PSHE Curriculum Overview

PSHE INTENT

The aim of the PSHE curriculum is to produce students who are equipped with life skills which will allow them to be fully participating members of a fast changing British and global society. Using a bespoke programme that has been developed with KS3 and KS4 Leads for RCC which incorporates 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.

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 own 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 RSE elements of the curriculum allows our students to understand appropriate behaviours which will help them to develop and maintain healthy relationships. Problem solving 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 which 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 though school.

Inclusive and Ambitious

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.

The content is designed to be taught to all students on the basis that it aims to build understanding and appreciation of others in order 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 to embrace a wide range of subject (and topics) 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.

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.

Respect for Others

Our Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education curriculum is planned with an understanding of the contextual challenges and risks facing our students. We recognise the vital importance of educating our students about respect for others and this theme of respect runs throughout our curriculum across a range of issues. We devote additional curriculum time to issues as diverse as consent, sexual harassment and sexual violence; challenges facing different communities and staying safe.

A Lifelong Process

The curriculum teaches young people to understand and respect themselves and others. It does not encourage early sexual experimentation. It enables young people to be mature, build their confidence and self-esteem and understand the reasons for delaying sexual activity. Effective relationships and sex education also supports people, throughout life, to develop safe, fulfilling and healthy sexual relationships, at the appropriate time. Effective health education focuses on both physical health, mental wellbeing, online safety and basic first aid.

Knowledge organisation

There are 13 topics in the statutory guidance for secondary schools and these are interleaved through the units and across the year groups. The sequence of units within each year is derived in such a way as to enable pupils to make connections and links between topics/units.

The development of each topic, and how all the units relating to that topic build from Year 7 to 11, has been derived from a judgement regarding the age-appropriateness of the content.
The substantive PSHE and RSHE knowledge is designed to be delivered in a sequence that allows for connection-making across the topics.

All substantive RSHE knowledge to be delivered is taken directly from the RSHE statutory guidance document. Each one of the topics becomes a thread of knowledge building throughout this entire secondary curriculum, although there are clear links across topics.

To embed the substantive knowledge relating to RSHE, pupils need to reflect on the human experience. Pupils’ understanding of the topics will be enhanced through stories and scenario-based considerations and reflections.

In summary, PSHE education provides 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.

PSHE DIFFERENTIATION

In PSHE, we have high learning expectations for all students. It is essential that all our students are challenged to think deeply about the different aspects of PSHE and their rights and responsibilities in respect of being caring, thoughtful and productive individuals. A range of strategies will be used to achieve appropriate levels of differentiation. Students may be given thinking time before being asked questions, sometimes with the opportunity to share their ideas in discussion with a partner or in a small group to improve understanding.

All students will be asked to contribute to lessons, though due to the sensitive nature of some areas of the curriculum there will be an awareness on the part of the teacher that a student may not wish to share a response within a group situation, and therefore it may at times be appropriate to allow for collecting anonymised responses to share.

Consistent referencing back to earlier learning and linking this to wider society and the modern world will assist students in making sense of how the knowledge and skills they acquire in PSHE apply to real life. Questions will be asked at an appropriate level of challenge for individual students, and where appropriate, students will be encouraged to develop further independent research into different aspects of a particular topic.

LITERACY & NUMERACY IN PSHE

A shared understanding of particular vocabulary is important in PSHE. A high level of skill in communication is essential when presenting an opinion or point of view, and an understanding that such communication need to utilize precise, neutral and non-offensive language in order to convey intended meaning clearly. Evidence supporting a particular position should be presented in the same way, and topic specific vocabulary used where appropriate.

In respect of literacy in PSHE you will find every lesson in the curriculum will introduce students to new terminology and this will be highlighted on the first slide of every lesson.

Cross-curricular Links

Spiritual

• Exploring beliefs and experiences
• Respecting faiths, feelings and values
• Enjoying learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world
• Using imagination and creativity
• Reflecting on own values and beliefs
  

Moral

• Recognising different ideas of right and wrong, and how these sit with personal moral compasses
• Respecting the law
• Understanding the consequences of actions and behaviours
• Exploring moral and ethical issues
• Offering reasoned viewpoints in concise, neutral and non-offensive language

Social

• Engaging with Fundamental British Values
• Working collaboratively with others
• Linking learning to wider society

Cultural

• Appreciating the role of culture in shaping individual values and opinions
• Understanding, accepting, respecting and celebrating diversity
  

Fundamental British Values

The unit contained within the themes of Celebrating Diversity and Equality and Rights, Responsibilities and British Values explores all the fundamental British values with a particular focus on democracy. .
Celebrating Diversity and Equality underlines respecting differences through mutual respect, tolerance of those with different beliefs and the right of individual liberty. Individual liberty is also explore in learning about trade unionism and vaccination.

Other Subject area links at Rise Carr College and Eldon House

Science

At Key Stage 3 and 4, it includes teaching about reproduction in humans. For example, the structure and function of the male and female reproductive systems, menstrual cycle, gametes, fertilisation, gestation, birth and HIV/AIDS. Stem cell research and associated ethical considerations.

PE and Food Technology

Healthy eating, using stress to optimize performance. Health education can complement what is taught through PE by developing core knowledge and broader understanding that enables people to lead healthy, active lives.