Ashpark Primary School

Curricular Position Statement – Health and Wellbeing

Healthy         Hardworking       Caring          Kind

Why Health and Wellbeing?

Learning in the Health and Wellbeing will enable children and young people to:

• Develop their self-awareness, self-worth and respect for others.
• Meet challenges manage, change and build relationships.
• Experience, personal achievement, and build their resilience and confidence.
• Understand and develop their physical, mental and spiritual well-being and social skills.
• Understand what they eat how active they are and how decisions they make about their behaviours and relationships affect their physical and mental well-being.
• Participate in a wide range of activities, which promote a healthy lifestyle.
• Understand the adults in their school community have a responsibility to look after them, listen to their concerns and involve others where necessary.
• Learn about where to find help and resources to inform choices.
• Assess and manage risk and understand the impact of risk-taking behaviour.
• Reflect on their strengths and skills to help them make informed choices when planning their next steps.
• Acknowledge diversity and understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to challenge discrimination.

 

What Learning and Teaching Approaches are used?

At Ashpark Primary, we promote high quality learning and teaching in Health and Wellbeing.  Staff plan challenging and engaging learning experiences which motivate and sustain the interests of learners across the school.  Effective learning and teaching includes:

• Active learning to allow children to observe, experiment, experience and play.
• Using relevant contexts for learning to motivate and engage children.
• Appropriate and effective use of technology.
• Building on the principles of Assessment is for Learning.
• Collaborative and independent learning.
• Discussion and informed debate.
• Interdisciplinary learning experiences.
• Learning outdoors, field trips, visits and input by external contributors.

Learning and Teaching in Health and Wellbeing at Ashpark is strongly linked to Glasgow’s Nurturing Principles:

• Learning is understood developmentally.
• The learning environment offers a safe base for pupils.
• Nurture is important for the development of well-being.
• Language is a vital means of communication.
• All behaviour is communication.
• Transitions are important in children’s lives.

 

How do children progress through Health and Wellbeing?

Staff at Ashpark use our bespoke planning format to record learning. This planning format uses guidance from the Bounce Back and Healthy In Schools programme. From August 2023, class teachers will use the Glasgow City Council Programme of Study to support planning, teaching and assessing Health and Wellbeing across the school. This progression pathways ensures breadth and depth of learning across Early, First and Second Levels. Learners will develop knowledge and skills through focussing on the key organisers of:

• Mental, Emotional, Social and Physical Wellbeing
• Panning for Choices and Change
• Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport
• Food and Health
• Substance Misuse
• Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood

The organisers recognise the special contribution made by each of areas of HWB.  At Ashpark, we encourage teachers to focus on local contexts in addition to national and international. Class teachers use this framework to provide children and young people with opportunities for effective interdisciplinary working by making connections across and between subjects.   Experiences and Outcomes are bundled to ensure relevance and coverage across each level of Curriculum for Excellence.

How are skills developed in Health and Wellbeing?

At Ashpark, the development of skills is an essential aspect of learning in Health and Wellbeing and the Experiences and Outcomes provide frequent opportunities for applying these skills in new and more complex contexts.  Through the Health and Wellbeing Programme at Ashpark Primary, children and young people will develop skills including:

Observing, describing, and reporting on a wide range of life experiences and activities Exploring, evaluating, and developing informed views and opinions. Curiosity and problem-solving skills Critical thinking Interpreting data, information, and other sources Presentation e.g. oral, written, multimedia. Resilience, Self-Esteem and Self-Worth Emotional Literacy

Comparing and contrasting to draw valid conclusions. Interacting with others Discussion and informed debate Reasoning and justifying points of view. Developing skills in a variety of sports and physical activities Cooking Cooperation and Sportsmanship Fine and Gross motor skills Coordination, balance and movement

 

How do we assess Health and Wellbeing?

At Ashpark, assessment in Health and Wellbeing focuses on learner’s knowledge, understanding and skills in their studies of 6 core organisers.

The purpose of assessment in Ashpark Primary is:

• To identify pupils’ strengths, attainments and development needs
• To decide on the next steps
• To provide effective feedback to pupils in order to move learning forward
• To allow effective reporting

In all classes, teaching staff use the Write, Say, Make or Do approach to allow learners to demonstrate their learning within Health and Wellbeing.

Staff at Ashpark assess pupil’s learning formatively within lessons using a wide range of strategies. Pupil’s learning is recorded digitally, in subject jotters and is shared more widely on platforms such as Seesaw and X (formerly Twitter). During session 23/24, our DLOL will be trialling recording assessment on ‘Showbie’ in the form of a learning journal.  Teachers create a yearly floorbook where each subject will be celebrated throughout the year; including pupil voice. Pupils also select pieces of HWB work they are proud of and keep these in their black assessment folders.

Using this evidence and teacher professional judgement, teachers will make informed decisions using the Health and Wellbeing Benchmarks about whether a learner has:

• Achieved a breadth of learning across the knowledge, understanding and skills as set out in the experiences and outcomes for the level
• Responded consistently well to the level of challenge set out in the experiences and outcomes for the level and has moved forward to learning at the next level in some aspects
• Demonstrated application of what they have learned in new and unfamiliar situations in order to achieve a level in Health and Wellbeing.

 

What is the link between Health and Wellbeing and other areas of the curriculum?

Health and Wellbeing experiences and outcomes encourage links with other areas of learning to provide learners with a deeper, more enjoyable and active experience.   The promotion of being a responsible citizen and confident individuals are central features of learning in Health and Wellbeing as children and young people develop skills and knowledge to enable and encourage participation. Within Health and Wellbeing, practitioners will plan opportunities for children and young people to become more self-aware in a variety of ways especially in personal decision making about their own life choices. Effective Literacy skills run through the core of Health and Wellbeing with Talking and Listening at the heart of learning and teaching. Pupils will hone their abilities to discuss, debate and share personal views through Health and Wellbeing. The experiences and outcomes in this curricular area overlap in many other areas such as:

• RME – The role religion plays in people’s Mental, Emotional and Social Wellbeing
• Technology – The role and experiences people have through social media and digital technologies in their day-to-day life

Health and Wellbeing in Ashpark is often a vehicle for the Expressive Arts with pupils creating art linked to topics being covered or learning songs to support understanding of challenging topics. Pupils may also role play scenarios or act out to express themselves, in drama.

 

What key resources are used to support learning and teaching?

The key resources used throughout the school include:

• Glasgow City Council’s Health and Wellbeing Curriculum Framework
• https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/glasgowpsychologicalservice/nurture/#:~:text=Glasgow%27s%20Nurturing%20Approach%20is%20guided,for%20the%20development%20of%20wellbeing
• https://education.gov.scot/media/5p4dvqvm/health-and-wellbeing-eo.pdf
• https://education.gov.scot/media/tbhpydja/hwbpersonalsocial-educationbenchmarkspdf.pdf