The focus at Edward Pauling Primary School is on teaching the fundamental building blocks and characteristics of positive relationships, with particular reference to friendships, family relationships, and relationships with other children and with adults.

This starts with pupils being taught about what a relationship is, what friendship is, what family means and who the people are who can support them. From the beginning of primary school, building on early education, pupils are taught how to take turns, how to treat each other with kindness, consideration and respect, the importance of honesty and truthfulness, permission seeking and giving, and the concept of personal privacy.

Respect for others is taught in an age-appropriate way, in terms of understanding one’s own and others’ boundaries in play, in negotiations about space, toys, books, resources and so on.

From the beginning, teachers will talk explicitly about the features of healthy friendships, family relationships and other relationships which young children are likely to encounter. Drawing attention to these in a range of contexts should enable pupils to form a strong early understanding of the features of relationships that are likely to lead to happiness and security. This will also help them to recognise any less positive relationships when they encounter them.

The principles of positive relationships also apply online especially as, by the end of primary school, many children will already be using the internet. When teaching relationships content, teachers will address online safety and appropriate behaviour in a way that is relevant to pupils’ lives. Teachers include content on how information and data is shared and used in all contexts, including online; for example, sharing pictures, understanding that many websites are businesses and how sites may use information provided by users in ways they might not expect.

Our children are taught to be sensitive and caring and understand that we are all different.  This is the same for our families too.

A growing ability to form strong and positive relationships with others depends on the deliberate cultivation of character traits and positive personal attributes in the individual. In a school wide context which encourages the development and practice of resilience and other attributes, this includes character traits such as helping pupils to believe they can achieve, persevere with tasks, work towards long-term rewards and continue despite setbacks. Alongside understanding the importance of self-respect and self-worth, pupils should develop personal attributes including honesty, integrity, courage, humility, kindness, generosity, trustworthiness and a sense of justice. This is achieved in a variety of ways including by providing planned opportunities for young people to undertake social action, active citizenship ‎and voluntary service to others locally or more widely.  Our curriculum intent (SCHOOL BAG) is discussed constantly with our pupils and helps build these virtues.

Relationships Education also creates an opportunity to enable pupils to be taught about positive emotional and mental wellbeing, including how friendships can support mental wellbeing.

Through Relationships Education (and RSE), our school teaches pupils the knowledge they need to recognise and to report abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse. This is delivered by focusing on boundaries and privacy, ensuring young people understand that they have rights over their own bodies. We also cover understanding boundaries in friendships with peers, and also in families and with others, in all contexts, including online.

Pupils know how to report concerns and seek advice when they suspect or know that something is wrong. At all stages it is important to balance teaching children about making sensible decisions to stay safe (including online) whilst being clear it is never the fault of a child who is abused and why victim blaming is always wrong. These subjects complement Health Education and, as part of a comprehensive programme and whole school approach, this knowledge supports safeguarding of children.

By the end of their time with us, pupils should know:

Families and people who care for us

• that families are important for children growing up because they can give love, security and stability
• the characteristics of healthy family life, commitment to each other, including in times of difficulty, protection and care for children and other family members, the importance of spending time together and sharing each other’s lives
• that others’ families, either in school or in the wider world, sometimes look different from their family, but that they should respect those differences and know that other children’s families are also characterised by love and care
• that stable, caring relationships, which may be of different types, are at the heart of happy families, and are important for children’s security as they grow up
• that marriage represents a formal and legally recognised commitment of two people to each other which is intended to be lifelong
• how to recognise if family relationships are making them feel unhappy or unsafe, and how to seek help or advice from others if needed

Caring friendships

• how important friendships are in making us feel happy and secure, and how people choose and make friends
• the characteristics of friendships, including mutual respect, truthfulness, trustworthiness, loyalty, kindness, generosity, trust, sharing interests and experiences and support with problems and difficulties
• that healthy friendships are positive and welcoming towards others, and do not make others feel lonely or excluded
• that most friendships have ups and downs, and that these can often be worked through so that the friendship is repaired or even strengthened, and that resorting to violence is never right
• how to recognise who to trust and who not to trust, how to judge when a friendship is making them feel unhappy or uncomfortable, managing conflict, how to manage these situations and how to seek help or advice from others, if needed

Respectful relationships

• the importance of respecting others, even when they are very different from them (for example, physically, in character, personality or backgrounds), or make different choices or have different preferences or beliefs
• practical steps they can take in a range of different contexts to improve or support respectful relationships
• the conventions of courtesy and manners
• the importance of self-respect and how this links to their own happiness
• that in school and in wider society they can expect to be treated with respect by others, and that in turn they should show due respect to others, including those in positions of authority
• about different types of bullying (including cyberbullying), the impact of bullying, responsibilities of bystanders (primarily reporting bullying to an adult) and how to get help
• what a stereotype is, and how stereotypes can be unfair, negative or destructive
• the importance of permission-seeking and giving in relationships with friends, peers and adults

Online relationships

• that people sometimes behave differently online, including by pretending to be someone they are not
• that the same principles apply to online relationships as to face-to-face relationships, including the importance of respect for others online including when we are anonymous
• the rules and principles for keeping safe online, how to recognise risks, harmful content and contact, and how to report them
• how to critically consider their online friendships and sources of information including awareness of the risks associated with people they have never met
• how information and data is shared and used online

Being safe

• what sorts of boundaries are appropriate in friendships with peers and others (including in a digital context)
• about the concept of privacy and the implications of it for both children and adults; including that it is not always right to keep secrets if they relate to being safe
• that each person’s body belongs to them, and the differences between appropriate and inappropriate or unsafe physical, and other, contact
• how to respond safely and appropriately to adults they may encounter (in all contexts, including online) whom they do not know
• how to recognise and report feelings of being unsafe or feeling bad about any adult
• how to ask for advice or help for themselves or others, and to keep trying until they are heard,
• how to report concerns or abuse, and the vocabulary and confidence needed to do so
• where to get advice, for example family, school or other sources.

These are taught both directly through the PSHE curriculum, but also link to the Computing curriculum and other events such as participation in the NSPCC 'Speak Out. Stay Safe.' campaign or talks from the police, fire brigade, etc.