Every Lena story is mapped to specific learning opportunities in the PSHE Association Programme of Study for PSHE education (Key stages 1–5), 2026 edition — the one that integrates the statutory RSHE requirements coming into force on 1 September 2026.
References below are given as section → key stage 2 learning opportunity number. Use the grid to evidence coverage in your PSHE audit, or to show your senior leader why a set of storybooks earns its place on the curriculum shelf.
| Story | Focus | KS2 learning opportunities |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tomorrow’s Thief | Putting things off | Mental health & wellbeing 13 directing attention and managing distractions · MHW 14 self-regulation strategies for feelings, thoughts and setbacks · Careers education 5 recognising strengths and setting targets |
| 2. The Trap in My Phone | Online ‘friends’, secrets and asking for help | Online life & safety 26 why someone may behave differently online, including pretending to be someone they are not; recognising risky contact; how to report concerns to trusted adults · OLS 25 resisting pressure to share personal information or images online · OLS 27 the risks of sharing images or words online, and how hard they are to take back · Safe relationships 15 when a secret should not be kept, and who and how to tell about secrets that feel worrying or unsafe · OLS 29 telling a trusted adult and getting support with anything online that worries or scares them |
| 3. The Hospital Secret | When someone we love is ill | MHW 19 change, loss and grief; strategies that help · MHW 17 everyone feels worried or sad sometimes; the benefits of speaking to someone · MHW 21 when, why and how to seek help · MHW 16 managing emotional responses to events outside our control |
| 4. A Dress Like Ella’s | Comparing yourself online | OLS 13 how text and images online can be manipulated or fabricated · OLS 16 minimum age for social media · Respecting self & others 11 personal identity and self-respect · Friendships 11 managing peer influence and the desire for approval |
| 5. A Volcano Inside Me | Big anger | MHW 10 identifying and naming emotions; how emotions range in intensity · MHW 12 skills to manage strong emotions, reactivity and responses · MHW 14 & 15 self-regulation strategies, and how the brain gets better at them with practice · RSO 14 reconciling conflict positively and safely · RSO 15 responding to disappointment and frustration |
| 6. Who Will Save Me From Boredom | Boredom, choices, peer pressure | Safe relationships 14 recognising pressure to do something unsafe or uncomfortable, and strategies for managing it · Friendships 11 peer influence · MHW 11 activities and hobbies that support wellbeing · OLS 17 the benefits of limiting time spent online and choosing online activities carefully; assessing the impact of online habits on feelings and wellbeing |
| 7. Sixty Cakes in the Bin | Trying to be perfect | MHW 14 self-regulation strategies for setbacks · Careers education 5 recognising achievements and personal strengths · RSO 11 self-respect · RSO 15 disappointment and frustration |
| 8. Never Insult the Yellow Cheese | Noticing what we already have | Economic wellbeing 7 priorities, needs and wants · RSO 10 showing respect, care and concern for others · MHW 11 doing things for others as a wellbeing behaviour |
| 9. Who Erased My Name? | Left out — and jumping to conclusions | Friendships 10 healthy friendships make people feel included; recognising when others feel lonely or excluded; strategies to include them · Friendships 13 friendships have ups and downs · RSO 16 types of bullying and their impact · MHW 17 the benefits of speaking to someone |
| 10. The Empty Wish Chest | What is actually worth wanting | Economic wellbeing 7 what influences decisions about spending; needs and wants · EW 8 how money affects emotions and wellbeing · EW 6 attitudes to saving and spending · Careers education 5 personal strengths |
A note on gratitude
Gratitude is not a named learning opportunity anywhere in the Programme of Study — but it sits quietly behind several that are, and the 2026 edition now names “doing things for others” among the everyday behaviours that maintain wellbeing. Never Insult the Yellow Cheese is an easy way in.
Honest small print
References are our own reading of the PSHE Association Programme of Study for PSHE education (Key stages 1–5), 2026 edition. Kids Books is an independent publisher: we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or quality-assured by the PSHE Association, Ofsted or the Department for Education. This grid is offered to save you the mapping work — please check it against your own scheme of work.
Getting these stories into your school
The ten stories above come as ready-made school sets: a Class Reading Set — 30 books, three of each story or all 30 of one title for a whole-class read, a class library of all 10 books, and a whole school pack of 80 books. One flat rate, free UK delivery, and a Parent & Educator Guide bound into every book.
Teaching this in the autumn term? Our free Anti-Bullying Week 2026 pack for KS2 (Break the Silence, 16–20 November) adds an assembly script and a five-day plan that sit naturally beside the bullying objectives in the grid above.
Planning the spring term? The free Safer Internet Day lesson for 9 February 2027 uses the free read-aloud of The Trap in My Phone to teach the statutory Being safe points on secrets and asking for help.
Choosing class novels for Years 5 and 6? Our Year 5 and 6 reading list ranks the books that 424 primary schools in England recommend most, with the full dataset free to download.