees that Applegarth is a coherent, safe, and entirely supportive environment where every single young person is empowered to thrive.
Parent Partnership & The Parent App
We believe that learning is most impactful when school and home work together. To support this, all Applegarth families have free access to the myHappymind Parent App.
By downloading the app, you can:
- View Resources: Keep up-to-date with the topics and lessons your child is exploring in class.
- Reinforce Strategies: Practice techniques like Happy Breathing at home to support your child’s emotional regulation.
How to get started: Search for myHappymind in your device’s app store. If you need assistance with your school login details, please contact the main school office.
Impact
| 2021/2022 | 2022/2023 | 2023/2024 New EYFS Framework | 2024/2025 | 2025/2026 | |
| Reception (Cumulative total of Self-Regulation, Managing-Self and Building Relationships) | 80% | 69% | 86% | ||
| Yr 1- 6 (Applegarth pupils) Expected at Summer Term | 88% | 83% | 84% | 83% | 84% |
