Personal Social Health and Economic Education (PSHE)
What is PSHE Education?
PSHE Education (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) is a planned programme of learning through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to successfully manage their lives – now and in the future. As part of a whole-school approach, PSHE Education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society.
What do schools have to teach in PSHE Education?
According to the National Curriculum, every school needs to have a broad and balanced curriculum that:
• promotes the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school;
• prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life;
• promotes British values.
From September 2020, primary schools in England also need to teach Relationships and Health Education as compulsory subjects and the Department for Education strongly recommends this should also include age-appropriate Sex Education.
Schools also have statutory responsibilities to safeguard their pupils (Keeping Children Safe in Education, DfE, 2019) and to uphold the Equality Act (2010).
The Jigsaw Programme supports all of this.
What is Jigsaw, the mindful approach to PSHE, and how does it work?
Jigsaw is a whole-school approach and embodies a positive philosophy and creative teaching and learning activities to nurture children’s development as compassionate and well-rounded human beings as well as building their capacity to learn.
Jigsaw has two main aims for all children:
• To build their capacity for learning
• To equip them for life
Jigsaw brings together PSHE Education, compulsory Relationships and Health Education, emotional literacy, mindfulness, social skills and spiritual development. It is designed as a whole school approach, with all year groups working on the same theme at the same time, at their own level. There are six half-term units of work and each year group is taught one lesson per fortnight (one lesson per week in reception). All lessons are delivered in an age- and stage-appropriate way so that they meet children’s needs.
How does Jigsaw work at Shakespeare Primary?
The Jigsaw programme of learning is based on six core themes and a series of sessions are taught on each, for every age group, throughout the academic year:
Term | Puzzle (Unit) | Content |
Autumn 1: | Being Me in My World |
Includes understanding my own identity and how I fit well in the class, school and global community. Each class develops it's own Class Charter
|
Autumn 2: | Celebrating Difference |
Includes anti-bullying (cyber and homophobic bullying included) and understanding
|
Spring 1: | Dreams and Goals |
Includes goal-setting, aspirations, who do I want to become and what would I like to do for work and to contribute to society
|
Spring 2: | Healthy Me |
Includes drugs and alcohol education, self-esteem and confidence as well as healthy lifestyle choices, sleep, nutrition, rest and exercise
|
Summer 1: | Relationships |
Includes understanding friendship, family and other relationships, conflict resolution and communication skills, bereavement and loss
|
Summer 2: | Changing Me |
Includes Relationships and Sex Education in the context of coping positively with change
|
We also teach children about good mental health through our Jigsaw PSHE scheme. Lessons cover the latest government guidance on teaching about mental health. Confidence in oneself and awareness of self – the backbones of good mental health – are difficult concepts for children to adopt. The practice of mindfulness, where children learn to be in the present moment without judgement, is taught in every weekly Jigsaw lesson and throughout the day to encourage children to help themselves to feel calm through visualisation and through breathing techniques. Mindfulness practice enables them to observe their own thoughts and feelings, regulate them and make conscious decisions about their learning, behaviour and lives. It helps them to remain focused on the present moment and thrive in it.
The Healthy Me topic is where most of the ‘traditional’ health promotion lessons are. From the Eat Well plate and the importance of physical activity for a healthy body and mind in the earlier year groups, to the more sophisticated health messages about choice, lifestyle and mental and emotional health promotion in the older year groups, children gain a fully experiential approach to holistic health – and how it is their responsibility to care for their bodies.
As a school we have an obligation to teach children in Year 1 and above about aspects of RSE and we feel it is important that as a school we are clear about what that entails. The mention of the words, ’Relationships’ and ‘Sex education’ and its vocabulary can create unnecessary anxiety for parents and carers and we want to reassure you that the focus of much RSE in primary school is broader than you might think. The curriculum covers issues such as:
- Recognising feelings and emotions
- Roles of families and friends in caring for each other
- Self-esteem, confidence and valuing ourselves and others
- Differences and similarities between girls and boys and challenging stereotypes
- Making good choices and resisting pressure
- Growing and changing
In parts of the year we cover different aspects of the curriculum and to help you understand this more clearly please see the concise overview of content by year group. As far as possible we try to ensure the topics are woven naturally into other aspects of learning, including PSHE and science. 'Relationships' and 'Changing me' are the school wide PSHE themes explored in the Summer term each year.