PSHE at St John's
At St John's, we believe passionately that PSHE helps to foster pupil well being and develop resilience and virtues that are fundamental to pupils being happy, successful and productive members of society.
Our Intent for Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE)
PSHE in our school will put in place the key building blocks for healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships, both online and offline. This will sit alongside the essential understanding of how to be healthy emotionally, physically and mentally. Central to this is each pupil’s ability to believe that they can achieve goals, both academic and personal; to stick to tasks that will help them achieve those goals even when the reward may be distant or uncertain and to bounce back from knocks and challenging periods in their lives linking with our values.
Teaching on the subject of mental wellbeing will also be key to ensuring that pupils are well prepared for the challenges which lay ahead in their lives.
At St John's, we follow the Jigsaw scheme to deliver PSHE. Jigsaw brings together PSHE Education, emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development in a comprehensive scheme of learning. It is a whole school approach, with all year groups working on the same theme (Puzzle) at the same time.
With the Jigsaw approach, mindfulness is developed through the ‘Calm Me’ time in each piece (lesson). This consists of breathing techniques, awareness exercises and visualisations. Mindfulness is a vital tool for life: not only does it support the regulation of emotion and build emotional resilience but also enhances focus and concentration; both helping to optimise learning for our children!
Theological Underpinning:
Ephesians 3, V17- 'Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith as you are beingrootedand grounded in love.'
How we Implement the PSHE Curriculum
There are six Puzzles in Jigsaw that are designed to progress in sequence from September to July:
Being Me in My World
Celebrating Difference (including anti-bullying)
Dreams and Goals
Healthy Me
Relationships
Changing Me (including Sex Education)
Each Piece has two Learning Intentions: one is based on specific PSHE learning (covering the non-statutory national framework for PSHE Education but enhanced to address children’s needs today); and one is based on emotional literacy and social skills (covering the SEAL learning intentions but also enhanced). The enhancements mean that Jigsaw is relevant to children living in today’s world as it helps them understand and be equipped to cope with issues like body image, cyber and homophobic bullying, and internet safety.
The creation of Jigsaw is motivated by the genuine belief that if attention is paid to supporting children’s personal development in a structured and developmentally appropriate way, this will not only improve their capacity to learn (across the curriculum) but will ultimately improve their life chances. That’s why Jigsaw is completely child-focussed.
This is reflected in the innovative way that Pieces (lessons) are structured:
Connect us – This section is designed to maximise social skills, to engender positive relationships and enhance collaborative learning.
Calm me - This section aims to still the children’s minds, relaxing them and quietening their emotions to a place of optimum learning capacity. This will also engender a peaceful atmosphere within the classroom. It is an invaluable life skill which also enhances reflection and spiritual development.
Tell me or show me - This section is used to introduce new information, concepts and skills, using a range of teaching approaches and activities.
Let me learn - Following Piaget’s learning model, after receiving new information/concepts, children need to manipulate, use, and play with that new information in order for it to make sense to them and for them to ‘accommodate’ it into their existing learning.
Help me reflect -Throughout Jigsaw, children are encouraged to reflect on their learning experiences and their progress. By reflecting, children can process and evaluate what they have learnt, which enables them to consolidate and apply their learning.
Impact
The PSHE curriculum will enable our students to make effective decisions, and become respectful of the views and feelings of others, as well as developing their understanding of building relationships with family, friends and in the wider community. They will be able to effectively manage disputes and care for themselves and others.
The curriculum has the potential to have a profound and long lasting impact on the future of the lives of our pupils.
It will provide the foundations needed for a lifetime of positive relationships, physical and emotional wellbeing and the ability to play a key role as an effective citizen in the wider world.
Assessment will look at the reflection evidence that the children record at the end of the series of lessons. Peer and self-assessment will also be ongoing.
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Relationship and Health Education at St John's
What is Relationship and Health Education (RHE)?
Principles within a Christian Education
We teach children about Relationship and Health Education within the context of being a Christian school. It is important that as children grow up, they come to an understanding of their own bodies, instincts and feelings. In this way they will be prepared for the opportunities, joys and responsibilities of caring relationships. Relationship and Health Education should be taught in the context of family life and committed, stable relationships with an emphasis on love, trust and respect. It is also about understanding the building blocks of friendship, privacy, and boundaries.
“We must avoid, at all costs, diminishing the dignity of any individual to a stereotype or a problem. Church of England schools offer a community where everyone is a person known and loved by God, supported to know their intrinsic value.”
(Valuing All God’s Children, Church of England 2017, Foreword by The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury)
Vision in Action
The policy supports the school’s aims with particular reference to:
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encouraging pupils to become responsible members of the community and confident people through the fostering of positive attitudes which enhance self esteem
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encouraging all members of the school community to have concern, respect and a caring attitude for others, their immediate environment and the world at large
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teach and support the acquisition of appropriate learning skills to enable our children to reach their highest potential intellectually, physically, emotionally, spiritually, morally and socially
It is lifelong learning about physical, moral and emotional development. It is about the understanding of the importance of marriage for family life, stable and loving relationships, respect, love and care. Research demonstrates that good, comprehension RHE does not make young people more likely to become sexually active at a younger age.
Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, DfEE (now Department for Education/DfE) 2000
Relationship and Health Education will reflect the values of the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (P.S.H.E) education and Citizenship programme. R.H.E will be taught in the context of relationships and more specifically within the context of Christian principles. We will teach children about the different types of family that reflect modern Britain. In addition R.H.E will promote self-esteem and emotional health and well-being and help them form and maintain worthwhile and satisfying relationships, based on respect for themselves and for others, at home, school, work and in the community
“RHE … should seek to develop understanding that there are a variety of relationships and family patterns in the modern world.”
(Valuing All God’s Children, Church of England 2018 p34)