What is Jigsaw?

At Coten End we have introduced 'Jigsaw- the mindful approach to PSHE'. Jigsaw PSHE is a comprehensive and completely original scheme of work for the whole Primary School from Years Reception through to Year 6. It brings together PSHE Education, emotional literacy, social skills and spiritual development in a comprehensive scheme of learning, building on key messages year on year. 

SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural) development opportunities are mapped throughout. All of these pieces of learning are brought together to form a cohesive picture, helping children to know and value who they are and understand how they relate to other people in the world.

British Values

Jigsaw contributes, as a good PSHE programme should, to the British Values agenda very significantly, both through the direct teaching of information and through the experiential learning children will enjoy.

The 5 strands of the British Values agenda have been mapped across every Puzzle (unit) and every Piece (lesson).

Links will also be made to the Jigsaw Themes and British Values through our school assemblies. We are proud of the way we promote emotional wellbeing for all our pupils through our Jigsaw programme which underpins the whole of our curriculum and approach to teaching and learning. 

How Jigsaw PSHE supports our Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent- why are we teaching PSHE?

“Jigsaw holds children at its heart, and its cohesive vision helps children understand and value how they fit into and contribute to the world. With strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health, Jigsaw 3-11 properly equips schools to deliver engaging and relevant PSHE within a whole-school approach. Jigsaw lessons also include mindfulness allowing children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration and focus, whilst embedding a focus on positive mental wellbeing.” - Jigsaw 

PSHE education helps pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage life’s challenges and make the most of life’s opportunities. Our PSHE programme at Coten End has an impact on both academic and non-academic outcomes for pupils, particularly the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. It aims to develop skills and attributes such as resilience, self-esteem, risk-management, team-working and critical thinking in the context of three core themes: health and wellbeing (physical and mental), relationships and living in the wider world. These key themes are threaded throughout the 6 puzzles (units) of our chosen scheme 'Jigsaw', and are built upon year on year. Children are taught to recognise online and offline risks to their well-being and to recognise the dangers of inappropriate use of mobile technology and social media. In both the ‘Taking Care Project’ (Protective Behaviours scheme) and our summer units in our Jigsaw scheme, children develop the skills to recognise and manage healthy relationships both online and in the real world. The comprehensive relationship education our pupils receive helps them to develop their vocabulary and emotional literacy to enable them to talk about and manage their feelings. It helps children build their own support networks and the confidence to ask for help when they feel unsafe.

Implementation- how is this being taught in the classroom?

• PSHE lessons taught weekly across school using Jigsaw scheme of learning
• All children are also taught Protective Behaviours through the Taking Care Project (TCP) in Autumn Term
    (further details about TCP can be found in the tab on the PSHE home page)
• Use of 'Zones of Regulation'  as a shared approach and language to talk to children about identifying and managing their feelings

Jigsaw offers a comprehensive Programme for Primary PSHE including statutory Relationships and Health Education, in a spiral, progressive and fully planned scheme of work, giving children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others.

Jigsaw consists of six half-term units of work (Puzzles), each containing six lessons (Pieces) covering each academic year: 

Term 1: Being Me in My World
Term 2: Celebrating Difference (including anti-bullying)
Term 3: Dreams and Goals
Term 4: Healthy Me (including statutory Relationships and Health Education) 
Term 5: Relationships (including statutory Relationships and Health Education) 
Term 6: Changing Me (including non-statutory Sex Education - further details can be found below under 'RSHE')

Every Piece has two Learning Intentions, one specific to Relationships and Health Education (PSHE) (in purple) and the other designed to develop emotional literacy and social skills (in green).

Puzzles are launched with a whole-school assembly, with each year group studying the same unit at the same time (age and stage appropriate), building sequentially through the school year, facilitating whole-school learning themes.

The various teaching and learning activities are engaging and mindful of different learning styles and the need for differentiation and the Early Years (EYFS) planning is aligned to the National Early Years Framework (England).

Each lesson is built upon a 'Charter' which underpins the behaviour and respect that forms the basis for each lesson, in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for all our pupils to listen, learn and share. 

To find out more about Jigsaw please click on the links below.  

Impact- what is the effect?

A robust PSHE curriculum prepares pupils for their adult lives and teaches them to understand how to engage with society, including valuing difference and diversity, being responsible and respectful citizens and further deepening pupils’ understanding of the fundamental British values. It removes barriers to learning and therefore has a positive impact on children's attendance, behaviour and progress across the curriculum. Children will develop positive relationships with their peers both now and in the future, having respect for themselves and others, and will be equipped with the skills to know how to seek help when required. 

At Coten End we believe that the strong rapport our staff have with children enables them to ensure they are making appropriate progress in all areas regarding PSHE. Our PSHE curriculum is also underpinned by wider provisions that we have in place, such as our Shining Stars group (social skills group for our more vulnerable learners), our on-site Child and Family worker and school counsellor.