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 | Screens and self-control | Online life & safety 17 benefits of limiting time online; assessing the impact of online habits on feelings and wellbeing · OLS 15 rules and age restrictions · OLS 19 compulsive gaming and wellbeing · MHW 11 quality sleep as a wellbeing behaviour |
| 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 |
| 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.