The Jigsaw Story so far and beyond... Born from the knowledge that many children are illequipped emotionally and socially to maximise the opportunities offered at school, and from the passionate belief that they all deserve the very best schools and life can offer, Jan Lever and her team of equally dedicated colleagues set about piecing together the jigsaw of PSHE curriculum requirements and ways to meet children’s emotional and psychological needs in a package that would be fun, enjoyable, and straightforward for busy teachers to use in their classrooms. Lots of pieces, many of them complex and specialist. Jigsaw, the mindful approach to PSHE, was launched in July 2013 and its first year saw 100 schools adopting Jigsaw, 55 schools across Dorset participating in a pilot study, teachers from each school meeting every halfterm to feedback on the materials, pupils’ progress being tracked and responses being carefully monitored. The programme, now beginning its third academic year, is going from strength to strength as word spreads about how much children enjoy it, how it supports teachers and most importantly, the positive impact it is having. The materials are now serving children across the UK and in a growing number of English-speaking schools internationally.
So what is it? A comprehensive and completely child-centred scheme of work for children aged 4 to 11 covering all the requirements of a PSHE programme, from Health Education to anti-bullying, from relationships and personal development to drugs and alcohol work and Sex Education, but also adding much more than this. Alongside this we have integrated progressive emotional literacy and social skills development and underpinned the whole programme with mindfulness philosophy and practice.
Puzzle 4: Hea lthy Piece 4 - Being
Puzzle 4 Outco me The Healthy, Happy Me Recipe Book
Resources Jigsaw Chime ‘Calm Me’ script Jaws theme music (from YouTube) Jigsaw Jino ‘We are keepin g safe from...’ sheet Keeping Safe template sheets x3
Please teach
Me - Year 3 -
Safe
What difference is it making? By teaching children to become aware of their thoughts and feelings as they happen, we are empowering them to gain control of the responses they make in both learning and social situations. This is impacting positively on relationships between children and between them and the adults in their classrooms, enabling better collaborative learning and team-work. The effect on behaviour is also being reported as striking; children employing ‘Calm me’ techniques to regulate their own emotional states means fewer outbursts, more stability and more learning time. More than this though, we believe becoming increasingly mindful, children will be gaining skills that will strengthen them individually to make the most of opportunities offered to them, and to build resilience to the difficult aspects of life that may come their way in family life, school life and the wider world. This, coupled with the PSHE-specific knowledge gained, must surely help equip children to cope with the difficult aspects of life and enjoy and maximise the beautiful ones. More learning time, a lessening of the emotional and social skills deficits causing barriers to learning, increased co-operation and improved relationships, and very importantly increases in self-esteem and positive self-image, are all being reported to us from schools using Jigsaw. This should add up to enhanced learning and achievement.
Teachers and head teachers often email and phone us to let us know how delighted they are with what is happening to individual children and to the whole school ethos since implementing Jigsaw. “ I like holding Jigsaw Jo because he makes me feel safe and I can trust him.” (Child)
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me to… identif y things, people and places to keep safe that I need from, and can tell strategies for keeping myself you some who to go to safe including for help express how being anxiou s or scared feels Vocabulary Safe Anxious Scared Strategy Advice
Jigsaw Journa ls Teaching and Learning The Jigsaw Ask me this… Charter Share ‘The Jigsaw Charter’ with together (see The Jigsaw Appro the children to reinforce how we work ach for descri ption). Connect us Play the Jaws theme music (or other the children and ask them to show similar, foreboding music) might make a to how they feel particular face What words can listening to it: body language. or express their they might feel listenindescribe how someone them that some Ask them to share how they thoughts through their g to the music? anxious/unco people find that sort of musicfelt during the music. Tell mforta a bit scary or anxious or scared ble listening to it. How can they expres they feel feels to them? s how being Calm me Everyone, includi ng adults, is sitting children that on chairs at the minds calm down beginning of every Jigsaw in a circle. Remind the Does your mind lesson we will ‘Calm Me’ Script. so that we are ready to help our feel calm and learn. Teacher learn? ready to to use the Open my mind In pairs, ask the childre n to think of things have to keep safe. from which they them? They could As a class discuss their feel they ideas. When do you be under the feel really safe? headings, ‘Thing Can they categorise Write this list s,’ ‘People,’ ‘Place on the board/ Why do some flipchart. From of their ideas s’. things make you may be real or this list, discus feel unsafe? What things/peopl s that some divided. Use preten the ‘We are keepin d. Their work could e are safe? then be subg safe from... What things/peopl Discuss with ’ sheet to help. the e are unsafe? things might be children why they think these people, places they can disting unsafe and how that makes and them uish between feel. Explain (playing with that things that they hazards which they thems elves cause are caused by should not play other people who do things with) and hazards which to them (e.g. bullying).
Changing Me
Healthy Me - Year 3 www.jigsawpshe.com © Copyright of this document is the property of Jan Lever, jointly and severally. The purchase of this material confers the right on the purchasing institution to copy it for educational use within that, and no other, institution. No part of this document may be reprinted or reproduced in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, for use in any other institution or by any individual, without permission in writing from Jan Lever.
Jigsaw article.indd 3
© Jan Lever
Well done!
.............................................................................. Please feel proud that you have learnt to:
.................................................................................................................................... I am especially pleased that you:
.................................................................................................................................... I am proud that I can:
.................................................................................................................................... Signed: ........................................................................ Date: ..................................... 49 © Jan Lever
Changing Me Well done!
04/01/2017