Norwich Primary School Celebrates Difference and Diversity

A Norwich Primary School is using digital technology to teach pupils about diversity and encourage them to respect difference.
Preston Primary School in Tasburgh was one of the first schools in the country to sign up to Discovery Education Health and Relationships – a new digital programme which teaches pupils about different cultures, types of families and relationships and helps children to celebrate diversity.

Discovery Education Health and Relationships was created by Discovery Education, the worldwide EdTech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place.
Designed to help teachers deliver the new Relationships and Health Education (RHE) curriculum, the programme explores the similarities and differences between people and encourages children to value difference and diversity. It also looks at the damaging effect that stereotypes can have and helps pupils learn how to identify and challenge these.
Featuring special student-led videos and fun role play activities, Health and Relationships helps children to understand diversity and inclusion in an age-appropriate way. Preston Primary School is using the programme across the school and teacher Victoria Braddock says that it’s having a positive impact.
“Learning to respect difference is really important for us as a school and Health and Relationships contains some brilliant resources to bring this to life. It reinforces our whole school approach to teaching about diversity. Recently we’ve used the programme alongside teaching about Black History Month and different faiths and cultures.”
As well as looking at the similarities and differences between people, pupils have also been learning about different types of feelings and how to cope with change. Victoria Braddock says that it’s having a positive impact on children’s wellbeing, especially during the pandemic.
“Recently we were learning about Healthy Bodies and Healthy Minds and exploring different feelings. It was great to have so many resources to draw upon and because they feature real children, they are very engaging. Pupils can relate to the content so they have a bigger response to it. And it’s good to see such diversity on screen.”
Looking ahead, Health and Relationships will continue to be at the centre of Preston Primary School’s teaching, as Victoria Braddock explains:
“Children notice difference, so it’s important to give them time and space to talk about it. We want to make sure that our teaching reflects the world they live in and Health and Relationships helps us to do that.”
Discovery Education is providing schools with no-cost access to Health and Relationships until 31^st October 2021. Primary schools are encouraged to register here:
www.discoveryeducation.co.uk/rse

The author

Rhiannon Challenger

Community Engagement Manager and Editor at Nexus Education. BA Hons English Literature.

https://www.nexus-education.com/