PSHE activities for KS1 and KS2 help children aged 5 to 11 pick up key life skills through hands-on lessons about health, relationships, and living in the wider world.
These activities give pupils practical tools to understand their emotions, build friendships, stay safe online, and make healthy choices both in and out of school.
Teachers can find quality assured lesson plans from the PSHE Association that cover all statutory requirements while keeping lessons engaging and age-appropriate.
Michelle Connolly, founder of LearningMole and a former primary teacher with over 15 years in the classroom, says, “PSHE is where children learn to handle the real world with confidence. The best activities link straight to their daily lives and give them space to practise skills they’ll use forever.”
This UK educational platform offers curriculum-aligned resources that support teachers in delivering meaningful PSHE lessons alongside core subjects.
Resources from organisations like Twinkl and the BBC’s primary teaching materials provide ready-made activities that save planning time.
Whether you’re teaching about mental health, bullying prevention, or personal safety, the right activities turn abstract concepts into experiences children can actually understand and remember.
Key Takeaways
PSHE education covers personal, social, health and economic topics that help children develop life skills.
The content and approach change between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, with some parts required by law and others recommended.
PSHE stands for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education.
It teaches children how to stay safe, build relationships, and make good choices about their health and future.
PSHE lessons at primary level cover mental health, bullying, growing and changing, and personal safety.
Children learn to recognise their feelings, understand healthy friendships, and develop respect for others.
The subject also includes basic money skills and understanding how their choices affect their wellbeing.
PSHE gives children practical skills they actually use in real life.
It helps them understand their emotions, sort out arguments with friends, and ask for help when they need it.
These lessons create a safe space where children can talk about things that matter to them and learn from each other’s experiences.
Key Stage 1 covers Years 1 and 2 (ages 5-7), while Key Stage 2 includes Years 3-6 (ages 7-11).
The topics stay similar, but the depth and complexity increase as children grow.
KS1 RSHE lessons focus on basics like personal hygiene, simple friendship skills, and identifying trusted adults.
Children learn to name body parts correctly, recognise their feelings, and understand basic rules for staying safe.
KS2 builds on these basics with more in-depth discussions.
Older children explore puberty, more complex friendship dynamics, and how to handle peer pressure.
They develop stronger critical thinking skills and learn to consider different views on issues.
The language in lessons becomes more sophisticated, matching their growing literacy skills.
Since September 2020, Relationships Education and Health Education became compulsory in all primary schools in England.
Schools must teach these subjects, which together form RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health Education).
Statutory elements you must teach:
The economic education part of PSHE isn’t compulsory.
However, most schools include it because it teaches useful skills like understanding money, making spending choices, and recognising the link between work and income.
Many schools use resources from the PSHE Association to plan their curriculum and make sure they cover all required content.
The PSHE curriculum centres on three main themes that support children’s development from ages 5 to 11.
These core themes provide structure for teaching personal development, social skills and practical life knowledge across primary years.
Health and wellbeing forms the foundation of PSHE learning in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
You’ll teach children how to look after their physical, mental and emotional health through age-appropriate activities.
In KS1, you focus on basic self-care skills and recognising feelings.
Children learn about healthy eating, exercise and sleep routines.
They also explore how to express emotions safely and ask for help when needed.
KS2 lessons build on these basics with more complex topics.
You’ll cover mental health awareness, body changes and managing stress.
Pupils learn ways to cope with worries and understand their developing emotions.
The PSHE Association recommends linking health topics to other curriculum areas like maths and science.
For example, you might connect nutrition lessons to measuring and data handling or use English skills when discussing feelings through storytelling.
Your activities should help children find trusted adults and know when to seek support.
This includes spotting the difference between everyday worries and concerns that need professional help.
Relationships education shows children how to build good connections with family, friends and their wider community.
You’ll help pupils understand respect, boundaries and how to communicate well.
KS1 activities focus on friendship skills like sharing, taking turns and sorting out simple arguments.
Children explore what makes a good friend and how to treat others kindly.
They also learn about different family structures and respectful behaviour at home and school.
In KS2, you bring in more challenging ideas around peer pressure, bullying and online relationships.
Pupils practise managing disagreements and understanding others’ points of view.
RSHE lessons at this stage include age-appropriate content about puberty and changing relationships.
Your teaching should cover both face-to-face and digital interactions.
Children need practical tips for handling social media, gaming communities and online friendships safely.
This theme prepares children for life beyond school by teaching them about money, careers and their role as citizens.
You’ll cover topics that help pupils understand their place in British society.
KS1 pupils learn about different jobs, basic money ideas and how to care for their environment.
Simple activities might include recognising coins, understanding what adults do at work and talking about looking after their local area.
KS2 lessons expand to include budgeting, career dreams and community responsibility.
You’ll teach about human rights, democracy and British values through practical examples.
Pupils explore how their choices affect others and the environment.
Your activities should use real-world scenarios that link to children’s experiences.
This might mean planning a class budget, researching local businesses or talking about current events in ways they can understand.
Children benefit from activities that build emotional awareness, set up daily routines that support physical and mental health, and develop skills to cope with loss and change.
These areas form the foundation of wellbeing education in primary schools.
Teaching children to recognise and name their feelings helps them develop emotional intelligence from an early age.
You can use health and wellbeing activities for KS2 that encourage pupils to spot emotions through facial expressions, body language and scenarios.
Practical exercises work best when they link to real situations children face.
Try emotion check-ins at the start of lessons where pupils rate their feelings using colour cards or emoji scales.
Role-play activities let children practise responding to tricky emotions like anger, disappointment or anxiety in a safe space.
Children also need strategies for managing worry and stress.
Simple breathing techniques, mindfulness exercises and talking about feelings with trusted adults give pupils tools they can use when overwhelmed.
The mental health and wellbeing curriculum includes ready-made resources aligned with RSHE guidance that support these skills across primary years.
Daily routines that include physical activity, balanced meals and enough sleep support both body and mind.
You can show children how exercise affects inside the human body by explaining how movement strengthens muscles, bones and the heart. It also boosts mood and focus.
Key habits to explore with pupils:
The importance of wellbeing stands out when children see how these habits work together.
Encourage pupils to track one healthy habit for a week and notice how it changes their energy and feelings.
Loss and change happen in everyone’s life, and children experience them through bereavement, family changes or moving schools.
You should create space for pupils to express their feelings about these experiences without judgement.
Children grieve differently than adults.
They might show sadness one moment and play happily the next, or ask the same questions again and again as they process what’s happened.
Remind pupils that all feelings about loss are valid, whether that’s sadness, anger, confusion or even relief.
Books and stories give gentle ways to explore grief and change.
Reading about characters facing similar things helps children feel less alone and gives them words to describe their experiences.
Pair these with creative activities like memory boxes, drawing or writing letters so pupils can express feelings they might struggle to say out loud.
Primary children need practical ways to understand how relationships work and how to treat others with kindness.
Teaching PSHE relationships skills helps students build the foundations for healthy connections throughout their lives.
When you explore different relationship types, children start to see what makes friendships distinct from family bonds. They learn that friendships grow from shared interests and choice, but family relationships often come with responsibilities and longer-term commitments.
Activities for teaching relationships might include talking through disagreements between friends or family members. Ask your class what caused the conflict, and how people could fix their relationship. This gives them a chance to practise problem-solving for situations they’ll actually face.
Practical classroom tasks could involve:
These hands-on activities tick off RSHE requirements and give children practical tools for their social world. Year 5 or Year 6 pupils really benefit when they realise that every relationship needs effort, communication and respect.
Teaching respectful relationships often starts by helping children spot the difference between kind and unkind behaviour. Videos and movement-based activities can help pupils recognise feelings in themselves and others.
Your students develop empathy when they try to see things from someone else’s point of view. Encourage them to think about how their words and actions might affect their classmates. This sort of reflection builds emotional intelligence that’s useful way beyond the classroom.
Key elements to cover:
LearningMole has free videos on emotions and social skills, which make these lessons more visual and engaging. You could also use BBC Teach’s Moodboosters resources for fun activities that help pupils connect with each other. These materials help you meet statutory requirements while keeping lessons lively and age-appropriate.
All pupils gain when PSHE lessons focus on inclusion. When you adapt activities for different learning needs, every child can join in and develop those essential life skills.
Pupils with special educational needs need PSHE activities that fit their developmental stage, not just their age. The PSHE Association offers a planning framework with clear learning outcomes for SEN pupils, based on their Programme of Study. This framework gives you a way to plan suitable content across all key stages.
You’ll need different approaches for different SEN needs. Autistic pupils often work best with visual timetables and clear routines. Children with learning difficulties usually need concepts broken into smaller steps, with more chances to repeat things.
Sensory materials help many SEN learners in primary settings. Use real objects when you talk about healthy foods or feelings. Role play with puppets or toys can make tricky ideas much more concrete.
Key adaptations for SEN pupils:
LearningMole provides free video resources that use visual learning to support PSHE topics. These are especially helpful for SEN pupils who need help with emotions and relationships.
Your classroom environment really shapes how well pupils engage with PSHE. Arrange seats to suit different communication needs. Some children work better in pairs, while others need a bit of space.
Mix whole class chats with smaller group activities. This gives quieter children a way to join in without feeling on the spot. Use talking partners so everyone gets a turn at their own pace.
Adapt worksheets and activities by difficulty, not by creating separate tasks. Offer writing frames, picture prompts or let pupils answer verbally instead of writing. This keeps things inclusive without making anyone feel singled out.
Practical inclusion strategies:
You’ll find ready-made SEN resources with visual supports and simplified materials. These help you quickly adapt PSHE lessons for different needs in your class.
Young learners in key stage 1 respond best to hands-on activities that mix movement with emotional learning and social skills. Through play, children aged 5 to 7 start to understand tricky feelings and relationships.
Role play gives KS1 children a safe space to try out different perspectives and practise social situations. Set up scenarios like visiting a sad friend or sharing toys at playtime. Children swap roles, acting out characters and deciding how to respond.
Story-based activities work well with picture books that show emotions on characters’ faces. Ask children to freeze at key moments and talk about what each character might feel. Let them suggest different endings or act out what they’d do in the same spot.
Puppet shows help shy children express themselves without feeling on display. Bring out stick puppets or encourage children to make their own. Tricky Words Jolly Phonics materials can boost literacy during storytelling, giving children confidence with reading and social skills.
Physical games help KS1 children understand feelings through movement. Try “emotions charades” where children act out happy, sad, worried or excited without talking. Play “feelings freeze dance” by having children move to music and freeze in an emotional pose when the music stops.
Breathing exercises work well with movement. Try “balloon breathing”—children stretch their arms wide as they breathe in, and bring them together as they breathe out. Star jumps can help them burn off energy before they settle for calmer activities like listening to their heartbeats.
Circle time games build group connection. Pass a soft toy around and let children share one good thing from their day. “Compliment catch” means tossing a beanbag and saying something kind to whoever catches it.
KS2 pupils benefit from activities that encourage open chat about relationships and wellbeing, while letting them express ideas through hands-on projects. These approaches help children develop emotional literacy and social skills in a way that feels natural.
Circle time works well for KS2 classes. It gives every child a chance to share their thoughts in a safe space. Start with prompts like “What makes a good friend?” or “How do you calm down when you’re angry?” These chats help children recognise emotions and see other perspectives.
Role-play scenarios let pupils practise real-life situations. Set up a scene where someone feels left out at playtime, or friends disagree about a game. Children act out the situation, then talk about what worked and what could change.
Debate activities suit older KS2 pupils who are ready for more complex discussions. Try topics like “Should everyone get the same pocket money?” or “Is it okay to tell a teacher if someone is upset?” This encourages critical thinking. You can find ready-to-teach KS2 PSHE lessons with discussion starters for different ages.
Wellbeing journals give pupils a private place to reflect on feelings and experiences. Children can write, draw or stick in pictures that show their emotions during the week. This helps them spot patterns and work out what helps them feel better.
Art projects about identity and diversity let pupils explore who they are and celebrate differences. Ask children to design a poster about their family traditions or create a collage showing their interests and values. Visual projects work well for different learning styles.
Group projects on topics like healthy eating or online safety mix PSHE with other subjects. Pupils could plan healthy meals using maths in the kitchen or make posters about staying safe online. The PSHE Association provides lesson plans covering mental health, bullying and personal safety, which you can use for project work.
Mixing PSHE with religious education and other subjects helps reinforce values like respect and empathy. It also makes better use of teaching time. When you link subjects, pupils make stronger connections and understand themselves and the world more deeply.
PSHE and RE fit together naturally when you look at identity, belonging and community. You can link lessons about festivals and traditions in RE to PSHE chats about cultural diversity and respecting different beliefs. If Year 3 pupils learn about Christian values in RE, connect this to PSHE topics like kindness and forgiveness.
Many primary schools plan PSHE and RE together to avoid repeating content and make learning stronger. For example, when you teach about family structures in PSHE, you can mention how different religions view family roles. This helps children see that values like honesty and compassion appear in many faiths and in secular life.
Common overlapping themes:
You’ll find educational resources that support both subjects, especially when you’re exploring British values and cultural understanding.
Cross-curricular links make PSHE stronger by showing how personal development connects to history, geography and literacy. When you study the Victorians in history, talk about how children’s rights have changed and discuss fairness now. Geography lessons about other countries lead naturally to conversations about global citizenship and caring for the environment.
PE lessons offer great chances to reinforce PSHE ideas like teamwork, resilience and sportsmanship. Teachers often talk about emotions after competitive games, which helps children process feelings in real situations. Literacy lessons let pupils explore characters’ choices and consequences, while maths can include chats about financial literacy and sensible spending.
Subject connections work best if you:
Teaching children to stay safe online and think critically about digital content forms a big part of PSHE at both key stages. These skills help pupils protect themselves online and learn to question what they see and read across different media.
Teach pupils practical ways to protect their personal information and spot possible online risks. Internet safety resources for KS2 usually cover things like creating strong passwords, using privacy settings, and knowing when to ask a trusted adult for help.
Role-play activities make a real difference for younger learners. Set up scenarios where pupils act out how to respond to uncomfortable messages or friend requests from strangers.
This hands-on method lets children practise safe behaviours in a controlled space.
Key topics to cover include:
KS1 pupils need simple rules and clear boundaries. KS2 children can handle more complex scenarios, like cyberbullying and peer pressure online.
Pupils should learn to question the reliability of online information and spot misleading content. The PSHE Association’s guidance on digital literacy suggests teaching children to check if sources are trustworthy from KS1 right through to KS5.
Start by showing pupils examples of real and fake news stories that suit their age group. Use current events or topics they care about to show how images can be edited or facts twisted.
Ask pupils to look for warning signs: sensational headlines, missing author names, or sources that can’t be verified.
LearningMole has free videos that help primary pupils build these critical thinking skills with visual content. Teach children about advertising tricks so they understand how companies try to sway their choices online and in other media.
Talk about how adverts use colours, celebrities, and emotional appeals to sell products or ideas.
Children start to understand their place in society through topics that link personal responsibility to global citizenship.
These activities get pupils ready for deeper discussions as they move through primary school.
Living in the Wider World resources and shared responsibilities help children see their role beyond home and school. Pupils explore how their actions affect others, from recycling habits to respecting different cultures.
Key focus areas include:
Introduce topics like life cycles to show how nature connects everything. Children see how their choices impact wider ecosystems.
PSHE activities for primary schools often use real-life examples. Pupils might map their local community, talk about fair trade, or look at how families live around the world.
These hands-on tasks help young learners make sense of tricky ideas.
Lower ability KS3 students get a boost from materials first designed for upper KS2. This overlap makes the jump from primary to secondary feel less daunting.
Year 6 pupils start to tackle tougher questions about rights, responsibilities, and global issues. Activities move from ‘what’ and ‘who’ to ‘why’ and ‘how’, which builds critical thinking.
Transition activities should:
Try exploring topics from history or science that tie into citizenship. Pupils look at how past events shape communities now or how science changes society.
These cross-curricular links help children get ready for the integrated approach in secondary school.
Teachers usually want practical advice about bringing PSHE into their classrooms, whether it’s finding good resources or planning lessons that work for both younger and older primary pupils.
Circle time activities work really well for KS1 pupils learning about friendship and emotions. Use emotion cards or facial expression flashcards to help children name different feelings, then let them share times they’ve felt that way.
Role-play scenarios give young learners a safe space to practise friendship skills. Set up scenes like sharing toys or inviting someone to play, then let children act out positive responses.
This hands-on approach makes tricky ideas easier for five to seven year olds.
Story-based activities hook KS1 pupils straight away. Read a picture book about friendship, then talk about the characters’ feelings and choices.
You might ask children to draw their own ending or make friendship bracelets while chatting about what makes a good friend.
Free teaching resources for KS1 RSHE often include ready-to-use slides and worksheets. Many come with quick quizzes to check understanding.
The PSHE Association offers quality-assured lesson plans that cover mental health, digital literacy and more. Subject experts check their resources carefully, so you know the content meets high standards.
LearningMole provides curriculum-aligned videos and teaching materials for KS2 PSHE topics. You’ll find free resources covering relationships, wellbeing and life skills to support your lesson planning.
BBC Teach has short films that explore big questions children ask. These videos suit KS2 pupils and spark meaningful chats about values and decision-making.
You can also find PSHE worksheets and online activities from earlier QCA schemes. Many of these printable resources need no special prep, so they’re handy for busy days.
Data handling lessons give you a natural way to add PSHE. Get your Year 4 class to create surveys about healthy habits or screen time, then use bar charts or pictograms to look at the results.
This mixes maths skills with health and wellbeing chats.
Word problems work too. Write questions about pocket money, sharing resources fairly, or time spent on different activities.
These examples teach numeracy and life skills together.
Collaborative problem-solving activities help pupils practise maths while building PSHE skills. When children work in groups to solve puzzles, they practise communication, teamwork and respecting different ideas.
Financial education fits right into KS2 maths. Teaching about money, budgeting and saving links directly to the relationships and living in the wider world strand of PSHE.
Start with scenarios that mirror your Year 5 or Year 6 pupils’ real online experiences. Present situations about sharing personal info, dealing with unkind messages or checking if websites are reliable, then lead group discussions about safe choices.
Create a fake social media profile as a class and talk about what information should stay private. This activity helps pupils see how digital footprints work and how online posts can last forever.
Debate activities suit upper KS2 classes learning about online responsibilities. Topics might include screen time limits, age restrictions on apps or balancing online and face-to-face friendships.
These discussions build critical thinking and digital literacy.
Video analysis tasks grab older primary pupils’ attention. Watch age-appropriate clips about cyberbullying or online gaming, then ask children to spot risks and suggest positive responses.
You could follow up with creative tasks like designing posters or safety guides.
Movement-based activities help young children understand physical health. Try simple yoga poses, breathing exercises or action songs to teach body awareness and support emotional regulation.
These practical experiences work better than just talking for five to seven year olds.
Picture books start great conversations about health and wellbeing. Pick stories about healthy eating, sleep routines or managing worries, then use puppets or toys to act out the key messages.
This playful approach fits KS1 learning styles.
PSHE resources from educational providers come with ready-made lesson packs for early years and KS1. These materials often use colourful visuals and interactive elements to keep young learners interested.
Games and songs make health topics stick for KS1 pupils. Set up a healthy foods sorting game or teach a handwashing song to build hygiene habits.
Repeating fun activities helps children understand and encourages positive behaviours.
Question-based curriculum frameworks give you a useful way to plan out the year. You usually start KS1 with simple ‘What?’ and ‘Who?’ questions.
As pupils move into KS2, you shift towards ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ questions. This covers the three core themes through each term or half-term.
Plan around the statutory themes: health and wellbeing, relationships, and living in the wider world. Try to give each theme similar attention across the year.
Revisit topics as pupils get older so you can build in more depth. It’s worth thinking about how PSHE links up with other subjects and school events.
You might focus on relationships and new beginnings in autumn. Spring could centre on health and growth. Summer often suits transitions and learning about the wider world.
This kind of approach lets you create links that actually feel meaningful to pupils. If you want a ready-made route, complete PSHE schemes of work cover the National Curriculum from Reception through KS2.
These structured programmes include progression, so you don’t have to worry about missing anything important.
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