RSHE

(Relationships, Sex & Health Education)

Intent

At Warley, the aim is to equip children for happy, healthy lives and to be effective learners.  Children need to leave primary school with sufficient knowledge and understanding to ensure they are safe as they grow up, understand how to form healthy relationships and are ready/prepared to face challenges that they encounter. RSHE incorporates the statutory requirements of RSE (Relationships and Sex Education), as well as emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development.

 The children will follow a mindful approach to RSHE.  This is where the children are aware of thoughts and feelings as they arise and being able to focus on what to do.  Children need to be able to regulate and manage their thoughts and feelings by using techniques they have been taught. Mindful children can more readily choose their responses to situations rather than react while caught-up in the thought-flows and emotions, saving behaviour issues from happening, helping concentration and lessening stress and anxiety.  Warley has a significant number of children receiving SEN support including those with emotional difficulties.  This, along with the expansion of Warley and high inward mobility, means if the children’s thought and feelings are left unchecked, then some of these will not be conducive for learning for either the child or their classmates.

 Implementation

 RSHE will be implemented through the Jigsaw scheme.  Following an initial year of familiarisation for the children and the teachers, RSHE will now happen weekly, with an annual RSHE day to ensure the full scheme is covered each academic year.

 The lessons will be taught in a safe environment and each class will have its own Class Charter to ensure this.  It is vital the children establish a safe, open and positive learning environment to build trusting relationships in order for the children to discuss topics that may be sensitive.  The children and adults will sit in a circle to allow everyone to be together and feel equal. Each class will have its own Jigsaw friend which can be used as a ‘talking object’ in discussions. It acts as a distancing tool so children can talk about sensitive issues without referring to themselves directly. It also allows children to voice their ideas through the characters.

Jigsaw is a spiral approach, which will allow the children to consolidate what they have learnt, whilst being age-appropriate. However, some children may need to access content from lower year groups if deemed necessary by the class teacher, for example, the children in the Rainbow Room may still be working on Early Learning Goals so will need to access EYFS lessons.

 There are 6 units (puzzles) that will be delivered across the year.  As the children move through the school, they will become familiar with the puzzles.

Autumn 1: Being Me in My World (Rights and Responsibilities)

Autumn 2: Celebrating Difference (Anti-bullying)

Spring 1: Dreams and Goals (Aspirations and world links)

Spring 2: Healthy Me (Drugs/alcohol, mental health, sleep and anxiety)

Summer 1: Relationships (Different relationship with everyone)

Summer 2: Changing Me (Puberty/Sex Education, Moving school, family situations)

 The lessons are structured in the same way to reflect the understanding of the learning process.

Connect Us – Improves their social skills to enable collaborative learning

Calm Me – Relax their bodies and calm their minds to prepare for learning

Open My Mind – Help the brain to focus on specific learning intentions

Tell Me or Show Me – Initiate new learning

Let Me Learn – Facilitate learning activities to reinforce new learning

Help Me Reflect – Support them in reflecting on their learning and personal development

 Jigsaw journals will be used to record work generated in the puzzle.  It is a portfolio of the children’s work and reflection through the year.  The journals will move up with the children so they can reflect back on their learning journey and celebrate self-development.

Click here to see our RSHE Curriculum Overview: Jigsaw Curriculum Overview

Click here to see our RSHE Knowledge and Skills Progression Document: RSHE Knowledge and Skills Progression

Impact

The positive impact of our RSHE curriculum will be most obvious when Jigsaw is embedded as a whole-school approach and children are engaged across the curriculum. Many children already have good relationships with other children and adults and the Jigsaw scheme will allow them to build on this. Children trust the adults within school and many interact and participate well. In lessons, many children are required to work in teams and as a result, they will be successful in collaboration. The Connect Us games will allow children to develop their social skills, which can be transferred into other areas of their school lives.

 Children have plentiful opportunities to share their ideas but as children become more familiar with the structure of the RSHE lessons, they will be able to become more involved in their personal development.  Upper Key Stage 2 will be encouraged to evaluate their knowledge to ensure gaps from previous missed learning are addressed. 

 As a pre-dominantly White British school, children will be inclusive of difference, including other cultures, ethnicity, disability, faith, age, sexual orientation and gender identity.