2022-24 Year 5 Blog

 Today, Police Constable Rachel Williams visited school to give a talk to Year 5 and Year 6 about being safe online.  The children asked some brilliant questions and impressed  Police Constable Rachel with their understanding of how to stay safe. The children were reminded to tell a trusted adult if they see something online that is not okay. They were left with this message: anything you put on the internet, stays there, so be careful what you post!

 Over the past sessions, the children have been learning about online images; the advantages and disadvantages. The children watched different scenarios as to whether they should choose A or B. A was a friend telling another friend not to send photos to a boyfriend as once they were sent they could retrieve them. Scenario B showed a friend advising another to not send the photos but they do anyway and then the couple broke  up and the pictures are posted online so all can see them.  This then has a negative effect on the girl and she struggles with her emotions and the comments made by other children. 

 This term, year 5 will be learning about emotions and our focus will be on anger.  During our fist session, we highlighted what makes us angry and what does being angry look like. Everybody reacts to anger differently and this is ok as long as it is controlled. The children were really vocal about what makes them angry and how this makes them feel. Excitedly, the children watched a scenario about two people and how they dealt with their anger and then they discussed it. 

 We finished our topic of ‘Keeping Safe’ by looking at the dangers around our local area and understanding how making the correct decisions and having the courage to stand up to our friends is really important. The children also discussed the horrendous accident in Solihull last weekend as 4 children died playing on a lake. The children talked about their different experiences in the snow, ice skating, tobogganing and walking near water with such confidence but they also knew that there are dangers as well. They discussed what they could do to keep themselves and their friends/family safe.   

 Understanding how to Keep safe is a vital part of our PSHE programme and the children are aware of some of the dangers outside of school. Today, the discussed the different warning signs they see either outside, in their community or at school. They were asked to think of a place where they visit or play and make a warning sign of their choice. 

 Today, year 5 joined a live lesson on bullying.  Bullying is not a singular incident it must be repetitive.  The children were given different scenarios to decide which one was bullying and which wasn’t.  They then had to draw a hand and decide who they would reach out to if they faced bullying behaviour. This is what Priory Class made. Next, we looked at what it means to be an ally and how we can help others and give good advice. There were different groups of children explaining how they would support each other and how important it is to listen to each other.  We then looked at how we might answer the following text from a friend.  So what makes a good friend? These are our answers: Loyal, supportive, kind, have fun with them, they can help you when things are going wrong, somebody who does not judge you.  Finally, the class identified some of the different feelings we have and how we can deal with them either on our own or with a friend or trusted...

 Today, the children looked at different scenarios regarding peer pressure and discussed the advice they would give to each other.  The children then watched a video which highlighted the risks children take in different situations. They had to the use a traffic light system to decide the level of risk, who could get hurt and the action that they could take to make sure there is a positive outcome. 

 This week the children looked at what peer pressure is and how it can be seen in their lives. The children watched a clip where two characters were acting out a scenario about peer pressure. Some responsible discussions took place and the children really enjoyed the lesson. Well done Year 5. 

 Over the last few weeks, the children have been discussing about online safety as well as the activities and age restrictions. Most of the children were able to understand that age restrictions are used to rate games/films etc. These symbols show us the age people should be to play the games and who they are suitable for. However, not all platforms categorise games according to their content so this can make it very confusing.  Today, the children designed their own apps for games as well as rating system to decide what is suitable for different ages. 

 Today, the class had a really good discussion about why it is important to stay safe whilst using social media.  Most of the children use some sort of social media both with parents and siblings and they understand that there are some apps/platforms which have age restrictions for a reason as some of the content might be intended for older children. Additionally, there are other risks such as privacy, endangerment and exploitation on line.  The children looked at a scenario together and there were so many different ideas and thoughts but we agreed that children should not be using apps/games that are not age appropriate unless an adult is with them and supporting them.