PSHE/Relationships

At Greenbank Primary School, PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) Education is central throughout all aspects of pupil learning, both in the classroom and beyond.  It is taught in weekly timetabled lessons and lived throughout all aspects of the school day.

We use the Jigsaw programme to teach PSHE Education and adapt it to meet the specific needs of our school and our children.  It takes a spiral approach, revisiting the same 6 topics at a deeper level each year.  These are “Being me in my World”, “Celebrating Difference”, “Dreams and Goals”, “Healthy Me”, “Relationships” and “Changing Me”.

We aim to build children’s independence, curiosity and empathy through whole-class discussions and debates with a philosophical approach, where children learn to articulate their thoughts and justify their opinions, with the comfort of knowing they have the right to pass.  We believe that by becoming great thinkers and listeners, respect and understanding follows, resulting in a willingness to reflect and appreciate the diversity of our community.

Through this approach, we aim for our pupils to become mindful, resilient and passionate members of the community, preparing them for life’s opportunities and challenges and enabling them to build positive relationships and stay safe and healthy.

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 these areas.

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 is a comprehensive and completely original PSHE Education programme (lesson plans and teaching resources) for the whole primary school from ages 3-11. Written by teachers and grounded in sound psychology, it also includes all the statutory requirements for Relationships and Health Education, and optional Sex Education is also included in the Changing Me Puzzle (unit).

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 (Puzzle) at the same time at their own level. There are six Puzzles (half-term units of work) and each year group is taught one lesson per week. All lessons are delivered in an age- and stage-appropriate way so that they meet children’s needs.

Each Puzzle starts with an introductory assembly, generating a whole school focus for adults and children alike. There is also a Weekly Celebration that highlights a theme from that week’s lesson across the school encouraging children to live that learning in their behaviour and attitudes.