What is PSHE

PSHE is short for Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education. It is a school curriculum subject through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy, safe and prepared for life and work. 

At Calcot schools we place a strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience, increasing emotional awareness and also nurturing health. This is intertwined throughout all aspects of school life. We place our school values Ready,  Respectful and Responsible at the heart of our school curriculum to ensure that they are instilled in our children for life.

We use Jigsaw, which is a scheme that holds children and their values at its heart. It is a cohesive scheme that helps children to understand and value how they fit into, and contribute to diverse communities – whether that be families, schools or the world. In addition to our PSHE lessons, our values are taught throughout our whole school assemblies, through themes awareness days e.g. Anti Bullying week, Mental Health Week, Young carers, Down-Syndrome Odd-Socks day, Red-Nose Day and in the way that our school community interact. Trained ELSAs work alongside our class teachers and our children to support them in all aspects of emotional literacy offering, 1:1 help,  individual programme to meet the varying needs of our children and  parenting workshops.

Intent

The intent of our PSHE curriculum is to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more. At Calcot Schools, personal, social, health and economic  education enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of a society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. We provide our children with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.

 

Implementation

Teaching PSHE through the JIGSAW scheme of work allows us to teach PSHE through 6 vital ‘puzzle pieces’, one for each half term:

Autumn 1 – Being me in my world - covers a wide range of topics, including a sense of belonging, welcoming others and being part of a school community, a wider community, and a global community; it also looks at children’s rights and responsibilities, working and socialising with others, and pupil voice.

Autumn 2 – Celebrating difference - focuses on similarities and differences and teaches about diversity, such as disability, racism, power, friendships, and conflict; children learn to accept everyone’s right to ‘difference’. Anti-bullying, including cyber and homophobic bullying, is an important aspect of this Puzzle.

Spring 1 – Dreams and Goals - aims to help children think about their hopes and dreams, their goals for success, what their personal strengths are, and how to overcome challenges, using team-work skills and tasks. Children learn about experiencing and managing feelings of pride, ambition, disappointment, success; and they get to share their aspirations, the dreams and goals of others in different cultures/countries, and their dreams for their community and the world.

Spring 2 – Healthy me - covers two main areas of health: Emotional/mental health (relaxation, being safe, friendships, mental health skills, body image, relationships with food, managing stress) and Physical health (eating a balanced diet, physical activity, rest and relaxation, keeping clean, drugs and alcohol, being safe, first aid).

Summer 1 - Relationships- starts with building a respectful relationship with self and covers topics including families, friendships, pets and animals, and love and loss. A vital part of this Puzzle is about safeguarding and keeping children safe; this links to online safety and social networking. Children learn how to deal with conflict, build assertiveness skills, and identify their own strengths and strategies for building self-esteem and resilience. They explore roles and responsibilities in families and friendship groups, and consider stereotypes.

Summer 2 - Changing me - deals with change of many types, from growing from young to old, becoming a teenager, assertiveness, puberty, self-respect and safeguarding. Each year group thinks about looking ahead, moving year groups or the transition to secondary school and how to cope positively with such changes. Life cycles and human reproduction are taught in some year group – this will be at an age appropriate level.

Every Piece has two Learning Intentions, one specific to Relationships and Health Education and the other designed to develop emotional literacy and social skills.

Each puzzle piece is taught in different ways – including some of the following ‘activities’:

Connect us – this is a game based activity designed to be fun, inclusive and to help improve social skills. The idea behind this is to create positive relations and enhance collaborative learning.

Calm me – This allows the children to relax and feel calm. Relaxing and quietening their thoughts allows for greater learning and understanding. This is a invaluable life skill that also enhancing reflection.

Tell me/show me – This part of the lesson introduces new information, concepts and skills, using a range of different teaching approaches and activities.

Let me learn – This is where the children are able to embed the new information, concepts and skills by playing with the information in order for it to make sense to them. This could be done via games, written activities or talking.

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

Impact

By setting out our school values and ethos in the way that we do,  alongside well sequenced and developed PSHE lessons, assemblies and celebrations our children will be:

1. well rounded and respectful individuals who understand their role in society

2. able to understand their own and others physical and mental health

3. able to celebrate differences and understand what it is that makes a person special, unique and individual. Children should be able to celebrate their uniqueness. 

4. able to understand how to look after themselves – whether that be diet, exercise or managing stress and looking after their mental health

5. aspirational in setting goals, know to break these down into achievable steps and how to be resilient when goals aren’t immediately met 

6. skilled in identifying when they feel safe or unsafe and be able to seek help or advice when needed

7. law abiding citizens with strong moral compasses

8. knowledgeable, understanding and respectful towards others regardless of race, religion, beliefs and life choices.

9. able to recognise how their bodies may change, physical and mentally, and how this may affect them and other people around them.

Each term, following a unit of study, we assess our children's progression against the six key areas from Jigsaw. These are in line with the National Curriculum Expectations through years one to six. Every child is assessed as either emerging, expected or exceeding the year group expectation. A written report, in the summer term, informs parents of their child's attainment in PSHE.