KS2 PSHE Parent session

Dear Parents and Carers,

This year, we have continued to teach the Jigsaw PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) Programme across our school. The lessons that your child has taken part in through the year have built their emotional literacy, self-esteem and knowledge of who they are and how they relate to each other and the world in a positive and healthy way.

As a school, we believe that knowledge empowers and protects children as long as it is age- appropriate. Next term, we will start our final jigsaw piece; The “Changing Me” puzzle. This includes, in every year group, two or three age-appropriate lessons to help children understand the changes puberty brings and how human reproduction happens. There is a very serious safeguarding aspect to this work linked to our protective behaviours. Younger year groups are not looking at these issues directly and explicitly, but rather learning correct terminology for body parts and doing the foundation work for learning that will follow in later year groups. All children are also taught about healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships.

As the materials might be new to you, we invite you to attend a drop-in session at school on

Thursday 5th June 3.30 – 4.00pm for EYFS and KS1 – in Y1 Primrose classroom

and

Tuesday 10th June 3.30 – 4.00pm for KS2 in Y4 Rose classroom

In these sessions, we will give you an outline of what we are planning to teach in specific year groups.

Current guidance for RSE and Health Education which came into place in September 2020 states that the vast majority of what is now required of schools is statutory and must be taught to all pupils. This content is covered in black in the table attached.

You cannot withdraw your child from Relationships and Health Education because it is important that all children receive this content, covering topics such as friendships and how to stay safe. However, government guidance states that parents do have the right to withdraw their child/children from part or all of the lessons which cover human reproduction, and this content is shown in red in the table attached. However, we do, as always, want to work in partnership with parents and we hope that you, like us, will see the materials in Jigsaw as educationally sound and beneficial to our children.

If you have any questions regarding this, please speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance. We look forward to seeing you on the 5th or 10th June.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Lawton

PSHE Lead