Year 6: Coram Life Education
This week, year 6 had their Life Education session, which focused on making decisions. The session began with a recap on how we can keep our bodies healthy and the importance of mental health. The session then moved on to discussing drugs: that they change the way a person thinks, feels and behaves and that there are legal and illegal drugs. The children learned that medicines contain drugs and that medicines can sometimes be unsafe if used incorrectly. The session ended with a discussion around how we can avoid peer pressure and what is meant by being a bystander or an upstander. The children really enjoyed this session and learned a lot, conducting themselves in a very sensible and mature manner.
Year 2 - Life Education Visit
We had a visit from Life Education this week. We spoke about staying healthy and our feelings.
Year 1: A Visit from Harold the Giraffe
Year 1 had a very exciting visit from Harold the Giraffe, who came to teach us all about our wonderful bodies and how to keep them healthy! The children learned why breakfast is so important, helping our bodies get ready for the day with lots of energy for learning and playing. Harold showed us different types of foods and how they help our bodies in different ways: Dairy foods such as cheese, yoghurt and milk are full of calcium, which helps keep our teeth and bones strong. Protein foods like fish, beans, eggs, chicken, chickpeas and peanut butter help to build strong muscles. Fruits and vegetables such as peas, grapes, apples, aubergine, peppers and bananas help keep us healthy and we should try to eat 5 a day! Carbohydrates including bread, porridge, pasta, potatoes, Weetabix and rice give us the energy we need. We also talked about having a balanced diet, with a mix of all these food groups. Harold helped the children understand more about their bodies too. We learned that: Our skin keeps us safe and protects our body. We need to breathe oxygen to stay alive. Food goes into our stomach, where it gets digested to give us energy. The session also reminded us how to stay healthy and safe by: Washing our hands to get rid of germs. Understanding that medicine should only be taken with help from a grown-up. Finally, Harold talked about our feelings and friendships and why it’s important to say sorry if we do something wrong, even if it was an accident. Year 1 were fantastic listeners and really enjoyed meeting Harold the Giraffe. It was a fun, engaging session that helped us learn how to look after our bodies and each other!
Year 4 - Science: Air Pollution
The Year 4 super scientists undertook some fieldwork this week. They will be comparing the level of air pollution in 4 areas within our locality and so they suggested some areas to test and off we went to place our test cards. One side of each card was covered with a thin layer of Vaseline with the idea that some particles released from vehicles and machinery will stick to the cards and we can observe and discuss the level of pollution in each area. We also took a reading of the noise level in each area using a decibel meter so that we could determine whether there is a link between noise level and pollution level.
Year 4 - Life Education
The children love a visit from Harold the Giraffe and the Life Education team. Today, the Year 4 class learned about ways to look after our bodies and our wellbeing. Beginning with a look at our bodies’ basic needs, we considered how we can take care of ourselves physically. The children learned why sleep is so important and that sometimes our bodies may need medication to bring them back in balance. They also learned about some problems associated with misusing drugs. Our session also covered friendships and diversity, highlighting the positives of being different to each other. After short video clip of Harold and his friends at a theme park aided a discussion about conflict resolution with particular attention on having different interests but finding a compromise. Finally, the highlight of the session was a visit from Harold.
Year 3- P.E-Sugar Detectives: Our GULP Project
Today, our pupils became "Sugar Detectives" as part of the GULP (Give Up Loving Pop) project. The children investigated a variety of popular drinks to uncover the hidden sugars they contain. Using their mathematical skills, they completed a comparison table detailing the total volume of each drink and the specific sugar content. The highlight of the lesson was converting grams of sugar into the actual number of sugar cubes to create a visual representation of what we are consuming. A key takeaway for our detectives was the importance of reading labels carefully; they discovered that while some bottles are 500ml, the nutritional information is often only listed for 100ml, requiring them to calculate the total amount for the whole bottle.
Year 3- PSHE and Life Education Session-Meeting the Brain with Harold and Friends
Today, Year 3 welcomed Karen from the Life Education van for an engaging session titled "Meet the Brain." The children explored how to make healthy choices, specifically learning to differentiate between helpful medicines and harmful substances like nicotine. To keep their "brains ticking" and maintain focus, the session was punctuated with high-energy "stretch and wriggle" moments. The pupils also focused on the importance of looking after our lungs and the risks associated with smoking. This learning was brought to life through a story about Harold the Giraffe and his friends preparing for a talent show. When Harold and Derek began to argue about who could take part, the children helped Kiki understand Eli’s clever suggestion for resolving the conflict. They explained how the friends could use their individual talents together: Harold singing while Derek played the trumpet. It was a fantastic lesson in friendship, compromise, and teamwork that perfectly complemented our focus on healthy bodies and minds.
Year 5 Life Education: Friends
Today, year 5 had their Life Education session, focusing on friendship. They began by discussing what we need to do to keep our bodies and minds healthy; thinking about how these things affect our behaviour, mood, growth and development. The children talked about the importance of good mental health and how we should aim to: be mindful, connect with others, be active, be creative and try to give to others. This led into the topic of healthy friendships and conflict resolution. The children discussed what it means to be aggressive, passive or assertive when trying to solve arguments with our friends. The session ended with a discussion around standing up to peer pressure.
Year 6 - NSPCC
Year 6 enjoyed their NSPCC talk, which focused on the importance of speaking out and staying safe. The session reminded the children about Childline and how it can support them if they are worried or need someone to talk to. Through discussion and clear, age-appropriate examples, the children learned about trusted adults, personal safety and where to seek help. The talk provided an important opportunity for children to ask questions and deepen their understanding of keeping themselves and others safe.
Year 5 - Speak Out with the NSPCC
Jan from the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) visited Year 5 today about the different types of abuse that children may experience. The class talked about how to identify when abuse might happen, including the differences between bullying and cyberbullying. The key message about staying safe was to speak out to trusted adults about any concerns that children may have alongside using the Childline website and phone number 0800 1111.
Reception: Muddy Monday
Today is known as Blue Monday, but our Reception class decided to rename it "Happy Monday" by participating in the five steps to wellbeing. The children focused on being active and taking notice of our special world. During their walk, they were mesmerised by the fog and gave thanks for the birds, insects, dogs, and trees. They returned to school excited to share what they had observed with their peers during "snack and chat." If you are feeling a bit low today, we encourage you to try going for a walk and taking a moment to appreciate the world around you.
Year 2 NSPCC visit - Speak Out. Stay Safe.
In Year 2, we had a visit from the NSPCC. We learned more about safe adults (both in school and out of school), what we can do if we are upset or worried and how to contact Childline.