Intent (why are we teaching this?)

PSHE Education (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) and RSE (Relationship and Sex Education) is a planned programme of learning through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to successfully manage their lives – now and in the future. As part of a whole-school approach, PSHE/RSE Education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society.

At Crooklog we follow a programme called Jigsaw. 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. There is a strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health with every lesson including mindfulness.

PSHE education supports and nurtures children’s confidence, resilience and self-esteem as well as children’s ability to identify and manage risks, make informed choices and understand what influences their decisions. Jigsaw embeds a mindful approach and this helps children to understand, manage and self-regulate emotions, communicate constructively in a variety of settings and clear their minds ready for learning. As children develop an understanding of themselves they learn to have empathy and the ability to work with others and this helps pupils to form and maintain good relationships, develop the essential skills for future employability and better enjoy and manage their lives.

Implementation (How is this being taught)

In PSHE/RSE we follow the programme Jigsaw. Jigsaw 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 (Puzzles), each containing six lessons (Pieces) covering each academic year.

Term 1: Being Me in My World

Term 2: Celebrating Difference (including anti-bullying)

Term 3: Dreams and Goals

Term 4: Healthy Me

Term 5: Relationships

Term 6: Changing Me (including Sex Education)

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

Puzzles are launched with each year group studying the same unit at the same time (at their own level), building sequentially through the school year, facilitating whole-school learning themes.

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, which are 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 aximise 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). This 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 – This part of the session enables children to make sense of the new information/concepts by giving them the opportunity to manipulate, use, and play with the new information in order 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 able to consider whether what they are learning may be particularly meaningful to them).

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 addition to this, teachers have the freedom to plan with detail and attention to their individual children. Learners can be scaffolded, and any individual needs can be supported where necessary. The summative assessment process offers criteria for children either working at, beyond or towards the age-related expectations. Greater depth children can be challenged to ensure that they are being given the opportunities to enrich their learning further.

The new statutory areas of health and relationships education (with which Jigsaw PSHE is fully compliant) and sex education introduces puberty at Year 3 so that no child enters puberty not understanding what is happening to their body. Human Reproduction comes in at Years 4, 5 and 6 following the Science curriculum and are taught with sensitivity.

We encourage children to use the skills they have learnt in PSHE in all aspects of their school life and we also love to share with parents and community. As a school we celebrate our skills of empathy, communication and emotional awareness with an array of whole school events such as, children’s Mental Health week, Black History Month, Comic relief, Hello Yellow day and many other fundraisers such as, helping children in our local community through supporting the Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal.

Impact (What is the effect?)

At Crooklog we believe that by following the Jigsaw scheme we create well rounded citizens with a sense of empathy for their surroundings and who are well prepared for the 21st century. This allows them to enjoy the wonderful world which is waiting for them! In order to clearly see the positive results in pupils learning and therefore the standards to which they achieve there are many ways we monitor the impact of Jigsaw.

Assessment is a major contributor in evidencing the impact. Through careful assessment teachers will track pupils are building on their skills and knowledge over time. It can then show progression and also uniformity between parallel classes ensuring that in-school gaps or anomalies are dealt with. Assessment in Jigsaw is both formative and summative. The two clear learning objectives for each lesson (piece) allow the teacher to be mindful of the assessment elements within that session that can formatively help them pitch and plan subsequent lessons and activities are included in each lesson to give the children the opportunity to self-assess using simple pictorial resources designed in a child-friendly, age appropriate way.

The subject leader (Mrs Jupp) will carry out discussions with pupils from all year groups (pupil voice) to know exactly what the children feel is the impact of their learning and to gain an insight to the impact of PSHE/Jigsaw through the children’s eye’s.

As Jigsaw PSHE is a whole-school approach, there are numerous layers built in that engender a sense of belonging and community, and that value every individual, for example: praising one attitude or behaviour each week through the Weekly celebration, bringing the whole school together for Jigsaw assemblies and/or assemblies based on other events such as Children’s Mental Health week and celebrating every child’s contribution to the school community through the 'end of Puzzle outcome which is a whole school  display that celebrates the unit taught and includes everyone’s involvement or work.