PSHE
Our aim is that Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education, including Relationship and Health Education (RSE) will equip children with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. It is designed to help children and young people make informed decisions about their well-being, health and relationships, while preparing them to live and work harmoniously in a diverse community and in the wider world. Our curriculum is designed to support young people to build resilience to face, know when to ask for help and where they can access support. Within the RSE curriculum, we aim to enable children to understand and respect their bodies, help children develop positive and healthy relationships appropriate to their age and development, support children to have positive self-esteem and body image and empower them to be safe and safeguarded.
At Ladysmith Federation, our PSHE curriculum is based around Jigsaw, a whole school thematic approach to teaching PSHE, including statutory RSE, which allows all year groups to work on the same theme (puzzle) at the same time, throughout the year. Jigsaw brings together PSHE Education, compulsory Relationships and Health Education, emotional literacy, mindfulness, social skills and spiritual development.
Learning is organised within a progressive, spiral curriculum. There is a strong emphasis on emotional Literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health. Lessons include mindfulness to allow children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration and focus.
There are six units (puzzles), each with six lessons (puzzles pieces). Every year group studies the same puzzle at the same time allowing for whole school themes. PSHE is taught once weekly by the class teacher and all lessons are delivered in an age- and stage-appropriate way so that they meet children’s needs. Our different puzzle pieces are; Being Me in My World, Celebrating Difference, Dreams and Goals, Healthy Me, Relationships and Changing Me. Alongside and connected to our PSHE curriculum, we teach Relationship and Sex Education through the Relationships and Changing Me puzzles which are covered in the summer term.
The important lessons you teach your child at home about healthy relationships, looking after themselves and staying safe, are respected and valued under this curriculum and our teaching at school should complement and reinforce the lessons you teach your child as they grow up. Our PSHE curriculum delivery ensures the children explore the diverse beliefs, values and attitudes that individuals and societies hold. It helps pupils to develop themselves, their understanding of the world, and their ability to communicate their feelings.
Children at Ladysmith Junior School also acquire an understanding of British values that are necessary if they are to make sense of their experiences, value themselves, respect others, appreciate differences and feel confident and informed as a British and global citizen. As a Federation, we take part in the NSPCC Speak Out Stay Safe Programme. This is a safeguarding programme which aims to help children understand abuse in all its forms and to recognise the signs of abuse in a child friendly way. Children are taught to speak out if they are worried, either to a trusted adult or to Childline.
Our PSHE curriculum is enhanced through a diverse range of personal development opportunities across the federation including, but not limited to, school parliament, animal monitors, student ambassadors, varied after school clubs and maintenance crew. As a federation, we have aligned assemblies based around relevant themes e.g. anti-bullying week and child mental health week. This cyclical approach ensures themes are revisited throughout their Ladysmith journey.
Through the teaching of the PSHE curriculum, our children will be equipped with a sound understanding of risk and will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to make safe and informed decisions. We hope it will enable the children to stay safe, including online; understand how to look after their physical and mental health; manage the physical and emotional changes at puberty; develop and conduct positive relationships; achieve their academic potential and thrive as individuals in their school, community and in the wider world.