PSHE
Intent
At St Matthew’s Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy, the principal aim of PSHE is to allow pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe, and prepared for life past education. In line with the Education Act 2002 and the Academies Act 2010 we cover the three core themes of PSHE, Health and Well Being, Relationships and Living in the Wider World.
At St Matthew’s, it is our intent that all children will be ‘lifelong learners’ with the confidence and ability to develop their skills and understanding when having new experiences, meeting new challenges and finding themselves in unfamiliar situations. We offer a nurturing environment where each child can let their light shine and IGNITE a passion for learning. All children are guided to develop their full potential and their achievements and successes are celebrated and rewarded. As a school, we believe that children are all individuals and therefore, we aim to encourage mutual respect; celebrating and accepting difference in our school community and beyond, responsibility and foster self-esteem in a happy and caring atmosphere.
The teaching and learning of PSHE using the Jigsaw programme supports this.
Implementation
Through using Jigsaw our children acquire knowledge, understanding and the skills they need to manage their lives now and in their futures. It develops the qualities and attributes children need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society and the global community.
Jigsaw is implemented throughout the whole school during regular whole class Jigsaw lessons focusing on different topics each term. There are six puzzles in Jigsaw that are designed to progress in sequence from the start of 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)
The whole schools works on the same puzzle at the same time, meaning that each puzzle is launched with a whole school worship and learning is celebrated by the whole school in a meaningful way.
Through regular Jigsaw sessions, children are given opportunities to explore and challenge a range of the diverse beliefs, values and attitudes that individuals and societies hold. Children are taught to develop themselves, their understanding of the world, and their ability to communicate their feelings as well as to take responsibility for their actions.
Children at St Matthew’s also acquire an understanding and experiences of British values that are necessary if they are to make sense of their experiences, value themselves, respect other, appreciate differences and feel confident and informed as a British citizen. The children support the community through spreading words of kindness, singing for the local pensioners and raising money for charity.
Impact
At St Matthew’s C of E Primary and Nursery we seek to ensure that the PSHE that we teach, improves the physical, mental and social well-being of pupils. Through our PSHE education, we believe we can enhance children’s education and help them to become caring, respectful, aspirational and confident individuals. Providing a consistent and regular delivery of the Jigsaw Scheme of Work allows us to fulfil this.
Note on PSHE in EYFS
PSHE sits within the areas of Personal, social and emotional development and Understanding of the world. From an early age, the children at St. Matthew’s learn to develop respectful communication and they are aware of the feelings and wishes of others. From Nursery age the children participate in weekly social circle times. The children are encouraged to listen, be kind to each other and share with others. We use the SEAL programme as our overarching themes for each half term whilst also addressing the needs of the children as they occur and ensuring good links to our termly topics. The continuous provision is planned to provide the children with the opportunity to further develop the skills that they have learned from focused sessions and then practise using these independently. The youngest learners in the school are exposed to and participate in upholding British Values.