Skip to content ↓
St Peter's Catholic Primary School

St Peter's Catholic Primary School

Physical Health & Mental Welbeing

Curriculum Aims:

The aim of teaching pupils about physical health and mental wellbeing is to give them the information that they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing. Physical health and mental wellbeing are interlinked, and it is important that pupils understand that good physical health contributes to good mental wellbeing, and vice versa.

The focus in primary school should be on teaching the characteristics of good physical health and mental wellbeing.  Teachers should go on to talk about the steps pupils can take to protect and support their own and others’ health and wellbeing, including simple self-care techniques, personal hygiene, prevention of health and wellbeing problems and basic first aid. 

Pupils should also be taught the benefits of hobbies, interests and participation in their own communities. This teaching should make clear that people are social beings and that spending time with others, taking opportunities to consider the needs of others and practising service to others, including in organised and structured activities and groups (for example the scouts or girl guide movements), are beneficial for health and wellbeing. 


Curriculum Content

By the end of Primary School children should know: 

Mental Wellbeing: 

  • that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health.
  • that there is a normal range of emotions (e.g. happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, nervousness) and scale of emotions that all humans experience in relation to different experiences and situations.
  • how to recognise and talk about their emotions, including having a varied vocabulary of words to use when talking about their own and others’ feelings.
  • how to judge whether what they are feeling and how they are behaving is appropriate and proportionate.
  • the benefits of physical exercise, time outdoors, community participation, voluntary and service-based activity on mental wellbeing and happiness.
  • simple self-care techniques, including the importance of rest, time spent with friends and family and the benefits of hobbies and interests.
  • that bullying (including cyberbullying) has a negative and often lasting impact on mental wellbeing.
  • where and how to seek support (including recognising the triggers for seeking support), including whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions (including issues arising online).
  • that it is common for people to experience mental ill health. For many people who do, the problems can be resolved if the right support is made available, especially if accessed early enough.

Internet Safety & Harms: 

  • that for most people the internet is an integral part of life and has many benefits.
  • about the benefits of rationing time spent online, the risks of excessive time spent on electronic devices and the impact of positive and negative content online on their own and others’ mental and physical wellbeing.
  • how to consider the effect of their online actions on others and know how to recognise and display respectful behaviour online and the importance of keeping personal information private.
  • why social media, some computer games and online gaming, for example, are age restricted.
  • that the internet can also be a negative place where online abuse, trolling, bullying and harassment can take place, which can have a negative impact on mental health.
  • how to be a discerning consumer of information online including understanding that information, including that from search engines, is ranked, selected and targeted.
  • where and how to report concerns and get support with issues online.

Physical Health & Fitness: 

  • the characteristics and mental and physical benefits of an active lifestyle.
  • the importance of building regular exercise into daily and weekly routines and how to achieve this; for example walking or cycling to school, a daily active mile or other forms of regular, vigorous exercise.
  • the risks associated with an inactive lifestyle (including obesity).
  • how and when to seek support including which adults to speak to in school if they are worried about their health.

Healthy Eating 

  • what constitutes a healthy diet (including understanding calories and other nutritional content).
  • the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals.
  • the characteristics of a poor diet and risks associated with unhealthy eating (including, for example, obesity and tooth decay) and other behaviours (e.g. the impact of alcohol on diet or health).

Drugs, Alcohol & Tobacco (covered in KS2) 

  • the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking.

Health & Prevention

  • how to recognise early signs of physical illness, such as weight loss, or unexplained changes to the body.
  • about safe and unsafe exposure to the sun, and how to reduce the risk of sun damage, including skin cancer.
  • the importance of sufficient good quality sleep for good health and that a lack of sleep can affect weight, mood and ability to learn.
  • about dental health and the benefits of good oral hygiene and dental flossing, including regular check-ups at the dentist.
  • about personal hygiene and germs including bacteria, viruses, how they are spread and treated, and the importance of handwashing.
  • the facts and science relating to allergies, immunisation and vaccination.

Basic First Aid 

  • how to make a clear and efficient call to emergency services if necessary.
  • concepts of basic first-aid, for example dealing with common injuries, including head injuries.

Changing Adolescent Body (covered in upper KS2) 

  • key facts about puberty and the changing adolescent body, particularly from age 9 through to age 11, including physical and emotional changes.
  • about menstrual wellbeing including the key facts about the menstrual cycle.