At Wolfson Hillel, our vision is to empower and nurture our pupils, through our PSHE curriculum, to become confident, considerate, and responsible individuals who understand themselves, value and respect others and contribute positively to the wider world around them.
Rooted in our school’s Jewish values and commitment to inclusion, our curriculum supports every child in developing emotional intelligence, self-awareness and resilience. We teach our pupils to recognise and manage their emotions, to self-regulate effectively and to communicate their feelings with clarity and respect.
Our PSHE provision promotes a deep understanding of mental health and wellbeing, encouraging children to develop the knowledge and habits that support a healthy mind and body.
Pupils learn the importance of making informed choices about their physical health and of caring for themselves through balance, exercise and self-care. In doing so, they develop a deep understanding of how their bodies change as they grow, fostering confidence, respect and empathy for themselves and others as they move through different stages of life.
Through exploring the diversity of cultures, religions, and backgrounds within our community and beyond, children learn to celebrate differences, show empathy and recognise the strength that comes from unity. Guided by the values of chesed (kindness), tzedek (justice), and kavod (respect), our curriculum helps pupils develop a strong moral compass and a clear sense of personal responsibility. They are encouraged to think critically, to question and reflect thoughtfully and to make informed, ethical choices in an ever-changing world.
From EYFS to Year 6, our carefully sequenced curriculum ensures pupils build progressively on their knowledge and skills, from recognising emotions and forming relationships to demonstrating independence, critical thinking and social responsibility.
Our vision is for every child at Wolfson Hillel to leave our school with compassion, integrity and confidence — equipped with the emotional understanding, moral grounding and life skills they need to flourish and to contribute meaningfully to their communities and the wider world.
Our curriculum is carefully designed around nine key concepts that fit within our four units which are revisited and developed progressively each year, enabling pupils to build secure schemata and make meaningful links between prior and new learning.
Prior to each new unit beginning, children are given a pre-unit quiz which assesses a combination of prior knowledge that they have learnt from previous units as well as specific unit knowledge which is likely to touch upon unit learning from previous years. These quizzes inform teachers’ planning by identifying prior knowledge, highlighting misconceptions and ensuring teaching builds effectively from each pupil’s starting point.
Each lesson starts with a retrieval task, which informs the teachers of the pace of lesson and how to adapt the lessons.
Teachers use ongoing formative assessment and responsive teaching strategies throughout lessons to check understanding, address misconceptions and adapt learning to meet the needs of all pupils.
Discussion, questioning, reflection activities and scenario-based tasks provide regular opportunities for teachers to assess pupils’ understanding and their ability to apply learning in real-life contexts.
Due to the repetition of units, prior learning is revisited regularly to ensure knowledge is retained over time and that pupils make clear progress in both their understanding and application of key concepts.
Where gaps in understanding are identified, teachers provide targeted support, further discussion and adapted tasks to ensure all pupils can access and progress within the curriculum.