PSHE & RSE
The intent statement of our PSHE and RSE curriculum is:
Our intention is that when children leave Birkbeck, they will do so with the knowledge, understanding and emotions to be able to play an active, positive and successful role in today’s diverse society. We want our children to have high aspirations, a belief in themselves and realise that anything is possible
At Birkbeck Primary School, we teach Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) as a whole-school approach to underpin children’s development as people and because we believe that this also supports their learning capacity. We consider Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) as an important part of the PSHE curriculum.
We have adopted the Jigsaw programme as a scheme of work to teach PSHE and RSE. Jigsaw offers us a comprehensive, carefully thought-through scheme of work which brings consistency and progression to our children’s learning in this vital curriculum area. The six threads of the Jigsaw programme are developed and progressed year upon year and this offers us the opportunity to strategically build children's understanding on their prior knowledge in the same way that we do with our other curriculum subjects.
The threads of concept that the Jigsaw programme develops are:
- Being myself
- Celebrating difference
- Dreams and goals
- Being healthy
- Relationships
- Changes
We have also cross referenced the Jigsaw programme against the requirements of the National Curriculum and know that it fulfils these requirements as well.
Our curriculum also supports the ‘Personal Development’ and ‘Behaviour and Attitude’ aspects required under the Ofsted Inspection Framework, as well as significantly contributing to the school’s Safeguarding and Equality Duties, the Government’s British Values agenda and the SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural) development opportunities provided for our children.
As a Rights Respecting School, we seek to put the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) at the heart of a school’s ethos and culture; to improve well-being and develop every child’s talents and abilities to their full potential.
The Unicef UK Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) is based on principles of equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation. These work alongside our school values: Respect, Equality and Resilience. The Jigsaw PSHE programme compliments our school values.
Our curriculum coverage posters provide information about which units are taught in which year groups and the order in which they are taught. You can view the PSHE and RSE one below:
Below you can see the development of our key concept threads in grid form so that you can see how each one is progressed and developed as children move through the school.
pshe curriculum thread development table.pdf
Lesson delivery
Every PSHE lesson begins with a retrieval practice starter which has the aim of activating prior knowledge around the concept thread which the lesson to come is focused on.
Every lesson also includes clarification of any technical vocabulary to be used in the lesson. This always takes place before the main lesson content begins.
All PSHE and RSE lessons are delivered in line with our principles of teaching and learning which are the same for all subjects. These are the principles that we believe underpin truly great teaching and learning. You can read about how these are applied to PSHE and RSE lessons below:
birkbeck primary school pshe implementation guide.pdf
Assessment
We assess PSHE and RSE once per half term. Teachers assess children's body of work against a set of descriptors which match the threads of concept that our PSHE and RSE curriculum is designed by. As such, the curriculum is the model for progression that we follow and assess against. Assessment is reported to parents and carers every term at parents evening.
Parental information
Below, you can view the statutory Relationships and Health education map. This provides parents and carers with information around which units of work are statutory and which are non-statutory. If you feel strongly that you do not wish for your child to take part in one or some of the non-statutory units of work, please speak to the class teacher in the first instance.
You will also see further information on the the Jigsaw programme, through the Parents and carers guide and further information on LGBTQ+ for parents and carers below. We urge all of our parents and carers to take the time to read these informative attachments.
Statutory Relationships and Health Education Map
