Curriculum
Intent
The aim of our Personal Development curriculum is to enable our students develop the knowledge, understanding, attributes, attitudes and skills required to keep themselves safe, healthy, happy and well; to develop healthy, nurturing relationships; to manage the opportunities and challenges they face now and in the future, and to become active and valuable members of an ever-changing diverse society. We want our students to grow into young adults who can think independently and critically, and have the knowledge to make informed choices around their physical, mental, sexual, emotional and economic wellbeing.
Through our spiral thematic approach, we cover six key themes in Personal Development that are revisited and developed as students progress through School. This allows students to build on prior learning and to revisit areas and explore them at an age-appropriate level thus deepening their knowledge and understanding.
Implementation
Our Personal Development programme of study follows the framework provided by the PSHE Association (www.pshe-association.org.uk). This national programme of study covers Key Stages 3 to 5 and is based on three overarching themes:
1. Health and Wellbeing
2. Relationships
3. Living in the Wider World
These are broken down further into the following core themes which also include wider elements of Personal Development:
Theme 1: Rights, Responsibilities & British Values
Theme 2: Celebrating Diversity & Equality
Theme 3: Relationships & Sex Education
Theme 4: Staying Safe Online & Offline
Theme 5: Health & Wellbeing
Theme 6: Life Beyond School
Teaching Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education is a statutory requirement and our School adheres to the guidance from the Department for Education. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from the non-statutory components of RSE; further information can be found here.
The Personal Development programme is taught through a range of teaching methods, based on active engagement in learning. Students are given opportunities to consider and clarify their values and beliefs and to practise and develop enquiry and interpersonal skills. There are high learning expectations for all students as they are challenged to think deeply about the different aspects of PSHE and their rights and responsibilities in respect of being caring, thoughtful and responsible individuals. All students will be encouraged to contribute to sessions, 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 with a larger group of their fellow students.
Personal Development is delivered via the tutor programme in Years 7-13. Alongside these tutor time sessions, students in Years 7, 8 and 10 receive an additional one-hour session every fortnight allowing them to explore content in greater depth. Students in Year 9 receive one hour per week. Student progress is measured through baseline and end-of-unit ‘confidence checks’ as part of our ipsative approach to helping students succeed. All work is monitored and quality assured by our Personal Development Curriculum Lead, Neil Gatland, who also has oversight of the schemes of work and lesson resources. Due to the ever-evolving nature of some elements of the PSHE content, the curriculum maps will be updated on a regular basis. They are found at the bottom of this page.
The PSHE curriculum is complemented by our extensive assembly programme and high-quality provision from external specialist providers who come into School to work with our students. Further details for Years 7 – 11 are found below. Years 12 & 13 follow their own lecture programme which includes regular visits from guest speakers on a range of topics.
Additional Resources
The Student Health Guide can be accessed by clicking here. This annual magazine is an excellent publication that caters for all areas of student life, with an emphasis on health and wellbeing. Suitable for ages 14-18. In School there are other books kept in our ‘Pastoral Library’ found in Mrs Ford’s office that are suitable for a range of ages. A list of titles is found here.
Further Helpful Links
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Online support and access to accredited counsellors |
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Practical and emotional support to those experiencing poverty and disadvantage |
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Support for victims of domestic abuse |
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Road safety |
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Information about drugs, help and advice |
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Guidance and support across many different areas |
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Advice and support about bullying |
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Child Exploitation and Online Protection – report concerns about online communication |
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Advice and support about bullying |
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How to keep children safe online |
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https://lincolnshiresexualhealth.nhs.uk/young-person-clinics |
Advice and information about sexual health services in Lincolnshire |
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Sexual health advice and information |
Curriculum Maps