PSHE
At Kells Lane, PSHE education gives every child the knowledge, skills and vocabulary to understand themselves, manage their health and wellbeing, build positive relationships and navigate the world around them with confidence and care.
It is a carefully planned, sequenced curriculum that runs from Nursery to Year 6 — building progressively on what children know and can do, and connecting directly to the values, wellbeing provision and inclusive ethos that define our school.
We want every child to leave Kells Lane knowing who they are, how to look after themselves and others, and that they have the right to be safe, happy and heard.
Our PSHE Lead
PSHE at Kells Lane is led by Mrs Lucy Duckworth, who oversees the planning, delivery and review of our PSHE curriculum across the school.
Our PSHE curriculum
Our PSHE curriculum is built around three complementary programmes, each bringing a distinct and valuable focus:
Pol-Ed — in partnership with Northumbria Police
Pol-Ed is a nationally recognised PSHE programme developed by teachers and quality assured by policing professionals. Available to Kells Lane through the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit, it provides expertly planned, age-appropriate lessons that help children understand risk, consequences, the law and their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Pol-Ed lessons are built around key values and cover a wide range of priority topics including:
• Healthy and unhealthy relationships, consent and personal boundaries
• Online safety, exploitation and grooming awareness
• Bullying — including child-on-child abuse
• The role of emergency services and the police
• Anti-social behaviour, criminal exploitation and consequences
• Resilience and making informed, positive choices
Pol-Ed lessons are interactive, discussion-based and carefully matched to children’s age and stage. They give children a safe space to ask questions, challenge misconceptions and develop the knowledge and confidence to keep themselves and others safe.
Find out more about Pol-Ed at -https://www.pol-ed.co.uk/
Melva — mental health education for KS2 Melva is an award-winning digital programme that teaches Key Stage 2 children about mental health and emotional wellbeing through storytelling, animation and hands-on activities. Children follow the story of Melva Mapletree as she navigates anxiety, bereavement and life’s challenges — exploring the NHS 5 Ways to Wellbeing, strategies for managing big feelings, and how to ask for help.
Melva is for every child — not just those who are struggling. It builds the emotional vocabulary and self-management skills that support children’s wellbeing for life.
Find out more about Melva - https://melva.org.uk/
Gateshead Growing Up — school nursing team
Our PSHE curriculum is further enriched through our partnership with the Gateshead Growing Up school nursing team, who deliver age-appropriate health education sessions directly to children across the school. The Growing Up team brings specialist health expertise into the classroom, covering topics including puberty, physical health, emotional health and the transition into adolescence.
Their sessions complement our curriculum provision and give children access to trusted, knowledgeable health professionals in a safe school environment.
This partnership reflects our commitment to children’s health as a whole — physical, emotional and social — and our belief that health education is most powerful when it comes from people who live and work in children’s own community.
What PSHE covers at Kells Lane
Across the school, our PSHE curriculum covers the following areas, building progressively from Nursery to Year 6:
• Health and wellbeing — physical health, mental health, emotional literacy, keeping safe, puberty and growing up
• Relationships — friendships, family life, healthy and unhealthy relationships, consent, conflict resolution
• Living in the wider world — economic wellbeing, careers, community, rights and responsibilities, the law
• Safety — online safety, personal safety, recognising risk, knowing who to ask for help
• Identity and diversity — understanding self and others, equality, inclusion, celebrating difference
PSHE and the wider curriculum
PSHE does not exist in isolation at Kells Lane. It connects to and is strengthened by:
• Relationships and Health Education (RHE) — our statutory RHE curriculum, which forms a core part of our PSHE offer
• Wellbeing provision — THRIVE, TGMC, trauma-informed staff and a Designated Mental Health Lead Teacher
• SMSC development — the values, character and civic education that runs through the whole curriculum
• Citizenship — democracy, rights, law and the Kells Lane Cabinet
• Careers education — led by Mrs Duckworth, connecting children to the world of work from Nursery to Year 6
Together these form a coherent, school-wide approach to personal development — ensuring every child at Kells Lane develops not just academically, but as a whole, healthy, confident and compassionate person.
How we assess PSHE
PSHE assessment at Kells Lane is purposeful and manageable. We use three complementary approaches:
• Pol-Ed curriculum tracking: every time a teacher delivers a Pol-Ed lesson, the platform automatically records it — capturing how many lessons have been taught across the four strands of the curriculum. Mrs Duckworth can see coverage across the school at a glance, ensuring breadth and balance across all year groups throughout the year.
• Floor books: children’s learning and responses are captured in class floor books, providing a tangible record of the discussions, activities and thinking that take place in PSHE lessons. Floor books reflect the collaborative, discussion-based nature of PSHE — they capture not just what children know but how they think and how they express themselves.
• Pupil voice: we talk to children. Their responses, questions and reflections are the most meaningful evidence of the impact of PSHE teaching. Regular pupil voice activities give Mrs Duckworth and class teachers a genuine picture of what children understand, what concerns them and where further learning is needed.
This approach keeps assessment proportionate and meaningful — avoiding unnecessary paperwork while ensuring PSHE has the same rigour and accountability as any other curriculum area.
Key links Relationships and Health Education (RHE) Relationships and Health Education
Wellbeing at Kells Lane Wellbeing at Kells Lane
Citizenship - Citizenship
Careers Education - Careers Education