PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) is a school subject that helps children and young people develop the knowledge, skills, and values they need to lead safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives.
What is PSHE?
- Personal: Understanding emotions, building self-esteem, and developing resilience.
- Social: Learning about relationships, respect, and teamwork.
- Health: Exploring physical and mental health, healthy lifestyles, and safety.
- Economic: Gaining financial awareness, understanding money, and preparing for the world of work.
Why is PSHE important?
- Helps children make informed choices and understand consequences
- Supports mental wellbeing and emotional development.
- Prepares them for challenges in life, including peer pressure, online safety, and future careers.
- Encourages respect, tolerance, and empathy in a diverse society.
What Do Primary Schools Teach?
In line with the latest Department for Education guidance (2025), primary schools must teach:
Relationships Education
- Building friendships and respectful relationships
- Understanding families and different types of relationships
- Recognising emotions and learning how to manage them
- Staying safe online and offline
- Knowing how and when to ask for help
Health Education
- Healthy eating, exercise, and hygiene
- Mental wellbeing and resilience
- Basic first aid and personal safety
- Understanding changes in the body (including puberty
Economic Wellbeing & Citizenship (non-statutory but widely taught)
- Learning about money and making choices
- Understanding rules, responsibilities, and communities
- Exploring jobs and aspirations for the future
PSHE at Brooke
At Brooke we follow the Jigsaw scheme of learning.
Jigsaw is a whole-school approach and embodies a positive philosophy and creative teaching and learning activities to nurture children’s development as compassionate and well-rounded human beings as well as building their capacity to learn.
Jigsaw is a comprehensive and completely original PSHE Education programme (lesson plans and teaching resources) for the whole primary school from ages 3-11.
Written by teachers and grounded in sound psychology, it also includes all the statutory requirements for Relationships and Health Education, and Sex Education is also included in the Changing Me Puzzle (unit).
Jigsaw is structured into six themed units (called Puzzles) taught across the school year:
1. Being Me in My World
- Understanding self-identity and belonging
- Learning about rights, responsibilities, and school values
- Building self-esteem and empathy
2. Celebrating Difference
- Exploring diversity and respecting differences
- Challenging bullying and stereotypes
- Promoting inclusion and kindness
3. Dreams and Goals
- Setting personal goals and aspirations
- Learning about perseverance and teamwork
- Celebrating achievements
4. Healthy Me
- Understanding physical and mental health
- Learning about nutrition, exercise, and sleep
- Exploring safety, risk, and substance awareness
5. Relationships
- Building positive friendships and family relationships
- Recognising healthy vs. unhealthy behaviours
- Learning about trust, conflict resolution, and communication
6. Changing Me
- Understanding the human life cycle and body changes
- Learning about puberty in a sensitive, age-appropriate way
- Preparing for transition to secondary school
In addition to Jigsaw lessons, we also have our 'core PSHE lessons' that are taught twice a year. These cover topics such as 5 trusted adults, Zones of Regulation, PANTS and E-safety.
The Zones of Regulation
The Zones of Regulation is a framework that helps children recognize and manage their emotions, energy, and attention so they can be more successful at school and home.
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The Four Zones
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Blue Zone: Low states of alertness (sad, tired, bored, sick).
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Green Zone: Calm, focused, ready to learn (happy, relaxed, content).
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Yellow Zone: Heightened alertness, but still in control (worried, excited, silly, frustrated).
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Red Zone: Extremely heightened states of alertness and intense emotions (anger, panic, loss of control).
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How It Works
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The Zones give children a simple way to talk about how they feel.
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Once they can identify their zone, they can learn strategies (deep breathing, taking a break, moving their body, talking it out) to manage their feelings and return to the Green Zone when needed.
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It’s not about labelling feelings as “good” or “bad” – all feelings are normal. The goal is to recognize emotions and use tools to regulate them.
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How Parents Can Help
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Use the same language at home (“Which Zone are you in right now?”).
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Normalize all zones by acknowledging that everyone experiences them.
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Encourage and practice strategies together. For example: “I see you’re in the Yellow Zone—would a walk help you get back to Green?”
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Model your own self-regulation by sharing your feelings and how you manage them.
