Jigsaw PSHE Vs Muse Wellbeing: Primary PSHE Curriculums

Jigsaw PSHE Vs Muse Wellbeing: Primary PSHE Curriculums

Jigsaw is a well-established PSHE scheme of work provider and while it has an abundance of materials for schools some resources and materials are slightly dated. Muse Wellbeing is a relatively new PSHE and RSE scheme of work, aiming to help support resilient and confident children through fun and engaging PSHE lessons that inspire both teachers and pupils.

What is the PSHE Curriculum?

The primary PSHE curriculum is designed to prepare children for life with the skills and knowledge needed to keep themselves safe, happy, and healthy both mentally and physically. PSHE equips children for life both during and after school life and not only allows them to be valuable members of their community but to navigate the modern world from getting a job to taking care of the planet and managing their finances. 

In 2020 parts of the PSHE curriculum became mandatory as the Department for Education recognised the importance of better well-being for all children. Primary schools must teach pupils relationship and health education although many schools choose to have a full PSHE curriculum. This encompasses the mandatory RSE topics as well as other well-being topics to nurture resilience, confidence, and a caring nature.

Can PSHE be an Ofsted Deep Dive?

In primary schools Ofsted usually deep dive between two to five subjects. Whilst reading and maths will always be important subjects that inspectors focus on, one of the Ofsted deep dive subjects could be PSHE given the emphasis on pupil mental health and well-being. 

The mandatory RSE subjects play a huge role in safeguarding. Therefore, inspectors will be keen to see a whole school approach to PSHE and may ask to see a PSHE policy. This should outline to the whole school community (parents/guardians, teachers, and non-teaching staff) the approach to delivering PSHE.

What is the Jigsaw PSHE Curriculum?

Jigsaw is the most widely used and recognised primary PSHE curriculum. Jigsaw has a whole-school, mindful approach to the topic and as such there is a vast bank of materials available for lessons, displays, and assemblies. 

The Jigsaw portal is easy to navigate and regularly updated to reflect any changes in the PSHE or RSE curriculums as well as societal changes. The portal also allows users to connect in a community section where additional resources from other professionals can be accessed.

Jigsaw PSHE uses the Jigsaw Friend in lessons to help children with their emotional literacy. The use of a soft toy builds confidence when speaking to the whole class and encourages children to actively listen to one another. 

Although there is a parent portal for the Jigsaw primary PSHE curriculum, some aspects of the content overview can be hard to understand for people unfamiliar with the general PSHE curriculum. 

The Jigsaw PSHE subscription starts at £795 per year for smaller primary schools. 

Pros and Cons of Jigsaw PSHE

Pros:

• A core focus on emotional literacy which builds confidence, resilience, and nurtures well-being.
• The Jigsaw Friend soft toy is a well-recognised teaching aid amongst pupils, especially in lower key stage 2 or younger. It signals to children to be respectful and listen to others.
• Simple to navigate portal with access to whole-school and individual class resources that are regularly updated.

Cons:

• Complicated pricing system based on school size and length of subscription. Jigsaw PSHE is the most expensive PSHE curriculum 
• Some of the lesson content and learning resources are slightly dated.

What is the Muse Wellbeing PSHE Curriculum?

Muse Wellbeing combines PSHE, RSHE and well-being topics to create a PSHE scheme of work that inspires pupils and gives teachers the confidence that they’re delivering the best primary PSHE curriculum. 

The teacher-designed lessons are fun and engaging yet nurture resilience in young people. Delivering a comprehensive PSHE curriculum has been made simple with 216 lessons covering one weekly lesson for Year 1 to Year 6 students. Each lesson includes a lesson plan, lesson slides, learning resources and extra resources where applicable. Differentiation and further challenges are also suggested in the lesson plans to further aid teaching staff.

The Muse PSHE curriculum is based on five core values that have been carefully selected to equip students with all the knowledge they need to become valued citizens. These core values filter through into the three main topics for each school term: Health and Wellbeing, Understanding Relationships, and The World Around Us.

The updates to the Muse Wellbeing PSHE curriculum are based on both teacher and pupil feedback to ensure the best final product. These updates ensure that schools always have access to the most up-to-date curriculum that reflects the modern world.

A Muse Wellbeing PSHE subscription currently gives all primary schools free access to the curriculum.

Pros and Cons of Muse Wellbeing PSHE

Pros:

• The cheapest PSHE curriculum. Schools have complete and free access to the Muse Wellbeing scheme of work as it’s in continued development.
• Fun and engaging materials including Muse-created custom videos. Makes teaching and learning more exciting and inspiring.
• Clear and easily deliverable learning objectives – just open the lesson slides and follow the learning prompts and ideas.

Cons:

• Limited tried and tested feedback on the curriculum as Muse Wellbeing is a new PSHE scheme of work.
• Lack of a parent portal so the responsibility falls on schools to share the materials and learning objectives.

Primary PSHE Curriculums: Final Thoughts

PSHE was often given less focus than other core learning subjects, but with an ever-increasing awareness of mental health and the changing world it’s become an highly important school subject.

A primary PSHE scheme of work provider can relieve some of the pressure by giving schools everything they need to deliver a well-rounded PSHE curriculum.

Both Jigsaw PSHE and Muse Wellbeing have benefits and drawbacks but they can be tailored to suit the needs of individual school communities. Both curriculums provide teachers with all the materials and resources needed to meet the statutory RSE guidelines.

The Muse curriculum goes above and beyond the DfE guidelines around the RSE curriculum in primary schools to provide lessons on all aspects of well-being. Providing free RSE and PSHE schemes of work to schools has huge benefits that make fun and engaging lessons accessible to everyone.