Waingroves Primary School

PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education)

Here at Waingroves Primary School, we strive to provide our children with a broad and balanced curriculum that “meets the needs of all pupils” as required in the Education Act (2002).  We know that Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education must be promoted and that we have a duty of care to keep our pupils safe.

The  Department for Education (DfE) state that:

“High quality, evidence-based and age-appropriate teaching of these subjects can help prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. They can also enable schools to promote the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, at school and in society.”

At Waingroves Primary School we follow Jigsaw which offers a comprehensive Programme for Primary PSHE including statutory Relationships and Health Education, in a spiral, progressive and fully planned scheme of work, giving children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others. Jigsaw consists of six half-term units of work, puzzle pieces, with each piece containing six lessons as shown below.  Every lesson has two Learning Intentions, one specific to Relationships and Health Education (PSHE) (in purple) and the other designed to develop emotional literacy and social skills (in green). The various teaching and learning activities are engaging and mindful of different learning styles and the need for differentiation and the Early Years (EYFS) planning is aligned to the National Early Years Framework (England). Each lesson is built upon a Charter which underpins the behaviour and respect that is the basis for each lesson.

The lessons then split into 6 parts, all of which should be included in every session to ensure that the learning follows the optimum progression.

Connect us - This is a game or activity designed to be fun and inclusive and to build and maximise social skills. ‘Connect us’ engenders positive relationships and enhances collaborative learning. It sets the atmosphere at the beginning of each Jigsaw Piece and can be used again at the end should the teacher feel the atmosphere needs to be lifted after some deep work during the lesson.

Calm me - This section of the Piece helps children gain awareness of the activity in their minds, relaxing them and quietening their thoughts and emotions to a place of optimum learning capacity. This will also engender a peaceful atmosphere within the classroom. It is an invaluable life skill which also enhances reflection and spiritual development. This underpins the mindful approach advocated in Jigsaw

Open my mind - The Reticular Activating System of the brain filters the many stimuli entering the child’s mind at any given time. It is designed only to allow in that which is significant. Therefore, it is important to engage this system with the most important aspects of learning intended for each Piece (lesson). If we do this well, it will enable children to filter out activity around them not significant to this learning intention, thereby improving concentration and learning. 

Tell me or show me - This section of the Piece (lesson) is used to introduce new information, concepts and skills, using a range of teaching approaches and activities.

 Let me learn - Following Piaget’s learning model, after receiving new information/concepts, children need to manipulate, use, and play with that new information in order for it to make sense to them and for them to ‘accommodate’ it into their existing learning. Help me reflect -Throughout Jigsaw, children are encouraged to reflect on their learning experiences and their progress. By reflecting, children can process and evaluate what they have learnt, which enables them to consolidate and apply their learning. They are also asked to stop and become aware of their thoughts and feelings in any given moment in Pause Points (brief pauses within the lesson where the children can have a couple of moments to just stop and be to consider whether what they are learning may be particularly meaningful to them).

Closure - Each Piece needs safe closure. This will always include the teacher praising the children for their effort, positive attitude and achievement, as well as giving one or two sentences to summarise the key learning points for the children.

In order to be confident in the impact of PSHE, teachers will monitor the subject effectively using scrutiny and moderation of outcomes.  They will also carry out discussions with pupils as this is the only way of knowing exactly what the children feel is the impact on them of their learning. This can ensure that impact matches intent across the whole school community.

To see a copy of our PSHE policy, please visit the Policies page