PSHE curriculum (senior)

Each student will have their first PSHE lesson in the first fortnight of this term; they are taught in their form group on a Friday afternoon, every other week on week B.

We run a rotation of three lessons per half-term taught by four different teachers throughout the year.

Each teacher focuses on one of the following areas:

• Health & wellbeing – ‘Self-Concept’ with Mrs Lawless – Personal strengths, resilience, self-confidence, self-esteem and dealing with changing circumstances.
• Relationships – ‘Relationship Values’ with Mrs Hadden – Changes experienced during puberty and emotions that may arise in friendships and how to deal with them. Also, where to seek advice and help for dealing with relationship issues including abusive behaviours.
• Relationships – ‘Forming and Maintaining respectful relationships’ with Mr Chuter – Communication skills, assertiveness, receiving constructive feedback and bullying behaviours.
• Health & wellbeing/relationships – Online safety with Mrs King – Internet safety such as strategies to protect devices, how to identify and manage risk associated with potential scams and how to create a positive online presence.
• Careers (Mrs Southern and PSHE team/tutors) – Using the dynamic and interactive xello careers package to help guide and inform future career choices/ pathway planning. Delivered in PSHE lessons, form time and independent study at home.

In the Second Form, like in the First Form; each student is taught PSHE in their form group on a Friday, every other week A, and we run a rotation of three lessons with five different teachers throughout the year.

• Health & wellbeing – ‘Drugs education’ with Mrs Johnson – Focusing on legal and illegal substance abuse, managing different influences on their decisions about drugs and the risks and consequences involved including how to access health services and whom to talk to if they have concerns.
• Health & wellbeing – ‘Healthy lifestyles’ with Mrs Cassell – Focusing on the importance of balance relating to exercise, diet, work etc. Including influences on body image and factors related to this including unhealthy coping mechanisms and eating disorders and how to access help.
• Personal wellbeing – ‘First aid’ with Mrs Lawless – Focusing on basic first aid and mental and emotional health and wellbeing.
• Relationships – Online safety with Mrs Hadden – Focusing on social media and how to protect ourselves when navigating the online world. Forms of cyberbullying and how they can be addressed and managing risk associated with being online, including risks around nude image sharing.
• Living in the wider world – Diversity and Discrimination with Mr Walker – Focusing on diversity, tackling discrimination and prejudices; the unacceptability of derogatory language and how our British political systems protect and enable our rights in society.
• Careers (Mrs Southern and PSHE team/tutors) – Using the dynamic and interactive xello careers package to help guide and inform future career choices/ pathway planning. Delivered in PSHE lessons, form time and independent study at home.

In the Third Form, all students stay with one teacher for the whole year which is different to the rotation set-up they experienced in Ingrams. Their lesson is on a Tuesday every other week B. The following topics are covered across the year:

• Health and wellbeing – Mental Health – Focusing on factors that affect our mental health, the impact of our language and how to confidently access support.
• Relationships – Commitments & Breakdowns – Focusing upon commitments, legal status of long-term relationships, different types of relationships/families, roles of parents, effects of change including loss, bereavement and strategies to manage these. 
• Living in the wider world – Careers & Money Matters – Focusing upon options available after KS3, skills and attributes that employers value. Young people’s employment rights, values and attitudes to finance and debt, recognising financial exploitation. 
• Health & wellbeing – Cancer – Focusing upon the importance of taking personal responsibility for maintaining and monitoring health including cancer prevention, screening and self-examination (testicular and breast). Importance of sun safety and dental checkups. 
• Relationships – Diversity/Difference & Crime – Focusing on the consequences of carrying weapons and gang behaviour, unacceptability of discrimination, extremism and intolerances, FGM. 
• Relationships – Sex Education – Focusing upon indicators of positive, healthy and unhealthy relationships, understanding the importance of consent and laws relating to this and risks relating to unprotected sex. 
• Careers (Mrs Southern and PSHE team/tutors) – Using the dynamic and interactive xello careers package to help guide and inform future career choices/ pathway planning. Delivered in PSHE lessons, form time and independent study at home.

In the Fourth Form, all students stay with one teacher for the whole year. Their lesson is on a Monday every other week. The following topics are covered across the year:

• Health and emotional wellbeing – Focusing on change and its impact on mental health and wellbeing, warning signs of common mental health concerns, avoiding negative thinking and a broad range of coping strategies, emotional support and accessing help
• Health & wellbeing – Drugs Education 1 – Focusing on the consequences of drug use and misuse, risks of illegal drug use, how to identify, manage and seek help for unhealthy behaviours, responsibility towards others, support and emergency aid.
• Health & wellbeing – Drugs Education 2 – The characteristics of abusive behaviours, such as grooming and child criminal exploitation. During the Spring Term the students will have a talk by a PSHE professional.
• Finance education – Learning about finances, how we can budget, how we can access support for financial decision-making and concerns relating to money, gambling and consumer rights.  In the Spring, students will also have a drop-down day on Finance matters.
• Relationships – Sex and Relationships – Focusing upon influences on body image, the role of sex in the media and its impact. Consent, coercion and sexual harassment. The correct use of contraception and common STIs. During the Summer Term the students will have a talk on an aspect of this RSE area with an expert.
• Careers (Mrs Southern and PSHE team/tutors) – Using the dynamic and interactive xello careers package to help guide and inform future career choices/ pathway planning. Delivered in PSHE lessons, form time and independent study at home.

The year group is divided up into groups, with a PSHE/ RSE lesson on a Monday period 4, every other week, and we run a rotation of one topic per half-term taught by different teachers throughout the year.

Each teacher focuses on one of the following areas:

• Relationships – Sex and Relationships (Mrs Johnson) -Focusing upon an awareness of exploitation, the unacceptability of abuse and how to seek support.
• Relationships – Sex and Relationships (Mrs Hadden) – Focusing on contraception, understanding the consequences of unintended pregnancy and parenthood. Menopause and endometriosis.
• Living in the wider world – Rights and Responsibilities (Mr Walker) – Focusing on rights and responsibilities, the Equality Act 2010, the UN Charter for Human Rights and democracy in the UK. The impact of AI on future employment, democracy, and safeguarding against bias.
• Living in the wider world – Risk Management (Mr Chuter, Headmaster) – Focusing upon positive and negative risks and personal safety.
• Relationships – Online Safety (Mrs Cassell) – Focusing on building a positive online reputation and being a better internet citizen. Also the risks of online radicalisation and grooming. Explicitly link to extremism, misogyny and Incel culture.  
• Careers (Mrs Southern and PSHE team/tutors) – Focusing on employability skills and on making informed choices for post-18 options, including where to research options. Using the exciting and interactive xello platform to help inform career choices with guided independent study promoted and supported by staff in lessons and at home.