Year group PSHE activities hero

Year Group PSHE Activities: A Year-by-Year Guide

Authored by the Muse Wellbeing Team

First Published on the 25th of July, 2026.

Lead Writer

David is a qualified British teacher and the Muse Wellbeing director and lead curriculum developer. His main passions include education, surfing (badly) and travel.

Editorial Review

With over 15 years of experience teaching in primary schools in northern England, Charlotte has played a key role in shaping many lessons across the Muse Wellbeing curriculum.
A well-sequenced PSHE curriculum should make the purpose of learning in each year group explicit. Friendships, safety, health and online life will rightly be revisited across primary school, but the knowledge, vocabulary, activity demand and level of judgement should develop each time. Without that progression, pupils may encounter the same messages repeatedly without becoming better able to apply them in more complex situations.

This guide supports PSHE leads, senior leaders and class teachers to plan year group PSHE activities across primary school, from Year 1 to Year 6. It provides a practical whole-school process for auditing current provision, organising recurring strands, increasing challenge and checking that activities remain accessible, teachable and relevant to pupils' lives. The focus throughout is on what pupils actually do in lessons and how the demand of those activities increases.

For schools in England, the revised statutory guidance for Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education comes into force on 1 September 2026. Until 31 August 2026, schools should continue to follow the guidance currently in force while using the revised version to prepare for the 2026/27 academic year. 

The revised guidance emphasises clear sequencing and sufficient opportunities for pupils to practise and apply core knowledge. Leaders should review it alongside their wider PSHE aims, safeguarding priorities and knowledge of their community. Our introduction to PSHE lessons explains how individual lessons fit within the wider subject.

Contents

  • What you'll need before you begin
  • Organise progression through recurring strands
  • Year-by-year PSHE progression overview
  • A quick PSHE topic coverage checklist
  • Build Year 1 and Year 2 activities with secure foundations
  • Build Year 3 and Year 4 activities that deepen learning
  • Plan purposeful PSHE activities for Year 5 and Year 6
  • Adapt activities across every year group for SEND and diverse needs
  • Check for repetition, gaps and end-of-year fit
  • Assessment in PSHE: how to show impact without grades
  • Planning risks to avoid
  • What to do next
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Key takeaways
  • Conclusion
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What you'll need before you begin

Before mapping activities, bring together the documents and evidence that show how PSHE is currently planned and delivered across the school. Review is more productive when leaders are working from the same evidence rather than relying on memory or a polished overview alone.

  • Your current long-term or medium-term PSHE overview
  • Any existing PSHE scheme of work used across the school
  • The statutory Relationships Education and Health Education requirements that apply to your setting
  • A simple planning grid covering Year 1 to Year 6
  • Representative lesson plans, resources and pupil responses, plus age-appropriate pupil voice focused on what pupils remember and can apply
  • Feedback from class teachers, the SENCO, the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and phase leaders

Use Muse's Teacher Resources and Lesson Planning guide to compare practical lesson delivery and activity types, and our guide on PSHE meaning with further detail on the topic of learning to deepen foundational understanding.

Include phase leaders or year group representatives in the review wherever possible. Teachers can identify what pupils genuinely remember, which activities prompted purposeful discussion and where language or concepts were pitched too high. This provides a more reliable picture than assuming that planned coverage automatically became secure learning.

A fully resourced PSHE scheme of work can reduce this planning burden. The Muse Wellbeing curriculum provides a structured year-group sequence, lesson plans, slides, pupil resources and supporting documents for subject leaders. Leaders should still check how the sequence aligns with statutory requirements, safeguarding priorities, school policy and the needs of their pupils. 

Audit what each year group already teaches

Gather the real picture, not the ideal one

Begin by listing the main PSHE areas taught in each year group and the lessons that support them. Use the curriculum overview as a starting point, then compare it with lesson plans, resources and teacher feedback. The purpose is not to evaluate individual teachers. It is to build an accurate whole-school picture of what has been taught, what pupils appear to remember and apply and where staff may need greater clarity or consistency.

An audit may show that a familiar theme appears frequently without a clear increase in challenge. A school might teach friendship in Years 1, 3 and 5, for example, but use very similar activities about kindness each time. Repetition can be valuable when it consolidates important knowledge. It may limit progression, however, when pupils are not increasingly expected to think, communicate or respond with greater independence.

Record the activity type as well as the topic

For each lesson, note what pupils actually do. They might sort pictures, discuss a story, rehearse a sentence, role-play a response, rank options, analyse a case study or reflect independently. The same topic can show strong progression when the activity demand changes. A Year 1 paired discussion about recognising feelings and a Year 6 scenario about resisting peer pressure may both sit within relationships, but the reasoning and application are very different.

Recording the task type also helps leaders identify over-reliance on one approach. If every year group depends on open discussion, some pupils may have limited opportunities to practise language, make decisions or demonstrate what they understand in another form.

Identify where staff confidence affects coverage

During the audit, check whether familiar content receives more time than areas staff find sensitive or less familiar. Online influence, body changes, consent and boundaries, discrimination and economic wellbeing can become uneven when teachers lack clear guidance or appropriate resources.

The audit should record where staff need stronger subject knowledge, agreed vocabulary, clearer teacher guidance or safeguarding support. Senior leaders can then decide whether the response is staff development, revised resources, agreed language for sensitive content or closer planning with the PSHE lead and DSL. Important learning should not be removed simply because staff confidence is uneven.
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Organise progression through recurring strands

Choose a small number of strands to track

Organise the curriculum through broad strands that return across the primary years. Schools may use their own framework, the strands in an existing programme or a set of principles that reflects their ethos. Muse Wellbeing uses five core principles: Mental and Physical Health; Positive and Respectful Relationships; Global Citizenship and Community Care; Personal Growth and Economic Wellbeing; and Digital Citizenship and Online Safety.

A clear strand structure allows leaders to read learning vertically from Year 1 to Year 6. It also reduces the risk of PSHE becoming a collection of themed weeks and isolated activities. A concise PSHE progression map should show how knowledge, vocabulary, skills and opportunities for application build within each strand.

Define how complexity and learning will grow

Progression is not created simply by adding more content. It comes from increasing the depth, independence and realism of the learning. The EEF's guidance on social and emotional learning reinforces the value of explicit teaching, modelling and opportunities to practise key skills. In relationships, younger pupils may recognise kind and unkind behaviour, while older pupils consider loyalty, pressure, privacy, repair after conflict and the effect of group dynamics. In health and wellbeing, early work may focus on feelings, routines and trusted adults, while later learning explores habits, influence, coping strategies and informed choices.

Leaders should be able to explain what becomes more demanding in each year group. This may be the vocabulary pupils use, the number of viewpoints they consider, the uncertainty within a scenario, the independence of their response or the extent to which they can justify a safer and more respectful choice.

Use progression verbs

Progression verbs provide a useful planning check. Year 1 pupils might name, recognise and practise. Year 2 pupils might describe, choose and explain a simple consequence. Year 3 pupils might compare, rehearse and apply. Year 4 pupils might interpret, justify and reflect. Year 5 pupils might analyse, challenge and adapt. Year 6 pupils might evaluate, prioritise and make a reasoned judgement.

These verbs should not become a rigid ladder, but they help staff distinguish between revisiting an important concept and repeating the same activity. They also make learning intentions clearer for teachers and pupils.
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Year-by-year PSHE progression overview

This overview shows how cognitive demand, independence and the application of PSHE knowledge can develop from Year 1 to Year 6. It is intended as a leadership check rather than a prescribed sequence, helping schools test whether recurring content becomes progressively more demanding.

Year group Expected progression Indicative learning approaches Illustrative application
Year 1 Secure foundational vocabulary and rehearse key responses Story-based discussion, visual sorting, modelling and rehearsal Identify safe and unsafe choices, name a trusted adult and rehearse asking for help
Year 2 Explain choices, consequences and simple strategies Scenario work, sequencing, paired problem-solving and short role-play Select and explain a fair response to a minor friendship disagreement
Year 3 Compare responses and apply assertive communication Response ranking, perspective-taking, case studies and assertive rehearsal Select and justify an assertive response to friendship pressure
Year 4 Compare perspectives and justify respectful decisions Case studies, structured ranking, viewpoint comparison and reflection Evaluate responses to a group conflict, considering impact, fairness and safety
Year 5 Analyse influence, risk and competing pressures Media analysis, structured discussion, anonymous questions and scenario evaluation Challenge a persuasive media or peer message and plan a safer response
Year 6 Evaluate complex situations and exercise independent judgement Multi-layered scenarios, transition case studies, decision pathways and reflection Justify the safest and most respectful response to a complex situation involving privacy, pressure or transition
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A quick PSHE topic coverage checklist

Yearly PSHE coverage 2
A strand-based curriculum can still contain gaps. As a breadth check, leaders should be able to identify where pupils encounter each of the following areas in an age-appropriate form and how each is revisited with greater depth. Use our PSHE topics guide to check wider curriculum areas that may sit beyond statutory Relationships Education and Health Education.

  • Relationships and families, including friendship, respect, boundaries, permission-seeking and help-seeking
  • Mental health and emotional wellbeing, including feelings vocabulary, coping strategies and sources of support
  • Physical health, including sleep, nutrition, hygiene, physical activity, body changes and basic first aid
  • Personal safety, including trusted adults, risk, safe and unsafe situations, road safety and responding to pressure
  • Bullying, discrimination and inclusion, including how to respond and how to support others
  • Digital citizenship and media literacy, including online safety, privacy, influence, misinformation and managing attention
  • Economic wellbeing and careers, including needs and wants, saving and spending, aspirations and challenging stereotypes
  • Community and citizenship, including rules, rights, responsibilities, fairness and contributing to school and wider society

For schools in England, Relationships Education is compulsory in all primary schools. Health Education is compulsory in state-funded primary schools. Primary sex education beyond the national curriculum for science is not compulsory, although schools may choose to teach it where it meets pupils' needs. 

Wider PSHE strands, including much of economic wellbeing and primary citizenship, extend beyond the statutory RSHE requirements, although some related content may overlap with Relationships Education or Health Education. Leaders should identify which elements meet statutory requirements and which form part of the school’s wider PSHE provision, then show how they contribute to one coherent programme supporting personal development and safeguarding.

Leaders should check whether any area is missing or treated too narrowly. For example, economic wellbeing may appear only in an assembly, digital learning may focus only on not sharing personal information without addressing persuasion, online reputation or credibility, and personal safety may focus only on unfamiliar adults rather than everyday places, safe touch boundaries, dares, secrets and help-seeking. Strengthening an existing unit may address a gap more effectively than adding another stand-alone lesson.
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Build Year 1 and Year 2 activities with secure foundations

Plan Year 1 around pupils' immediate world

Effective PSHE activities for Year 1 should be concrete, familiar and reassuring. Priorities often include classroom relationships, naming feelings, simple health routines, belonging, basic safety and identifying trusted adults. Suitable activities include matching feelings to expressions, sorting safe and unsafe actions, choosing who could help in a familiar situation and practising a short sentence for asking for support.

The aim is secure foundational vocabulary rather than superficial breadth. Pupils need repeated opportunities to hear, say and recognise key vocabulary in predictable contexts. Simple stories, visual prompts, puppets and short role-play can create enough distance for discussion without expecting children to share personal experiences.

Extend independence in Year 2

Year 2 can retain a concrete approach while asking pupils to make more choices and explain simple consequences. Suitable themes include fairness, resolving small disagreements, healthy routines, keeping information private, recognising unkind behaviour and understanding how choices affect other people.

Useful PSHE group activities at this stage include short scenario cards, paired problem-solving, sequencing a safe response and comparing two possible choices. A useful progression check is whether pupils are moving beyond naming an emotion or repeating a rule. By the end of KS1, a suitable goal is for pupils to explain why a choice may be helpful, fair or safe.

Keep recording light but purposeful

Young pupils do not need extensive written outcomes to demonstrate progress. Structured talk, drawing, sorting, practical rehearsal and modelled sentence stems often provide stronger evidence. A brief before-and-after response can show whether vocabulary or understanding has changed without turning PSHE into a writing task.

Where teachers need a broader bank of practical examples, these PSHE teaching ideas can support varied classroom delivery while leaders retain control of the intended progression.
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Build Year 3 and Year 4 activities that deepen learning

Use Year 3 to bridge from KS1 to fuller discussion

Effective PSHE activities for Year 3 should show a clear step up in reasoning. Pupils can explore more nuanced friendship situations, begin to recognise pressure and influence, discuss a wider range of online experiences and reflect more independently on emotions and coping strategies.

Activities might ask pupils to rank possible responses, explain a character's motive, identify what makes advice safe or unsafe, rehearse assertive language or compare how the same situation could feel to different people. The key is to deepen the concept rather than repeat KS1 learning with longer vocabulary.

Make Year 4 more comparative and reflective

By Year 4, pupils can compare viewpoints, notice how group dynamics affect choices and think more carefully about inclusion, responsibility and consequences. Strong activities include case-study discussion, diamond ranking, a values continuum, evaluating respectful language and revising an unsafe or unhelpful response.

This is also a useful point to strengthen media literacy. The UK Safer Internet Centre's ProjectEVOLVE resources can help schools plan progression across online safety and digital literacy from Early Years to Year 6. Pupils can begin to ask who created a message, what the creator wants the audience to think or do and whether information is trustworthy. These questions prepare pupils for more demanding work on influence, reputation and misinformation in upper KS2.

Revisit familiar strands through a sharper lens

When a topic returns, change the focus as well as the wording. Friendship can move from recognising kindness in Year 1, to resolving a disagreement in Year 2, to responding assertively in Year 3 and to balancing loyalty with good judgement in Year 4. Online safety can move from asking a trusted adult before going online to recognising pressure, persuasion and the effect of sharing information.

This kind of progression helps staff see that age-appropriate teaching does not mean avoiding complexity. It means selecting examples, language and tasks that allow pupils to think more deeply without placing them in situations that are emotionally unsafe or developmentally unsuitable.
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Plan purposeful PSHE activities for Year 5 and Year 6 

Yearly PSHE Y5 and Y6

Treat Year 5 as a preparation year, not simply an older Year 4

Year 5 should prepare pupils for more personal, social and transitional learning without rushing them towards Year 6. Content may include body and emotional changes, stronger work on media messages and influence, risk, identity, respectful disagreement, financial choices and changing responsibilities.

Activities can include values lines, scenario analysis, structured debate, longer reflection and anonymous questions. Where anonymous questions are used, staff should follow an agreed process for screening and responding. Pupils might challenge an unhelpful media message, compare responses to peer pressure, plan how to seek help or explain how a decision could affect themselves and others. Clear ground rules and accurate teacher knowledge are especially important as discussion becomes more complex.

Use Year 6 for application, judgement and transition

Effective PSHE activities for Year 6 should help pupils apply their learning to realistic situations as they prepare for greater independence. Useful themes include changing friendships, pressure, privacy and online reputation, travel safety, worries about transition, seeking help and making sense of physical and emotional change.

At this stage, activities should ask pupils to weigh options, justify decisions, challenge unsafe advice and identify the support available. Scenario analysis, transition case studies and discussion-based problem-solving are often more valuable than highly produced worksheets because they reveal how pupils reason and whether they can transfer learning to a new context.

Plan end-of-year activities that look back and forward

PSHE end-of-year activities should have a clear curriculum purpose. Pupils can review strategies they have learned, identify personal strengths, anticipate new responsibilities and consider where they will find support. Year 6 activities might include an advice card for a future self, a transition question board, a support network map or an evaluation of common first-term scenarios in secondary school.

End-of-year work should not introduce every difficult topic at once. A calm sequence of reflection, practical preparation and signposting is more likely to strengthen confidence. This is also an opportunity for class teachers to identify misconceptions or worries that may need to be passed on through the school's agreed safeguarding or transition procedures.
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Adapt activities across every year group for SEND and diverse needs

Relationships Education and Health Education must be accessible to all pupils. The Sex Education Forum's short guide to RSE for pupils with SEND provides practical starting points for reviewing accessibility and quality. The revised DfE guidance states that high-quality teaching should be differentiated and personalised and recognises that some pupils with SEND may be more vulnerable to exploitation, bullying and other risks. Adaptation should improve access while preserving the essential safeguarding knowledge, language and help-seeking expectations pupils need.

The PSHE lead should work with class teachers and the SENCO to make sure pupils' needs are met, the curriculum is fully accessible and EHC plans are followed. Preparing-for-adulthood outcomes should be considered where relevant. Planning may need to include more explicit teaching, smaller learning steps, additional rehearsal, more processing time or alternative ways for pupils to communicate and demonstrate understanding.

Keep the intended curriculum and safeguarding outcome clear, then adapt how pupils access and apply the learning. For example, pupils learning to recognise pressure within a friendship may need simpler vocabulary, visual prompts, repeated modelling or a less complex scenario. The adapted activity should still teach clearly that pressure can be unsafe, boundaries should be respected and help is available.

  • Pre-teach and revisit essential vocabulary, particularly words about feelings, bodies, boundaries, privacy, unsafe behaviour and help-seeking
  • Use concrete examples such as picture scenarios, emotion scales, choice boards and clearly modelled responses
  • Break learning into manageable steps and rehearse the language or actions pupils may need to use
  • Structure talk through sentence stems, partner turns and defined roles rather than relying on fast whole-class discussion
  • Offer different ways to demonstrate understanding, including sorting, matching, drawing, selecting an option or rehearsing a response
  • Keep routines predictable and use distancing techniques so pupils can participate without being expected to share personal experiences
  • Revisit trusted adults and reporting routes regularly, including the message that pupils should keep asking for help until they are heard

Leaders should check that adapted resources retain clear teaching about boundaries, unsafe behaviour, reporting concerns and sources of support. Some pupils may need more direct examples, repeated practice and explicit teaching to recognise risk, resist pressure or ask for help. Resources should also represent different families, cultures, abilities and experiences without positioning any pupil as the spokesperson for a group.

It is important that ground rules and staff responses should be consistent across classes. Pupils should know not to name real people during scenarios, that adults cannot promise confidentiality and that concerns may need to be shared with the DSL. Staff should know how to pause a discussion, acknowledge what has been said without asking investigative questions and follow the school's safeguarding procedures when a pupil makes a disclosure.
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Check for repetition, gaps and end-of-year fit

Read down each strand from Year 1 to Year 6

Once the activity map is drafted, review it vertically rather than reading one year group at a time. Follow a strand such as relationships, safety or digital citizenship through the school. The progression should be visible in the knowledge taught, vocabulary introduced, complexity of the scenario and independence expected.

For example, within a help-seeking strand, Year 1 may identify trusted adults, Year 2 may practise asking for help, Year 3 may explain why some problems need adult support, Year 4 may distinguish between telling tales and reporting a concern, Year 5 may challenge pressure to keep an unsafe secret and Year 6 may evaluate several routes to support in a complex scenario.

Check that staff can deliver the curriculum consistently and safely

Leaders should not narrow the curriculum to the areas staff already feel confident teaching. Instead, they should make sure teachers have the subject knowledge, agreed vocabulary, resources and safeguarding guidance needed to deliver the planned curriculum consistently. 

Lessons should have a clear purpose, manageable preparation and practical guidance for adaptation. Where content is sensitive or statutory, agreeing key language, approaches to questions and routes for safeguarding support in advance can reduce inappropriate improvisation.

Curriculum plans, classroom practice, assessment and staff development should align. Governing bodies and trust boards have a strategic assurance role. They need sufficient assurance that statutory content is covered, the school's policy is current, teaching is accessible to pupils with SEND and monitoring leads to action where gaps are identified.

They do not need to scrutinise every lesson or resource. The PSHE lead will usually support this by maintaining the curriculum overview, helping staff with subject knowledge and resources and reporting significant strengths, gaps and actions to senior leaders.

Where a primary school teaches sex education beyond national curriculum science, its policy and parent communication should state clearly what is taught and when. Parents have the right to request withdrawal from this additional sex education, but not from Relationships Education, Health Education or national curriculum science. A concise progression map supported by purposeful lesson materials is generally more useful to staff and leaders than a complex document that is rarely used.
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Assessment in PSHE: How to show impact without grades

Assessment in PSHE should focus on what pupils know, understand and can apply. It should not judge pupils’ personal experiences, family circumstances, feelings, personal choices or willingness to disclose. DfE guidance says schools should have the same high expectations for pupils’ work as in other curriculum areas, provide regular feedback and use assessment to identify where pupils need extra support, while recognising that there is no formal examined assessment. Our PSHE assessment guide explores this whole-school approach in more detail.

The PSHE Association recommends an ipsative approach, where pupils' later understanding is considered against their own starting point. This makes baseline, assessment-for-learning and endpoint activities particularly useful. Progress may be visible through more accurate vocabulary, clearer explanations and a stronger ability to apply knowledge and make reasoned decisions in an unfamiliar scenario.

Use a clear baseline

Begin a unit with a short task that reveals prior knowledge and misconceptions. This may be a concept map, scenario response, sorting activity or prompt such as, 'What could someone do if this happened?' The baseline should be low pressure and should not invite personal disclosure.

Check understanding during teaching

Use carefully chosen questions, observation of structured talk, vocabulary checks and short application tasks. Teachers can note where pupils confuse important ideas, such as privacy and secrecy, banter and bullying or a surprise and an unsafe secret. These observations should inform the next lesson rather than create a large marking burden.

Return to the learning at the endpoint

Revisit a similar task at the end of the unit so that change is visible. 'I can' statements, exit prompts, revised scenario responses and reflection sentences can all provide proportionate evidence. The most useful question is whether pupils can explain or apply the learning more confidently and accurately than they could at the start.

Keep whole-school evidence proportionate

At leadership level, evidence may include the units taught, samples of age-appropriate pupil responses, teacher reflections, identified gaps and actions taken. One well-chosen example from each phase can show progression more clearly than large quantities of worksheets. Assessment is strongest when it improves future planning, adaptation and staff development.
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Planning risks to avoid

Repeating themes without increasing demand

If every year group has a friendship lesson but the message and activity remain at 'be kind', pupils are revisiting a label rather than building learning. The concept can return, but the context, vocabulary and reasoning should develop.

Making Year 6 the place for everything difficult

Sensitive or complex content is more effective when earlier year groups have already built secure vocabulary, trusted routines and discussion skills. Year 6 should apply and deepen learning, not carry the entire responsibility for preparation.

Confusing coverage with progression

A list of topics shows breadth, but it does not demonstrate how pupils become more knowledgeable, independent or able to make reasoned choices. Leaders need to examine learning intentions and activity demand as well as titles.

Overwriting lessons for younger pupils

KS1 progression does not require long written tasks or abstract discussion. Secure language, purposeful repetition, visual examples and rehearsed responses provide a stronger foundation for later learning.

Ignoring teacher usability

If staff have to rewrite every lesson, find missing resources or decide key safeguarding language at the point of delivery, consistency is harder to maintain. High-quality curriculum planning should reduce workload while preserving professional judgement and responsiveness.
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What to do next

Yearly PSHE Next Steps
Choose one recurring PSHE topic, such as friendships, online safety or managing feelings, and compare the activities used across several year groups. Check whether the vocabulary, level of reasoning and independence expected from pupils become more demanding each time.

For example, Year 1 pupils might identify a safe or kind response, Year 3 pupils might explain and rehearse an appropriate response and Year 6 pupils might evaluate several options within a more complex situation.
Ask teachers what pupils already understood, what the activity helped them learn or practise and where the task felt unclear, repetitive or inaccessible. Use this feedback to refine the activity, resources and teacher guidance before reviewing another topic or year-group sequence.

Schools that want a complete starting point can explore the Muse Wellbeing PSHE curriculum. It includes 216 fully resourced lessons across Years 1 to 6, organised through five core principles. Leaders can use the whole-school overview and supporting documents to check year-group coverage, while class teachers receive lesson plans, slides and supporting resources for each lesson.
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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if a PSHE activity shows progression rather than repetition?

Look at what pupils are being asked to know and do, not only the topic heading. Within friendships, for example, Year 1 pupils might recognise kind and unkind behaviour, Year 3 pupils might rehearse an assertive response and Year 6 pupils might evaluate pressure and consequences. If the knowledge, activity and level of reasoning remain almost the same, the learning is being repeated rather than deepened.

How many PSHE activities should each year group have in a term?

There is no statutory number of PSHE activities or lessons per term. Leaders should start with the required content, intended progression and sufficient teaching time, then decide how this fits the timetable. A regular weekly lesson can provide a clear rhythm, but the key test is whether pupils receive planned, sequenced teaching rather than disconnected activities.

Should Year 1 and Year 2 cover the same broad PSHE themes?

Often, yes. DfE guidance sets end-of-primary expectations rather than prescribing separate content for every year group. Important strands such as relationships, safety and health should therefore be revisited, with Year 1 often focusing on naming, recognising and practising and Year 2 explaining choices, noticing consequences and applying simple strategies.

What are good PSHE group activities for mixed-attainment primary classes?

Short scenarios, paired talk, sorting, ranking, role-play and structured discussion can all work well. Keep the intended learning and any safeguarding outcome clear, then adapt vocabulary, visuals, processing time, sentence stems and how pupils communicate or demonstrate understanding.

Do PSHE end-of-year activities need to be different from ordinary lessons?

They do not need to be novel, but they should serve a clear purpose. Effective end-of-year activities help pupils consolidate learning, identify strengths, prepare for change and understand where support will be available.

How can Year 6 PSHE activities prepare pupils well for transition?

Use realistic situations such as changing friendships, organisation, travel, asking for help, online reputation and managing worry. Give pupils opportunities to test advice, weigh choices and identify support rather than introducing a large amount of new content at the end of the year.

How can a PSHE lead keep progression manageable for busy teachers?

Keep documents concise, language consistent and expectations realistic. Identify the essential knowledge, suggested activity type, core vocabulary and practical guidance for adaptation. Make resources easy to access and review the map with teachers so it supports classroom practice rather than becoming a leadership document only.

What are common PSHE topics in primary schools?

Common topics include relationships and families, feelings and mental wellbeing, physical health, keeping safe, online safety, bullying and discrimination, citizenship, economic wellbeing, careers and growing and changing. Schools should identify which content meets statutory Relationships Education and Health Education requirements and which forms part of wider PSHE, while planning one coherent programme.

What do pupils learn in Year 6 PSHE?

DfE guidance sets outcomes for the end of primary rather than prescribing a national Year 6 PSHE curriculum. Schools often use Year 6 to apply earlier learning to increasing independence and transition, including changing relationships, pressure, online privacy and reputation, help-seeking, safety, growing and changing and preparation for secondary school.
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Key takeaways

  • Audit the reality. Compare curriculum documents with lesson materials, teacher feedback and evidence of what pupils remember.
  • Track recurring strands. Read relationships, safety, health, citizenship, economic wellbeing and digital learning from Year 1 to Year 6.
  • Increase the demand. Progression should be visible through vocabulary, reasoning, independence and application.
  • Protect access and safety. Adapt the route into learning for pupils with SEND while retaining essential knowledge and safeguarding expectations.
  • Keep the plan usable. A concise map supported by practical resources is more likely to improve consistent classroom delivery.
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Conclusion

Effective year group PSHE activities sit within a clear whole-school sequence. Key themes should return with greater depth, more precise vocabulary and increasing expectations for pupils to reason, communicate and apply what they have learned. This allows teachers to build securely on prior learning while giving leaders a clear view of progression from Year 1 to Year 6.

If progression is not yet clear, begin with one strand and review the activities used across all six year groups. Check that statutory content is covered, ask teachers what pupils remember and can apply, review accessibility with the SENCO and consider relevant safeguarding priorities with the DSL. The final map should be concise and useful in practice, showing what pupils learn, how challenge increases, where adaptation is needed and how leaders will review impact.

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