Dunsville Primary School

We draw on the expertise of the School Nurse Team to deliver Safe Touch (Year 1) and Puberty (Year 6) sessions as part of our Safeguarding and Science Curriculum.

Our PSHE Learning in School

Relationships Education

What does the DfE statutory guidance on Relationships Education expect children to know by the time they leave primary school?

Relationships Education in primary schools will cover ‘Families and people who care for me’, ‘Caring friendships’, ‘Respectful relationships’, ‘Online relationships’, and ‘Being safe’.

The expected outcomes for each of these elements can be found in the Jigsaw and RHSE mapping document in the file list on this page. The way the Jigsaw Programme covers these is explained in the mapping document.

It is important to explain that whilst the Relationships Puzzle (unit) in Jigsaw covers most of the statutory Relationships Education, some of the outcomes are also taught elsewhere in Jigsaw e.g. the Celebrating Difference Puzzle helps children appreciate that there are many types of family composition and that each is important to the children involved. This holistic approach ensures the learning is reinforced through the year and across the curriculum.

Health Education

What does the DfE statutory guidance on Health Education expect children to know by the time they leave primary school?

Health Education in primary schools will cover ‘Mental wellbeing’, ‘Internet safety and harms’, Physical health and fitness’, Healthy eating’, ‘Drugs, alcohol and tobacco’, ‘Health and prevention’, ‘Basic First Aid’, ‘Changing adolescent body’.

The expected outcomes for each of these elements can be found further on in this policy. The way the Jigsaw Programme covers these is explained in the Jigsaw and RHSE mapping document.

It is important to explain that whilst the Healthy Me Puzzle (unit) in Jigsaw covers most of the statutory Health Education, some of the outcomes are taught elsewhere in Jigsaw e.g. emotional and mental health is nurtured every lesson through the Calm me time, social skills are grown every lesson through the Connect us activity and respect is enhanced through the use of the Jigsaw Charter.

Also, teaching children about puberty is now a statutory requirement which sits within the Health Education part of the DfE guidance within the ‘Changing adolescent body’ strand, and in Jigsaw this is taught as part of the Changing Me Puzzle (unit).

Again, the mapping document transparently shows how the Jigsaw whole-school approach spirals the learning and meets all statutory requirements and more.

Sex Education

The DfE Guidance 2019 (p.23) recommends that all primary schools ‘have a sex education programme tailored to the age and the physical and emotional maturity of the pupils.

However, ‘Sex Education is not compulsory in primary schools’. (p. 23)

Schools are to determine the content of sex education at primary school. Sex education ‘should ensure that both boys and girls are prepared for the changes that adolescence brings and – drawing on knowledge of the human life cycle set out in the national curriculum for science - how a baby is conceived and born’.

At Dunsville Primary School, we believe children should understand the facts about human reproduction before they leave primary school.

At Dunsville Primary School, puberty is taught as a statutory requirement of Health Education and covered by our Jigsaw PSHE Programme in the ‘Changing Me’ Puzzle (unit), and we conclude from the DFE Guidance that sex education refers to Human Reproduction. In order to teach this in a scientific context, and knowing that National Curriculum Science requires children to know how mammals reproduce, we have opted to teach this within our Science curriculum, not within PSHE or Relationships and Sex Education as we believe this is most appropriate for our children.