Discovery RE and Jigsaw PSHE: How they contribute to 2019 Ofsted Education Inspection Framework

This document sets out how the Jigsaw and the Discovery RE programmes can contribute significantly to an ‘outstanding’ judgement in relation to the Education Inspection Framework, May 2019.

Relevant sections from Part 2 (the evaluation schedule) of the School Inspection Handbook (November 2019) have been annotated for quick and easy reference. We hope this will be helpful for schools who already use Jigsaw and/or Discovery RE, and also for those schools who are considering investing in these schemes of learning.

At the end of this document you will also find an audit tool for schools who are not using Jigsaw PSHE to check their compliance with and preparation for the implementation of statutory Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (statutory from September 2020).

Discovery RE is a whole school approach to Religious Education for the Primary School, comprising of detailed medium-term planning covering Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, with reference to Humanism. See www.discoveryschemeofwork.com

Jigsaw, the mindful approach to PSHE, is a comprehensive PSHE Scheme of Learning, a lesson-a-week programme with all teaching resources, for 3-16 year olds. See www.jigsawpshe.com

Both Discovery RE and Jigsaw PSHE are structured to provide knowledge and skills development, with application of these to the children’s lives within and beyond school. In terms of the ‘intent’ that Ofsted will be looking for, both schemes of learning set out a progressive and sequential programme evidenced by the developmental learning intentions written into all the materials. In regard to ‘implementation’, both Discovery RE’s and Jigsaw’s wide range of child-centred activities ensure the learning is enjoyable for pupils and teachers alike. Each scheme also has its own assessment system, descriptors and exemplifications, so teachers can see the expected standard of learning that pupils should attain at the end of each unit of work, each year and each Key Stage. Jigsaw PSHE contains both formative and summative assessment opportunities that support teachers to assess PSHE knowledge, and how these are applied within social and emotional skills development. Discovery RE uses a similar system with assessment aimed at judging pupil knowledge, personal resonance and critical thinking skills within the RE unit being taught. The in-built assessment processes within each scheme allow evidence of ‘impact’ to be easily captured and recorded. (See our documents on “intent, implementation and impact” on each programme’s individual website.)