Personal Social Health Education (PSHE)

What is PSHE Education? 

PSHE Education (Personal, Social, Health and Economic 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 Education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. What do schools have to teach in PSHE Education? According to the National Curriculum, every school needs to have a broad and balanced curriculum that: • promotes the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school; • prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life; • promotes British values. Primary schools in England also need to teach Relationships and Health Education as compulsory subjects and the Department for Education strongly recommends that they should also include age-appropriate Sex Education 

At Battle and Langton, PSHE is taught weekly in all year groups.  In Years 1-6 teachers follow the Jigsaw scheme of work.  In Reception, the teachers tailor the Jigsaw scheme of work to fit with the Early Learning Goals and the arising needs of the cohort.

What will Jigsaw teach my child? 

The overview below summarises the content in each of Jigsaw’s units of work: 

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. 

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’, and most year groups explore the concept of ‘normality’. Anti-bullying, including cyber and homophobic bullying, is an important aspect of this Puzzle. 

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. There is also a focus on enterprise and fundraising. 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. 

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). Most of the statutory content for Health Education (DfE) is contained within this

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 unit 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. 

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 groups at the school’s discretion. Jigsaw has produced a separate leaflet explaining the approach taken with Relationships and Sex Education. Your child’s school can make this available to you on request. 

What will my child actually be taught about puberty and human reproduction? 

Jigsaw’s ‘Changing Me’ unit is taught over a period of 6 weeks, usually in the second half of the summer term. Each year group will be taught appropriate to their age and developmental stage, building on the previous years’ learning. Please note: 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), the child will be encouraged to ask his/her parents or carers at home. The question will not be answered to the child or class if it is outside the remit of that year group’s agreed programme. 

The Changing Me Unit is all about coping positively with change and includes: 

Reception: Growing up: how we have changed since we were babies. 

Year 1:  Boys’ and girls’ bodies; correct names for body parts. 

Year 2:  Boys’ and girls’ bodies; body parts and respecting privacy (which parts of the body are private and why this is). 

Year 3:  How babies grow and how boys’ and girls’ bodies change as they grow older. Brief introduction to puberty and menstruation. 

Year 4:  Internal and external reproductive body parts. Recap about puberty and menstruation is revisited with more detail. Conception explained in simple terms. 

Year 5:  Puberty for boys and girls in more detail including the social and emotional aspects of becoming an adolescent. Conception explained in simple biological terms. 

Year 6:  Puberty for boys and girls revisited. Understanding conception to the birth of a baby. Becoming a teenager. All lessons are taught using correct terminology, child-friendly language and diagrams. 

How can I talk to my child about relationships, puberty and human reproduction? 

What children learn at school is only part of the curriculum, and children can continue to learn from you at home. For some parents/carers, it can feel totally natural to discuss relationships, puberty and human reproduction with their child, while for others it can seem uncomfortable. Either way, it is important to remember these key points:

• We all want children to be safe, healthy and happy. 

• We need to consider their needs and the world they inhabit. 

• We need to normalise talking about relationships, puberty and human reproduction to ensure children feel they can talk to parents/carers about any concerns or worries they may have. 

• We may need to challenge our own ways of thinking about how we feel about relationships and sex education. 

• We have choices. We can avoid talking about relationships and puberty or we can communicate openly and honestly with children. 

Here are some tips for talking to your child: 

• Be honest. If you don’t know the answer to a question, be honest and say so. Tell your child that you will need to find out and that you will get back to them with more soon. 

• Remember that children are curious and want to know and understand. We tend to place our adult perspective on children’s questions and comments, when actually a child just wants (and needs) a very simple, age-appropriate, matter-of-fact answer. This answer will not involve an ‘adult’ understanding of a topic – it needs to be at a child’s level, with opportunity given for the child to be able to ask further questions if needed. Give yourself time to respond by asking something like, “What do you think that means?” or “Why do you ask?”

• Keep lines of communication open. Having an open and honest relationship with your child can really help make conversations easier, so make sure that you are always willing to talk when your child needs you; if you can’t, explain why and find another time when it is more mutually convenient.

• Use correct terminology. It helps that children aren’t confused by hints, euphemisms and innuendo; use correct terminology whenever you can, especially for body parts. This is hugely important for safeguarding too. 

• Respond to what children say they need. Bear in mind that children’s lives today are very different from even five years ago. Therefore, the education they receive needs to reflect this. Research shows us that children want and need to understand relationships, puberty and human reproduction, and want to be able to talk with parents/carers about this when they have had lessons at school. We may feel that they know too much, when actually ignorance is the enemy of innocence. 

• Answer questions and don’t be afraid to say, ‘I really don’t know – let’s work it out or look it up together’. Have a phrase for awkward moments, such as, ‘That’s a good question, and let’s talk about it once we get home’. 

• Always respond. If you don’t, they may think it is wrong to talk to you about relationships, puberty or human reproduction and as a result you may find your child clams up when you want to raise the subject, now or in the future. 

• If it all feels too personal, try talking about people in books, films and favourite television programmes. 

• Enjoy it. Laugh with each other! 

(published with the permission of Jigsaw)