PSHE – curriculum information

Intent

PSHE is an important part of our school’s ethos and is fundamental to developing children at Victoria Dock with knowledge, understanding, strategies and skills to live healthy, safe and responsible lives through our culture capital which is unique to our school setting and community (see below). We are committed to ensuring that children are given opportunities to reach their full potential as well as developing well rounded, respectable children who are aware of their own and other’s emotions. PSHE learning within the school promotes positivity and inclusivity through a whole school approach. Children will also develop a secure understanding of the nine protective characteristics as shown in the Equality Act 2010. In our school we choose to deliver Personal, Social, Health Education through Jigsaw, the mindful approach to PSHE.

Objectives / Pupil learning intentions:

Jigsaw PSHE will support the development of the skills, attitudes, values and behaviour, which enable pupils to:

  • Value self and others
  • Form relationships
  • Make and act on informed decisions
  • Communicate effectively
  • Work with others
  • Respond to challenge
  • Be an active partner in their own learning
  • Be active citizens within the local community
  • Explore issues related to living in a democratic society
  • Become healthy and fulfilled individuals

Implementation

Planning for PSHE is implemented through Jigsaw, in accordance with the Department for Education (DFE) document: Relationships Education, Relationships, and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education. The DFE document states that “The focus in primary schools should be on teaching the fundamental blocks and characteristics of positive relationships, with particular references to friendships, family relationships, and relationships with other children and adults.”

Long term and medium term planning have been developed using the Jigsaw scheme of work, demonstrating coverage and progression of the attainment expectations.

To ensure that children have the opportunity to engage with each of the learning objectives in a meaningful way, developing cross-curricular links, each year group work through 6 essential units of work (see below) taken from the Jigsaw scheme of work starting in the Early Years Foundation Stage, which are developed on each year throughout primary school.

Here, at Victoria Dock Primary School, we value PSHE as one way to support children’s development as human beings, to enable them to understand and respect who they are, to empower them with a voice and to equip them for life and learning.

We include the statutory Relationships and Health Education within our whole-school PSHE Programme.

To ensure progression and a spiral curriculum, we use Jigsaw, the mindful approach to PSHE, as our chosen teaching and learning programme and tailor it to your children’s needs. The mapping document: Jigsaw 3-11 and statutory Relationships and Health Education, shows exactly how Jigsaw and therefore our school, meets the statutory Relationships and Health Education requirements.

This programme’s complimentary update policy ensures we are always using the most up to date teaching materials and that our teachers are well-supported.

The Jigsaw Programme is aligned to the PSHE Association Programmes of Study for PSHE.

What do we teach when and who teaches it?

Whole-school approach

Jigsaw covers all areas of PSHE for the primary phase including statutory Relationships and Health Education. The table below gives the learning theme of each of the six Puzzles (units) and these are taught across the school; the learning deepens and broadens every year. At the start of each unit an outline of the content will be sent to parents so they are informed about what the unit contains.

Column 2 Column 3
Autumn1: Being Me in My World Includes understanding my own identity and how I fit well in the class, school and global community. Jigsaw Charter established.
Autumn2: Celebrating Difference Includes anti-bullying (cyber and homophobic bullying included) and understanding
Spring1: 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
Spring2: Healthy Me Includes drugs and alcohol education, self-esteem and confidence as well as healthy lifestyle choices, sleep, nutrition, rest and exercise
Autumn1: Relationships Includes understanding friendship, family and other relationships, conflict resolution and communication skills, bereavement and loss
Autumn2: Changing Me Includes Relationships and Sex Education in the context of coping positively with change

End of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) children will:

Begin to develop and form positive relationships with adults and other children, This can be seen as they begin to show sensitivity towards others’ needs and feelings while playing cooperatively and understanding turn-taking. Children will also be developing their self-confidence and self-awareness by demonstrating that they can take risks in trying new activities. These children will be able to articulate when and how they need help, even in groups. Additionally, when managing feelings and behaviour, they are able to show and talk about their own emotions as well as those of others. They will also understand how to differentiate between positive and negative behaviour and understand that unacceptable behaviour will have consequences.

End of Key Stage 1 children will:

Develop their awareness of themselves and others in contexts which are familiar to them, such as their home and school. They will also be able to understand how their behaviour impacts others around them and how to keep themselves happy and safe. The children will also be able to identify what makes us all individual, unique and celebrate diversity within Victoria Dock Primary School. Children will also be able to articulate their understanding of bullying and understand the negative impact this has. Children will be able to express how they feel when they succeed and can begin to work collaboratively in groups to achieve a common goal. Children will be able to understand how their body has changed from being a baby and can use the correct terms to describe parts of their body that are private; along with this children will know how to take care of their bodies and mental health by leading a healthy lifestyle.

End of Key Stage 2 children will:

Be able to apply their understanding of themselves and others into the wider context of their communities and the world. Children will leave Victoria Dock Primary School with the skills and needed to be a well rounded member of society with a concrete understanding of their emotions and how to manage them effectively. By building on their knowledge throughout primary school, children will have explored further the diverse world we live in and will have built an understanding of the negative impact discriminatory behaviour can have while showing empathy with victims of this crime. Children will also understand how their bodies change through puberty into adulthood. Children will also discover the complex emotional changes that they experience during this time in their lives. Furthermore, children will also have an understanding of the harmful impact that negative relationships with food, substances and media can have on their bodies and their mental health. Children will set themselves aspirational targets and will understand how their dreams and goals can be different to those of another child, from a different culture. By the end of Key Stage 2 children will be resilient and have the correct tools to deal with and overcome challenges and set-backs. Children will be able to take their aspirations and apply them to the wider world allowing them to become a role model and a positive citizen.

At Victoria Dock Primary School we allocate 1 hour every Friday to PSHE each week in order to teach the PSHE knowledge and skills in a developmental and age-appropriate way.

These explicit lessons are reinforced and enhanced in many ways:

Assemblies and collective worship, praise and reward system, Learning Charter, through relationships child to child, adult to child and adult to adult across the school. We aim to ‘live’ what is learnt and apply it to everyday situations in the school community.

Class teachers deliver the weekly lessons to their own classes.

Relationships Education

What does the DfE statutory guidance on Relationships Education expect children to know by the time they leave primary school?

Relationships Education in primary schools will cover ‘Families and people who care for me’, ‘Caring friendships’, ‘Respectful relationships’, ‘Online relationships’, and ‘Being safe’.

The expected outcomes for each of these elements can be found further on in this policy. The way the Jigsaw Programme covers these is explained in the mapping document: Jigsaw 3-11 and Statutory Relationships and Health Education.

It is important to explain that whilst the Relationships Puzzle (unit) in Jigsaw covers most of the statutory Relationships Education, some of the outcomes are also taught elsewhere in Jigsaw e.g. the Celebrating Difference Puzzle helps children appreciate that there are many types of family composition and that each is important to the children involved. This holistic approach ensures the learning is reinforced through the year and across the curriculum.

SEND

At Victoria Dock Primary School we ensure that all pupils are fully engaged within the broad and balanced curriculum, which we tailor to their individual needs. Where a child’s need prevents them from accessing the Age Related Expectations for subjects, planning is tailored to meet the individual needs of all pupils.

Impact

Assessment

Progress is assessed on an on-going basis against statements agreed with schools across the Constellation Trust. These statements are derived from the National Curriculum and are appropriate to the children’s stage of development.

Children’s work is recorded in either the whole class or individual Jigsaw Journals or in digital portfolios on Seesaw. At the end of each Jigsaw lesson children complete a self-assessment form relating to both the PSHE and Social and Emotional learning outcomes for each session. In addition to self-assessment during lessons, teacher assessments are made every half term using Flic Objectives which are directly linked to the Constellation Trust progressive knowledge document.

Monitoring

The impact of the PSHE curriculum is monitored regularly by the PSHE Subject leader through pupil feedback, staff feedback, samples of work, discussions with teachers and learning walks. Systematic monitoring of all threads of PSHE informs the PSHE action plan and school development plan. The PSHE subject leader conducts regular audits of training needs of teachers and teaching assistants to improve their subject knowledge and confidence. Requests for training in PSHE can be made as part of individual teacher’s performance management plan.

Further information

“I’m really pleased with ‘Victoria Dock’. Pleased we have made this choice..”

Quotes from Parent Questionnaires

“I moved here especially for this school and I am still very happy with my choice.”

Quotes from Parent Questionnaires

“You have gone above and beyond to ensure my children have everything they need and more.”

Quotes from Parent Questionnaires

“The support and feedback offered through this difficult time has been fantastic.”

Quotes from Parent Questionnaires

“I am happy with the school and the way is performs. My child appears to be happy and thriving and that is what is important.”

Quotes from Parent Questionnaires

“My child feels safe and happy.”

Quotes from Parent Questionnaires

“The staff are really working hard to do their best for the children.”

Quotes from Parent Questionnaires

“You have gone above and beyond to ensure my children have everything they need and more.”

Quotes from Parent Questionnaires

“What a fantastic online learning system the school has in place.”

Quotes from Parent Questionnaires