PSHE at Rushmore

Health and Well Being Lead: Cherrelle Gray

At Rushmore we offer a PSHE curriculum which enables children to become engaged, independent, creative and critical thinkers. We firmly believe that  children’s difficulties in understanding and managing their feelings, working co-operatively in groups, motivating themselves and demonstrating resilience in the face of setbacks can impact their learning and stop them reaching their potential.

We support children with their PSHE development through our Rushmore Values, Weekly Jigsaw lessons and Zones of Regulation.

Rushmore Values

The Jigsaw Programme

Jigsaw is a mindful approach to PSHE, it is an original and comprehensive scheme of work, which integrates personal, social, health and economic education with an emphasis on emotional literacy, mental health and SMSC, especially spiritual development and mindfulness. Jigsaw aims to help children know and value who they really are and how they relate to other people in the ever-changing world.

Zones of Regulation

Zones of Regulation is a curriculum designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control. There are 4 zones that the children are encouraged to use to describe how their brain and body feel. We support the children in understanding what zone they are in by discreetly teaching them in class, individually and in small group sessions. We encourage the children to use tools to help them get back to the green zone and be ready to learn. These tools include social stories, calming techniques, thinking strategies and discuss ways they can apply these in class. 

 When they are in the blue zone, their body is running slow so they may feel tired, sick sad or bored.

 The green zone, like a green light, is when their body is ‘good to go’. If a child is in the green zone, they may feel happy, calm, focussed and ready to learn.

 The yellow zone describes when a child may start to feel frustrated, overwhelmed, wiggly, excited or anxious. We encourage the children to use caution when they are in the yellow zone.

 The red zone is reserved for extreme emotions like terror, uncontrolled anger and aggression. When a child is in the red zone, they have trouble making good decisions and must stop.

Roots of Empathy

Elder Class will be participating in a programme called Roots of Empathy this year. This programme teaches children about feelings, their own feelings and the feelings of others. Once every three weeks, a baby and their parent(s) visit the classroom to meet the children. A trained Roots of Empathy Instructor gathers the children in the classroom around a green blanket, and together they watch the baby grow (this may include observing the baby breast or bottle-feeding and having their nappy changed).

 The children often predict and cheer when their Roots of Empathy baby reaches the 'developmental milestones' of the first year: “She can roll over!” “He got his first tooth!” “She can sit up!” “He can crawl!!”

 The Roots of Empathy Instructor also coaches the children in observing and reading the cues the baby gives as to how the baby is feeling: “Is the baby happy or sad?” “How can you tell?” We then use this discussion as a lever for the children to talk about their own emotions and to understand how their classmates feel: “Do you smile when you're happy?” “How can you tell if your friend is happy?” Being able to understand how other people are feeling is called empathy. The Roots of Empathy Instructor visits the classroom before and after each Family Visit to prepare and reinforce teachings using a specialised lesson plan for each visit.

 We're excited that we've been chosen to participate in Roots of Empathy, and we hope you are too. Click here for more information on the Roots of Empathy Programme