Are You Listening? Year 5 Explore the Art of Communication
This week in PSHE, Year 5 have been exploring the vital skill of active listening—and things started in a rather unusual way!

To kick off the lesson, we had a very brave volunteer attempt to tell Mrs Thompson all about her day. Meanwhile, Mrs Thompson did her absolute best to be the "worst listener ever"—interrupting, fiddling with objects, and even wandering off mid-sentence! While it gave us all a good giggle, it sent a very powerful message about how it feels when our words are ignored.

Putting Skills into Practice:

Following the demonstration, the children took centre stage to act out various scenarios. They compared:

The "Don'ts": Looking at phones, interrupting, and distracted body language.

The "Dos": Making eye contact, using encouraging nods, and responding with empathy.

It made us realise that listening isn't just about being quiet; it's about making the other person feel like what they are saying really matters.

The children gained incredible insight into the emotional impact of our communication. We’ve all come away with a fresh commitment to being better friends and better listeners!