What is PSHE? 

PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education) is about helping children grow in confidence, wellbeing, and understanding of themselves and others. At Vermont School, we use the Jigsaw curriculum to support our pupils’ personal growth, emotional regulation, and life skills. PSHE helps children belong by feeling safe and valued, believe in themselves as capable, resilient learners, and achieve by developing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to thrive both now and in the future.

Why do we teach PSHE?

We teach PSHE because personal and emotional development is just as important as academic learning, especially for children with SEMH needs. Through Jigsaw, pupils build resilience, practise healthy relationships, and learn how to make safe, positive choices. PSHE helps children belong to a caring school community, believe in their ability to manage challenges, and achieve success by developing skills that prepare them for life in modern Britain and the wider world.

How we teach PSHE

At Vermont School, PSHE is taught through the Jigsaw spiral curriculum, which brings together emotional literacy, mindfulness, social skills, and spiritual development. Each half term, children explore a different “Puzzle” such as Being Me in My World, Celebrating Difference, or Changing Me. Lessons include discussion, stories, games, and calming mindfulness activities, carefully adapted to meet each child’s needs in our mixed-age classes.

Jigsaw also supports our commitment to SMSC and British Values, encouraging pupils to learn about respect, tolerance, democracy, and the rule of law. In line with our values, PSHE helps pupils belong by connecting with others, believe in themselves through resilience and self-expression, and achieve by gaining the tools they need to succeed in school and beyond.

Our PSHE Curriculum 

At Vermont School, we recognise that personal, social, and emotional development is just as important as academic progress, especially for our pupils with social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs. That’s why we use the Jigsaw PSHE programme across the school to support our children’s personal growth, emotional regulation, and understanding of the world around them.

Jigsaw is a whole-school, spiral PSHE curriculum that brings together Personal, Social, Health Education, emotional literacy, mindfulness, social skills, and spiritual development in a cohesive and engaging way. It is carefully designed to help children build resilience, develop healthy relationships, and make positive, safe choices in life.

Each half term, pupils explore a different Jigsaw 'Puzzle' (topic) such as Being Me in My World, Celebrating Difference, or Changing Me. Lessons are structured to include discussion, stories, games, and calming mindfulness activities, all of which are adapted to meet the emotional and developmental needs of our learners. In our mixed-age classes, teachers personalise the content to ensure every child can access and benefit from the learning at their own level.

Jigsaw also supports our commitment to promoting SMSC (spiritual, moral, social, and cultural) development and British Values. Through weekly lessons, children learn about respect, tolerance, democracy, and the rule of law, while developing a strong sense of identity and belonging.

Most importantly, Jigsaw helps our pupils understand and manage their feelings, connect with others, and build the confidence to succeed—both in school and beyond.