Personal Social and Health Education

Units of Learning and Questions for Family Involvement 2023-2024

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. At Eldersfield Lawn, our curriculum learning is interwoven with our Vision and Values.

What do schools have to teach in PSHE Education?
Through the National Curriculum, we teach 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.

In addition to this, Relationships and Sex Education forms an important part of PSHE in safeguarding our pupils. This links to both the Keeping Children Safe in Education document and the Equality Act (2010).
We use the 'Changing Me' units to deliver the RSE requirements to all year groups, from Reception to Year 6.

What is the Jigsaw programme?

Jigsaw is a whole-school approach and embodies a positive philosophy with creative teaching and learning activities to nurture children’s development as compassionate and well-rounded human beings as well as building their capacity to learn.

Jigsaw is a comprehensive PSHE Education programme which builds on pupils' knowledge and understanding through a two yearly cycle of lessons.

Jigsaw has two main aims for all children:
• To build their capacity for learning
• To equip them for life

Jigsaw brings together PSHE Education, Relationships, Sex and Health Education, Emotional Literacy, Mindfulness, and Social and spiritual development. We use a whole school approach to deliver the units at the same time through age-appropriate activities so that we can meet our children’s needs.

Please see the information for Reception, Year 1 and 2, Year 3 and 4 and Year 5 and 6 for more information about the RSE unit content and objectives. These are covered through the second part of the summer term.

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

Sex Education

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.
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Parents do have the right to request their child is withdrawn from these specific lessons. If you wish to withdraw your child, please contact Miss Smith or Mr Dixon-Gough and they will be happy to discuss this. 

At Eldersfield Lawn, we have been delivering RSE within our Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum for many years.  We have reviewed our PSHE curriculum to make sure that our lessons meet the requirements that the government has set out for the content of Relationships and Health Education.  The DfE recommends, ‘that all primary schools should have a Sex Education programme tailored to the age and the physical and emotional maturity of the pupils.’  At Eldersfield Lawn this is taught through our Jigsaw PSHE programme, which 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. The question will not be answered to the child or class if it is outside the remit of that year group’s programme.

Below is a summary of RSE coverage within the Jigsaw scheme for each year group:
• Foundation Stage – Growing up: how we have changed since we were babies
• Year 1 – Boys’ and girls’ bodies; naming 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
• Year 4 – Internal and external reproductive body parts, body changes in girls and menstruation
• Year 5 – Puberty for boys and girls, and conception
• Year 6 – Puberty for boys and girls and understanding conception to birth of a baby

If you would like more information about statutory Relationships and Health Education, please click below to read a parent and carer guide.  Further information about how the school approaches the teaching of Relationships and Sex Education through the Jigsaw programme can also be found within the documents listed below:

Relationships Education, Sex Education and Health Education

From September 2020, Relationships and Health Education are compulsory in all primary schools in England. For primary aged children this includes curriculum content under 2 headings (DfE 2019):

Relationships Education:

   - Families and people who are for me

   - Caring friendships

   - Respectful relationships

   - Online relationships

   - Being safe

Health Education:

  - Mental wellbeing

  - Internet safety and harms

  - Physical health and fitness

  - Healthy eating

  - Drugs, alcohol and tobacco

  - Health and prevention

  - Basic first aid

  - Changing adolescence bodies