PSHE is at the heart of our broad and balanced curriculum. 

Our PSHE curriculum enables our children to be equipped with the skills, knowledge and experience to succeed in life.  It aims to help them to understand how they are developing personally, socially and emotionally whilst allowing children to understand and value how they fit in and contribute to the Academy and wider society.  The PSHE curriculum we offer equips children with relevant and meaningful content which is supported through a strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing children’s physical and mental health.  It also allows us to consider the needs of individual children and support their needs.

Children enjoy their PSHE learning and are equipped with the skills to develop positive and healthy relationships with their peers now and in the future.  If children are able to feel safe and listened to this will in turn have a positive impact on their ability to learn.  The skills that they learn within PSHE lessons supports them to become life-long learners.  Alongside our Thrive approach, by tracking children’s social and emotional development, we can assess the progress that children have made and offer individual support where needed. This leads to our children making excellent progress from their unique starting points.

PSHE (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:

From September 2020, primary schools in England also need to teach Relationships and Health Education as compulsory subjects and the Department for Education strongly recommends this should also include age-appropriate Sex Education.

At Highfields Primary Academy, we use the Jigsaw Programme to deliver PSHE and RSE. 

At Our PSHE provision is a comprehensive scheme aligned with the National Curriculum, with a strong emphasis on developing children’s emotional literacy and wellbeing. As a Thrive school, social and emotional development is embedded throughout our curriculum, ensuring pupils are supported to build the skills they need to succeed.

We deliver PSHE through the Jigsaw PSHE Programme, a whole-school approach that integrates personal, social and health education, mindfulness, social skills and spiritual development. This programme enables pupils to explore, reflect on and challenge their own and others’ attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities within a structured and supportive environment.

Jigsaw is organised into six half-term units, known as “Puzzles,” each consisting of six weekly lessons (“Pieces”). All year groups study the same theme simultaneously, creating a shared learning experience across the school while ensuring content is delivered in an age-appropriate way. The six themes are:

Lessons provide regular opportunities for discussion, reflection and the development of essential life skills. Learning is further enriched through meaningful cross-curricular links, including connections with subjects such as science.

We place great importance on creating a safe, respectful and positive learning environment. At the start of the year, each class establishes shared expectations through the Jigsaw Charter, which is revisited consistently to support open dialogue and mutual respect.

Children’s social and emotional development is carefully monitored, allowing for targeted support where needed so that every child can thrive.

An important part of the Jigsaw PSHE programme is delivered through the ‘Relationships’ and ‘Changing Me’ puzzle pieces which are covered in the summer term.

There are four main aims of teaching RSE:

Each year group will be taught appropriate to their age and developmental stage. 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 by your child’s class teacher.