At East Hunsbury Primary School, our PSHE curriculum is aspirational, enabling and inclusive and sits at the heart of everything that we do. We value the importance of developing our children as brilliant individuals who are global, healthy citizens and every year children know more, do more and remember more.

The overarching aims of our curriculum is that children will:

• Develop the knowledge, skills and attributes that they need to navigate their lives now and in the future.
• Understand how to keep healthy and safe; including how to have purposeful and reciprocal relationships.
• Understand the importance of valuing similarities and differences and how to recognise and manage their emotions.

Underpinning all learning and woven throughout will be the British Values of:

• Democracy,
• Rule of Law,
• Individual Liberty,
• Mutual Respect and
• Tolerance

We took the strategic decision to adopt the Jigsaw programme to deliver our PSHE curriculum as it builds on our already good practice, is grounded in research and follows a comprehensive and progressive coverage of key concepts. Through the implementation of this curriculum, it is intended that children are taught how to navigate their changing world and supported to develop positive

relationships with themselves and others. 

It is our intention that:

By the end of Key Stage One Pupils will:

• Have a positive relationship with themselves, peers and adults with in the school
• Demonstrate a healthy attitude towards school and learning
• Begin to demonstrate the British Values of democracy, tolerance, mutual respect, the rule of law and liberty
• Know how to stay safe in their physical and digital worlds
• Begin to have an awareness of their own mental health and well-being
• Begin to develop an inclusive attitude that challenges discrimination in all of its forms
• Understand the changes that happen to themselves and other animals and have taken part in age appropriate RSE

By the end of Key Stage Two pupils will:

• Have a positive relationship with themselves and the wider school community
• Have developed a positive body image
• Demonstrate a healthy attitude towards learning and its place in their future
• Understand what constitutes as a healthy relationship and how to seek help if they find themselves in an unhealthy situation
• Have respect for themselves and others
• Know how to stay safe in their digital and physical world
• Have an inclusive attitude that actively challenges discrimination in all of its forms
• Have an awareness and understanding of their own mental health and wellbeing and know where to turn for help should they need it
• Understand change and have strategies to draw on when they need to approach changes in their lives
• Understand the physical aspects involved with RSE at a developmentally appropriate level

Emotional Literacy and Intelligence

It is our intention that Emotional Literacy is integral to our curriculum. Emotional intelligence has been defined as:

‘...the ability to perceive accurately, appraise and express emotion, the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought, the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and the ability to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth’ (Salovey & Sluyter, 1997, p.10).

The Jigsaw approach facilitates this and by the end of their progression through the programme children will have:

• Built resilience,
• Nurtured their physical and mental health and
• Developed an emotional awareness alongside positive learning behaviours.

Through our strong links and partnerships with classes in our Specialist Unit, it is our intention that children develop an appreciation of the importance for inclusion and valuing others. 

Our PSHE programme is built around six half-termly schemes of work from Jigsaw. Each unit encompasses two strands, one specific to Relationships and Health Education and the other designed to build Emotional Literacy. The curriculum is interleaved with opportunities to learn simple mindfulness tools and techniques.

Our Mainstream Curriculum:

Specialist Unit Curriculum:

Our Specialist Unit Life Skills curriculum runs throughout the year for all children to access.

Due to the cohort of children, and the nature of their special educational need, these units are sometimes taught flexibly with individual children accessing learning appropriate to their developmental level.

Children learn about the British Values through assemblies and classroom discussions. They are also covered through our PSHE, RE, History and Geography curriculum.

In PSHE our Jigsaw and SMILE units are closely linked to the teaching of British values and more information can be found within the individual schemes of work.

At East Hunsbury Primary School, our PSHE approach is further developed through:

• Termly e-safety lessons (from our ICT curriculum)
• Anti-bullying awareness
• NSPCC visits
• Liaison with outside agencies
• Reflection Room
• Relax Kids and Yoga sessions
• School Parliament
• Pupil Voice
• Our positive behaviour strategy based on the works of Paul Dix (ready, respectful, safe.)
• Inclusion opportunities
• Community links
• Sports Leaders
• Community links with the Parish Council and the Elders of East Hunsbury

Supporting local and wider world charities

Our highly effective teaching in PSHE is developed through adopting a consistent approach and the follow up and follow through of our curriculum leaders; who monitor delivery and train and develop our teachers. Sessions are taught using a combination of quality circle time, discussion and response tasks. 

PSHE content is evident in our classrooms on a daily basis, it is not constrained to timetabled sessions. In all classes, children check in for the day using an Emotions Barometer, which is followed up by the year group adults. Links within in other subjects are drawn to allow children to develop a more comprehensive understanding of health, wellbeing, relationships and how to be good citizens of the wider world.

Our curriculum is carefully designed so that all children can access it fully. Adaptations are made to ensure that our PSHE sessions are developmentally appropriate for all of our pupils. Pupils with identified needs are supported with Makaton sign language and Widget symbols. Pupils in our Specialist Unit access a bespoke curriculum. 

As with our approach to all learning in the EYFS, our PSHE teaching combines direct taught sessions with hands on play experiences. Our pupils are supported and challenged by the adults working with them in whole class sessions, small groups and on a 1:1 basis. We focus on modelling expected behaviours and helping children to participate in purposeful play for learning. In everything we do we focus on the: ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning,’ promoting positive learning behaviours.

• Due to the personal nature of the subject, PSHE needs to be assessed in a distinctive way. Progress and attainment will manifest itself through:

  • The daily life at EHPS and how children interact with adults, peers and view themselves.
  • Pupil’s manners and positive learning behaviours.
  • Playground: Sports Leaders helping to facilitate happy play and lunch times.
  • In the conversations that children hold and the values which they display.
  • Work and the reflections children complete

  Subject leaders will monitor its implementation through pupil voice, conversations with staff and learning walks.