Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education including Relationships, Sex and Health Education.

Why do we teach PSHE/RSHE at Greenleaf Primary School?

Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education provides a planned curriculum which enables our pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future.

Why do we teach RSHE?

Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is an essential link in improving health and well-being outcomes for children and young people. At Greenleaf, we believe it is essential to give the child a voice. Through our curriculum, children are taught about the emotional, social and physical aspects of growing up, relationships, sex and gender and lessons are tailored according to age, and physical and emotional maturity of the children and young people it is delivered to.

We believe that RSHE should be an entitlement for all children and young people and work in partnership with families to ensure that special care should be taken to meet the needs of those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act (2010) including sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy & maternity, race and religion.

Our approach to teaching PSHE at Greenleaf.

PSHE, like Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural [SMSC] learning, is embedded throughout daily life at Greenleaf. We emphasise the 5 R's; Readiness, Responsibility, Resilience, Resourcefulness and Reflectiveness.

We use the Jigsaw Curriculum as a whole-school approach to teaching PSHE and RSHE. The Jigsaw curriculum provides a mindful approach to PSHE, bringing together Personal, Social, Health Education, emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development in a comprehensive scheme of learning. All year groups work on a whole-school theme, known as a Puzzle, each half term. Each week we have a focus target that the whole school is working on - we celebrate those that have tried hard to meet the target during our weekly Stars of the Week assembly.

Through timetabled weekly sessions, children learn about themselves and each other, recognising and understanding feelings and managing relationships.

Curriculum overview-Half termly Topics:

Autumn 1: Being Me in My World

Autumn 2: Celebrating Difference

Spring 1: Dreams and Goals

Spring 2: Healthy Me

Summer 1: Relationships

Summer 2: Changing Me 

A Mindful Approach

 Mindfulness:

• to be aware of your thoughts and feelings as they arise
• to be able to focus your mind on what you choose to focus it on both outside of you and within you.

We know that thoughts and feelings motivate and determine actions/responses/behaviours. If we are caught up in thoughts and feelings and are not aware of them as they happen, the responses that follow may not be under our control, and may not be in our best interest or appropriate in the situation.

Mindful children can more readily choose their responses to situations rather than react while caught up in the thought-flows and emotions, saving behaviour issues from happening, helping concentration and lessening stress and anxiety.

This is empowering. In Jigsaw, the mindful approach to PSHE, mindfulness is developed in 3 main ways:

a) through the ‘Calm Me’ time in each Piece (lesson). This consists of breathing techniques, awareness exercises and visualisations, enabling children not to empty their minds but to quiet them and become aware of the activity within them and manage it positively

b) through the taught curriculum. Lessons (Pieces) help children to explore their thoughts and feelings, to expand their emotional vocabulary, explore thoughts-feelings-consequence sequences, build their confidence and express themselves in a safe environment.

c) through the ‘Pause Points’ in lessons (Pieces) which ask children to ‘Stop and look inside’ to practise observing their thoughts and feelings relating to what they are learning about in that lesson.

Jigsaw Jerrie Cat is introduced in the first Puzzle (Being Me in My World) and acts as the trigger for PAUSE POINTS in lessons giving the children time to stop and reflect on their learning (the teacher using Jerrie Cat’s Paws, to symbolise the Pause Point for children).

The Jigsaw Chime - used in Calm Me time Using the Jigsaw Chime and the Calm Me exercises is an easy introduction to techniques which help children relax their bodies and calm their minds, reaching an optimum state for learning. The aim is to bring children ’s awareness/attention to the present moment and in so doing let go of other thoughts that might be scurrying around the mind which distract from focusing on the learning of the lesson.

USEFUL DOCUMENTS

PSHE Progression Map