PSHEE

Our Aim

Personal Social Health and Economic Education (PSHEE), including Relationships Sex Education (RSE), is at the heart of our school values and ethos. It is a crucial part of a child’s education as it gives a young person access to critical information about themselves and the many facets of the diverse world around them.

Our PSHEE/RSE curriculum aims to enable our children to become healthy, safe, independent, responsible members of society who demonstrate respect and tolerance and who are prepared to face and manage the challenges and opportunities of an ever-changing modern Britain. Ultimately, we aim to prepare pupils adequately for adult life: its decisions, responsibilities, experiences and opportunities and to allow pupils to develop fully as emotional, mature human beings.

PSHEE is embedded in everything we do, from tutor time in the morning, through Personal Development sessions, through our pastoral and behaviour management approach. We also run a specific PSHEE curriculum, delivered by a specialist teacher following a spiral curriculum, building on learning in previous years. This is further supplemented by outside events, assemblies and additional careers support.

In PSHEE lessons, we aim to develop key character skills, including decision making, informed risk taking, good communication, and self-regulation strategies. We encourage the exploration of, and respect for, values held by different cultures, honesty and respect in all relationships, and nurture sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others. We aim to enable the young person to develop a deepening knowledge of their health and wellbeing, including their mental, emotional and physical health and to equip young people with information, skills and values to understand and to be able to cope with the physical and emotional changes that happen during puberty. Finally we aim to help them to keep themselves safe by understanding the myriad risks of teenage and adult life including relationship boundaries, consent, online safety, harassment and other issues. The information provided is relevant and appropriate to the age and maturity of pupils.

The main programme used for our curriculum is Jigsaw; this is adapted and enhanced with specific resources and activities to meet the needs of our pupil cohort. This complements the work carried out to develop pupil’s emotional wellbeing which is identified through our Thrive programme. There is also consideration given to EHCP targets which are set for the pupil and, where appropriate, these areas are addressed through the PSHEE programme.

Key transition areas for pupils are identified in Year 7 - transition to secondary school; Year 9 - making choices about GCSE subjects and Year 11 - moving on to college. Additional careers services are being implemented for pupils at these key transition points including careers advice and guidance sessions from qualified careers advisors, and work experience opportunities are available in Year 10 and Year 11.

Year 11 pupils receive additional sessions preparing them for the world of work and careers, supporting them with college applications and providing opportunities for job research and improved understanding of opportunities.

There is a careers programme which runs throughout the key stages (see Careers page).

Our curriculum map is built on a termly approach to key themes/topics, adjusted from the Jigsaw approach to meet the needs of our pupils. For instance we have included further learning about the wider world, diversity and modern Britain in the module on 'Dreams and Goals' to help broaden the perspectives of our pupils.

Please find our PSHEE curriculum map here.