PSHE

PSHE Lead: Miss Ladier

Vision

At Menorah Foundation School, we aim to empower and educate our pupils to live their best lives, building a safe and supportive community where mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing are prioritised. As a Modern Orthodox Jewish School, we deem it paramount for our children to make links with their teachings about Middos, Torah Im Derech Eretz and Gemilus Chasodim, built through our emphasis on Hakoras Hatoiv, and recognise this in our PSHE curriculum.

We are committed to educating our children on how to foster positive, healthy relationships, providing them with the necessary tools and strategies to navigate conflict and problem solve. We strive to nurture our pupils’ sense of citizenship, teaching them about their local community and how they can positively contribute. At MFS, we recognise that we live in an evolving digital age, and whilst we equip our children with the knowledge and skills to succeed with this, we aim for our children to identify online risks, and to be SMART (Safe, Meeting, Accepting, Reliable, Tell). In addition to this, we encourage our pupils to lead a healthy lifestyle by highlighting the importance of hygiene, diet and physical health. At MFS we understand the importance of physical activity and its positive impact on mental wellbeing and create opportunities for our children to be more active.

As a school, we are passionate about our children having a voice. We aim to instil confidence in our pupils in order for them to express their views and opinions. We hope that they will be able to contribute to wider school life and bring about positive change.

By addressing these crucial components, we strive to create a community where everyone feels empowered, resilient, and capable of navigating the challenges of today's world while promoting kindness, empathy, and a sense of belonging.

How We Teach PSHE at MFS

• A curriculum map ensures full coverage of the PSHE/RSE National Curriculum.
• Medium term plans enable teachers to ensure that each PSHE topic is covered in full.
• Prior knowledge is assessed at the beginning of a new block of learning so that gaps and misconceptions can be addressed before learning new material.
• Prior learning is included at the beginning of each PSHE lesson so that children can retrieve previously learnt material. These tasks are bespoke for the needs of each class.
• Teachers introduce and continuously revisit key vocabulary at the beginning of each PSHE lesson. This enables children to access and deepen their understanding and supports them to speak and write confidently. 
• Teachers have the necessary resources for planning and presenting engaging lessons that inspire children.
• Children are encouraged to ask questions and make links with learning in other areas of the curriculum.
• We build on children’s cultural capital by finding opportunities for children to connect with people form the wider community e.g. police visits, charity work
• We promote physical activity through the Daily Mile
• Pupil voice is promoted through our Student Council, Eco Warriors, Break Buddies, Book Club, Chessed Club, suggestion box and when children meet with subject leaders to give feedback on the curriculum.
• Weekly assemblies celebrate our pupils and recognise their achievements, and teach our children about current affairs and world events.
• Votes for Schools, which we use in weekly assemblies, empowers our pupils to engage with the world around them, think critically, and make their voices heard.
• A current affairs display encourages the children to discuss and debate issues.
• Teachers have the opportunity to observe and be observed teaching PSHE in order to share best practice.

Impact

As a result of our PSHE teaching at Menorah Foundation School, you will see:

• Children who can build positive, healthy relationships and who are able to navigate conflict.
• Children who are confident and can demonstrate resilience. 
• Children who are aware of their emotions and can self-regulate.
• Children who are tolerant and respectful of others, especially those who are different to them.
• Children who understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
• Children who can be SMART online.
• Children who make links with learning in other areas of the curriculum, including in Jewish Studies.
• Children who can work collaboratively and can contribute to the wider community.
• Children who are confident to voice their opinions and views.