Year 4 PSHE Scheme of Work
Year 4 PSHE addresses some of the most significant personal and social challenges pupils will encounter as they approach the upper stages of primary school. This year, statutory RSE content introduces puberty in careful, factual and age-appropriate terms, giving pupils the knowledge and language they need well before physical changes begin. Alongside this, pupils explore relationships in greater depth, develop their emotional literacy further, and begin to think critically about the information they encounter in media and advertising.
The mental health and emotional wellbeing strand is given particular prominence this year, recognising that Year 4 is a period in which many pupils begin to notice increased social pressures and more complex friendship dynamics. Pupils develop a toolkit of evidence-based strategies for managing their own wellbeing and for supporting peers who may be struggling. All topics are handled with sensitivity, respect and a commitment to creating an inclusive classroom where every pupil feels safe to participate.
Expected prior knowledge
- ✓Understanding of the difference between bullying and friendship difficulty, and how to respond to each.
- ✓Awareness of online safety principles including keeping personal information private.
- ✓Knowledge of personal boundaries and body autonomy.
- ✓Developing understanding of equality, diversity and what makes relationships healthy.
Units across the year
Six half-term units covering all strands of the KS2 PSHE programme of study.
Online Safety and Wellbeing
- –Understand the risks associated with sharing information online.
- –Recognise how online behaviour can affect both self and others.
- –Develop strategies for managing digital wellbeing and screen time.
- –Analyse case studies of online incidents and identify what went wrong and how it could have been prevented.
- –Explore the concept of a positive digital identity and how what we post online represents us.
- –Investigate apps and platforms pupils use and evaluate privacy settings and age restrictions.
- –Create a digital wellbeing plan that balances online activities with offline hobbies and rest.
Healthy Relationships
- –Understand what makes a relationship healthy, whether friendship, family or romantic.
- –Recognise the signs of an unhealthy or controlling relationship.
- –Develop strategies for maintaining healthy friendships and seeking help if needed.
- –Create a relationship continuum from very healthy to very unhealthy, debating the placement of different scenarios.
- –Explore the qualities of a healthy friendship and discuss how these apply equally to all relationships.
- –Examine the concept of peer pressure and practise assertive techniques for resisting it.
- –Discuss where to seek help if a relationship makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
- –Understand that mental health exists on a spectrum and can change over time.
- –Identify the factors that promote and protect mental health.
- –Develop a range of evidence-based strategies for managing emotions and stress.
- –Introduce the mental health spectrum and explore how everyone sits somewhere on it and it can change.
- –Investigate factors that help mental health: sleep, exercise, social connection, talking about feelings.
- –Practise calming techniques including breathing exercises, grounding and mindfulness activities.
- –Develop a class wellbeing toolkit with strategies voted in by the whole group.
Puberty Awareness
- –Understand what puberty is and why it happens.
- –Know the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty for all bodies.
- –Develop a positive and informed attitude towards the changes that come with growing up.
- –Introduce puberty as a natural part of growing up, using age-appropriate diagrams and clear, factual language.
- –Explore physical changes associated with puberty for different bodies, emphasising that timing varies for everyone.
- –Discuss the emotional changes that can accompany puberty and strategies for managing them.
- –Complete an anonymous question box activity, addressing common questions factually and reassuringly.
Critical Thinking and Media Literacy
- –Develop skills for critically evaluating media including advertising and social media content.
- –Understand how images and information can be manipulated and why this matters.
- –Build resilience against unrealistic body image and lifestyle messages.
- –Deconstruct a range of advertisements to identify persuasive techniques and hidden messages.
- –Explore how photographs can be edited and filtered, discussing the impact on body image and self-esteem.
- –Evaluate social media posts for accuracy, intent and potential impact on the viewer.
- –Create a media-literacy guide for younger pupils, sharing what they have learned.
Economic Wellbeing and Careers
- –Develop a more detailed understanding of how money is earned, managed and saved.
- –Understand the concept of budgeting and making spending decisions.
- –Explore a range of careers and the pathways that lead to them.
- –Examine a simple weekly budget scenario and make spending decisions with a limited amount of money.
- –Discuss the difference between gross and net pay in simple terms, and why people pay tax.
- –Research and present on a career of their choice, exploring the skills, qualifications and pathway involved.
- –Reflect on their own interests and strengths and consider how these might link to future work.
Progression into Year 5
In Year 5, the puberty strand deepens to include a more detailed exploration of physical and emotional changes, and relationships are examined with increasing sophistication including an age-appropriate introduction to consent. The drugs and alcohol awareness unit is introduced for the first time, equipping pupils with accurate information and the decision-making skills to keep themselves safe. Online safety extends to a critical examination of social media culture.
Individual lesson plans
Full lesson frameworks — learning objectives, vocabulary, lesson structure, and common misconceptions — for each unit in this scheme.
View all Year 4 PSHE lesson plans →