PSHE/RSHE

Jigsaw: Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE)

At Maybury, we use the Jigsaw scheme of work. Jigsaw is a comprehensive and completely original 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, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) 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, compulsory RSHE, 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. It is a carefully thought out scheme of work which brings consistency and progression to our children’s learning. 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.

Jigsaw also supports the Personal Development and Behaviour and Attitude aspects required under the Ofsted Inspection Framework, as well as significantly contributing to the school’s Safeguarding and Equalities Duties, the Government’s British Values agenda and the SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural) development opportunities provided for our children.

Each jigsaw piece has two learning intentions: one is based on specific PSHE learning and one is based on emotional literacy and social skills. Jigsaw is relevant to children living in today’s world as it helps them understand and be equipped to cope with issues like body image, cyber and homophobic bullying, and internet safety. Every lesson contributes to at least one of these aspects of children’s development. 

Each puzzle starts with an introductory assembly, generating a whole school focus for adults and children alike. 

For more details about the curriculum, please click the following link:

 PSHE Curriculum

Jigsaw: Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) Information

From September 2020 RHE became compulsory to teach in primary schools.  All schools have a statutory duty to teach pupils the aspects of Relationship Education and Health Education and pupils cannot be withdrawn from these lessons. 

Although Sex Education is not statutory in primary schools, we do include this within in our curriculum. 

Relationships Education is designed to help children to have positive and safe relationships with family, friends, children, adults and online. All primary schools are required by the Government to teach Relationships Education and parents cannot withdraw children from this section of the curriculum. The areas this section of the curriculum cover are:

• Families and people who care for me
• Caring Friendships
• Respectful Relationships
• Online Relationships
• Being Safe

The Relationships Puzzle in Jigsaw covers most of the statutory Relationships Education, some of the outcomes are also taught in The Celebrating Differences Puzzle as this helps children appreciate there are many types of family composition and that each is important to the children involves. The holistic approach ensures the learning is reinforced through the year and across the curriculum.

Health Education will help children to make good decisions about their health and wellbeing and enable them to know how to seek support if any health issues arise for themselves or others. The areas it will cover are:

• Mental wellbeing
• Internet safety and harms
• Physical health and fitness
• Healthy eating
• Drugs, alcohol and tobacco
• Health and prevention
• Basic first aid
• The changing adolescent body

This DfE guidance clearly states the statutory requirements, i.e. what children MUST be taught by the end of primary school. Health Education includes learning about ‘the changing adolescent body’ to equip children to understand and cope with puberty. The National Curriculum for Science, (also a compulsory subject), includes learning the correct names for the main external body parts, learning about the human body as it grows from birth to old age and reproduction in some plants and animals, (which could include human beings).

Relationships Education, Health Education and Science are compulsory subjects and parents/carers do NOT have the right to withdraw their children from these subjects.

It is important to explain that whilst the ‘Healthy Me’ Puzzle in Jigsaw covers most of the statutory Health Education, some of the outcomes are taught elsewhere in Jigsaw eg emotional and mental health is nurtures through the calm me time, social skills are grown every lesson through the connect us activity and respect is enhanced through the use of the Jigsaw Charter.

Teaching children about puberty is now a statutory requirement which sits within the Health Education part of the DfE guidance within the ‘Changing adolescent body’ strand, and in Jigsaw this is taught as part of the Changing Me Puzzle.

The DfE guidelines continue to recommend that primary schools should have a sex education programme tailored to the age and physical and emotional maturity of the pupils. It should ensure that both boys and girls are prepared for the changes that adolescence brings and how a baby is conceived and born. 

The children in year 5 and 6 will receive this more intensive and detailed sex and relationships programme, usually delivered alongside the school nurse in the summer term.

 In the EYFS, the PSED element of the curriculum delivers the initial stages in relationships education. This involves helping children to:  develop a positive sense of themselves and others, form positive relationships and develop respect for others, develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings, understand appropriate behaviour in groups and have confidence in their own abilities

Sex Education relates to human reproduction and we teach this alongside the Health Education content as part of the Jigsaw unit ‘Changing Me’. At Maybury Primary School we believe children should understand the facts about human reproduction prior to their transition to secondary school. This is taught separately to the children, following the Jigsaw guidance as part of the Summer 2 Unit: Changing Me.

Sex Education is designed to help children to:

• Understand and respect their bodies
• Develop positive and healthy relationships appropriate to their age and development
• Support children to have positive self-esteem and body image
• Empower them to be safe and safeguarded.

Sex Education is not compulsory in primary schools, parents do have the right to request their child is withdrawn from these specific lessons, these are:

Year 4: Lesson 2 (Having a baby)

Year 5: Lesson 4 (Conception)

Year 6: Lesson 3 ( Babies Conception to birth) 

Parents/Carers who choose to exercise this right should do so in writing. They will be invited to discuss the issues and possible effects which withdrawal could have. This would include preparing parents/carers for other children talking to their children. It is hoped however that parents/carers will work cooperatively with school. Parents/carers will be encouraged to support the work of the school with their children at that particular time and continue the discussion and education within the context of the family.

At Maybury Primary School we have been delivering RSE within our Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum for many years. At no point will a child be taught something that is inappropriate; and if a question from a child arises and the teacher feels it would be inappropriate to answer, (for example, because of its mature or explicit nature), this information with be shared with you as a parent/carer by your child’s class teacher. The question will not be answered to the child or class if it is outside the remit of that year group’s programme.

Puberty is taught as a statutory requirement of Health Education and covered by our Jigsaw Programme in the ‘Changing Me’ Puzzle.

For more information about what your child will learn, please click the link below:

RSE coverage within the Jigsaw Scheme 

School Nurse and Health Visitors to the School

The school nurse may be invited to the school to assist the teachers in the year 5 and 6 RSHE Programme. The nurse will be made fully aware of the permitted content of lessons in accordance with this policy. Questions to the school nurse can be made in writing.