Personal, Social and Health Education

The Personal, Social, Health and Economics (PSHE) curriculum aims to produce students who are equipped with life skills which allow them to be fully participating members of a fast-changing British and global society. Using the Cre8tive PSHE curriculum, our students will develop a sense of self-worth and confidence to be the best version of themselves. They will mature into individuals who can think independently and critically and have the knowledge to make informed choices around their physical, mental, sexual, emotional and economic wellbeing.

Curriculum Intent

The spiral nature of the curriculum allows them to revisit areas and explore them at an age-appropriate level and provides our students with opportunities to reflect on and clarify their values and attitudes, allowing them to engage in a meaningful way with a world where values and attitudes may be complex and at times in direct conflict with their own.

The Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) elements of the curriculum allow our students to understand appropriate behaviours which will help them to develop and maintain healthy relationships. This is an important aspect of PSHE. This may be in the form of working collaboratively in a group or pair to produce possible responses to scenarios that students might encounter in life or reflecting on how they will use their acquired knowledge to make positive choices in their own lives as they move through school.

Overview & Structure

~~PSHE~~ education follows the framework provided by the PSHE Association (www.pshe-association.org.uk). This national programme of study covers Key Stages 3 to 4 and is based on three core themes:

1. Health and Wellbeing

2. Relationships

3. Living in the Wider World

This Framework has been further subdivided into six Core Themes using resources the Cre8tive PSHE Curriculum (www.cre8tiveresources.com) have developed, which have all been mapped to the PSHE Association and statutory DfE requirements.

These modules form part of a spiral curriculum, delivering content appropriate to each year group:

Core Theme 1: Rights, Responsibilities & British Values

Core Theme 2: Celebrating Diversity & Equality

Core Theme 3: Relationships & Sex Education

Core Theme 4: Staying Safe Online & Offline

Core Theme 5: Health & Wellbeing

Core Theme 6: Life Beyond School

The programme of study identifies the key concepts and skills that underpin PSHE education and helps schools to fulfil their statutory responsibility to support pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development and prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life. Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is a requirement; our school adheres to the statutory guidance from the Department for Education.

In Key Stage 5, we also follow the same curriculum which also forms part of the spiral curriculum. We deliver PSHE once a week in the Sixth Form as, while not mandatory, it allows us to focus on providing consistent, age-appropriate support for students' personal and social development, preparing them for adult life and fostering well-rounded individuals. Weekly PSHE provides an ongoing platform to address a range of topics, build on existing skills, and ensure students receive relevant information and guidance. 

Addressing Complex Issues:

Sixth form is a time of significant personal, social, and academic transitions. Weekly PSHE provides a consistent platform to address complex issues such as relationships, mental health, careers, and financial literacy. 

Supporting Transitions:

As sixth form is a transition period, PSHE can help students prepare for higher education, employment, or other post-18 pathways. The additional lesson allows us to spend more time on applying to UCAS.

Life Skills:

PSHE equips our students with essential life skills, such as financial literacy, health and well-being, and digital literacy. Delivering this once per week allows us to provide Enrichment opportunities such as cooking on a budget and mindfulness.

~~Subject Content Breakdown~~

Assessment Methods

~~Formative Assessment~~

Ongoing throughout lessons: This involves observing student interactions, listening to their contributions in discussions, and providing feedback in the form of discussions.

Focus on individual progress: Formative assessment in PSHE is about understanding where a student is at the beginning of a topic and tracking their progress throughout the learning process. This is done through: teacher questioning, class discussions, feedback on work, mind maps, and pre- and post-unit discussions.  

Teaching Approach & Resources

~~Teaching Approach and Resources~~

Learning within this curriculum is, by law, an entitlement of all children in the UK. By nature of the subject matter, certain elements may resonate with specific pupils more than others, based on their background and life experience. However, the content is designed to be taught to all pupils on the basis that it aims to build understanding and appreciation of others to further strengthen relationships and preparedness for adult life.

Content relating to sex and relationships will be taught in such a way as to be equally applicable to LGBTQ+ young people and those that are not LGBTQ+. It is hoped that in delivering this curriculum, teachers are further embracing and enhancing inclusivity within our community. 

The curriculum breaks down lengthy guidance into deliverable, manageable chunks. It aims to challenge pupils to deeply reflect and embrace a wide range of subject (and topic) specific vocabulary, to equip them with the tools needed to navigate their lives as teenagers and adults, and to understand experiences that might affect friends, relations, partners and colleagues both now and in the future, thus hopefully making them more empathetic individuals.  

Our teaching focuses on resilience and character building. These should include character traits such as belief in achieving goals and persevering with tasks, as well as personal attributes such as honesty, integrity, courage, humility, kindness, generosity, trustworthiness and a sense of justice, underpinned by an understanding of the importance of self-respect and self-worth providing planned opportunities for young people to undertake social action, active citizenship and voluntary service to others locally or more widely.

Careers & Further Education Pathways

Whilst not explicitly preparing for a specific career, PSHE education provides students opportunities to learn about:

Relationships: including developing and maintaining positive relationships and dealing with negative relationships. This may include learning about bullying, consent, how to communicate effectively, inappropriate behaviour in relationships and, at a later stage, topics such as sexual coercion and grooming.

Developing independence, resilience and responsibility: including preparing children and young people to face life’s challenges and make the most of life’s opportunities.

Health: including healthy lifestyles, healthy eating and exercise; mental and emotional health; drug, alcohol and tobacco education; emergency life-saving skills.

Managing risk: including understanding personal safety and online safety; financial choices and risks; appreciating the value of taking risks in certain situations (e.g. entrepreneurial risks).

Economic wellbeing: including the role of money, influences on our use of money, gambling, careers education

Employability skills: including learning about enterprise, business and finance. Developing the skills and attributes to succeed at work, including communication skills and confidence.

Contact & Support

Young people today are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly online and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities but also challenges and risks.

In this environment, children and young people need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives positively. 

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