Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
At Greenacres, we believe every child deserves an education that prepares them not only for academic success but also to thrive as rounded individuals in modern society. Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education sits at the heart of this commitment.
PSHE is not an add-on to our curriculum; it is fundamental to our children’s development as confident, healthy and respectful members of society. Through high-quality PSHE lessons, we equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to stay safe, maintain wellbeing, and build positive relationships throughout their lives.
We follow Jigsaw PSE, which is carefully designed to be developmental and progressive. From the moment children join our school, they begin to explore emotional literacy—learning to recognise, name and talk about feelings. This foundation grows year by year, helping pupils to manage emotions, develop resilience, and make informed decisions that support their own and others’ wellbeing.
Through a series of progressive themes and classroom friends, our children build essential life skills such as emotional awareness, resilience, healthy relationships and respect for others.
Jigsaw promotes a positive school culture by encouraging mindfulness, inclusion and open discussion, helping children develop confidence, empathy and a strong sense of wellbeing both in school and beyond.
Each half-termly theme is introduced through a whole school assembly and followed up through weekly lesson in class.
- Being Me in My World - Understanding personal identity, my place in the class and school community, rights and responsibilities, democracy, making a positive contribution.
- Celebrating Differences - Recognising and respecting diversity, challenging stereotypes, understanding difference and similarity, addressing bullying, building empathy and compassion.
- Dreams and Goals - Setting and working towards goals, understanding aspirations and future possibilities, developing perseverance and resilience, recognising achievements, working collaboratively.
- Healthy Me - The relationship between physical and emotional health; nutrition, sleep, exercise and hygiene; emotional wellbeing; drug education (including medicines); keeping safe; understanding habits and making healthy lifestyle choices
- Relationships - Understanding different relationships and their characteristics, our families, managing friendship challenges, conflict resolution and communication skills, recognising when relationships are unhealthy, understanding loss and bereavement.
- Changing Me - Understanding life cycles and human growth, coping positively with change, body image and self-esteem, puberty education, changing relationships, and for upper Key Stage 2, human reproduction.
The snapshot overview provides details of what is covered in each theme across the school.
Our PSHE curriculum also includes age-appropriate aspects of economic education, preparing children to understand spending, saving and the world of work, and citizenship education including British Values, helping children understand their rights, responsibilities and role in society.
Relationship, Health and Sex Education
Relationships Education is compulsory for all primary-aged children and there is no right of withdrawal. It focuses on teaching children the fundamental building blocks of positive, respectful relationships with family, friends, peers and adults.
By the end of primary school, our children will understand:
- Families and people who care for me
- Caring friendships
- Respectful, kind relationships
- Online safety and awareness
- Being safe
Health Education is compulsory for all primary-aged children and there is no right of withdrawal. It focuses on supporting children to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.
By the end of primary school, our children will understand:
- Mental wellbeing
- Internet safety and harms
- Physical health and fitness
- Healthy eating
- Drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping
- Health protection and prevention
- Basic first aid
- Developing bodies (including puberty as part of Health Education)
Our mapping document shows how the Jigsaw programme covers every statutory outcome.
Sex education is not compulsory in primary schools, however the Department for Education recommends that all primary schools teach age-appropriate sex education to ensure children are prepared for the changes adolescence brings and understand how human life begins.
This is distinct from the statutory Health Education content about puberty and menstruation, and from the Science National Curriculum which is compulsory and includes subject content in the following related areas;
- The main external body parts
- The human body as it grows from birth to old age (including puberty)
- Reproduction in some plants and animals
We teach age-appropriate sex education in Years 5 and 6 as part of our PSHE curriculum, going beyond the statutory content about puberty to include factual information about human reproduction.
Children learn about human reproduction. It is defined as those lessons covering;
- Sexual intercourse
- Conception
- The stages of pregnancy and birth
- The emotional impact of having a baby as well as the physical facts
Sex education is not learning about different types of sexual activity.
The following Jigsaw lessons in the Changing Me Puzzle contain non-statutory sex education content:
Year 5: Conception
Year 6: Babies: Conception to Birth
We believe this information is important for children before they leave primary school, particularly as children naturally become more aware and curious about how life begins, and may seek information from less reliable sources if we do not provide age-appropriate, factual teaching.
Parent Engagement and the Right to Withdraw from Sex Education
Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from sex education taught as part of PSHE. Parents do NOT have the right to withdraw children from:
- Relationships Education (statutory)
- Health Education, including puberty education (statutory)
- Science curriculum content, including content about reproduction (statutory)
Before making a decision to withdraw your child from sex education, we invite parents to discuss their concerns with Mrs Rose. This discussion helps us to understand the request and enables us to clarify the nature and purpose of the curriculum, discuss the benefits of the education, and consider any potential impacts of withdrawal on the child.