Embedded Files
PSHE is central to Avanti’s mission to educate the whole person. PHSE is implemented as part of Avanti’s holistic approach to education which seeks to form- as well as inform- young people in preparation for adult life.
OVERVIEW OF COURSE
PSHE- the Avanti way is a visionary educational offer. Regarding the challenges and charms of childhood today, we respect both what is, and what could be. Towards a better world for all, we resist limiting and divisive identities through colour, class, or religion and advocate engagement with our shared divine essence. Our PSHE spurs children to formulate their highest ideals and offers spirituality as the actualisation of these ideals amidst life’s challenges.
Our curriculum covers the statutory PSHE content for ‘Health & wellbeing, Relationships, and Living in the wider world’ whilst nurturing the core competencies of ‘(a) Independence and Aspirations; (b) Autonomy and Advocacy; and (c) managing Choices and Influences’. We consider such worldly wisdom vital- but not adequate- to move from egocentricity, to effective communication and harmonious social living in our plural and ever-changing world.
Life’s sternest challenges- be they of relationships, employment, or loss and pain- will find young people in situations where academic excellence- and even good character- are found wanting. It is Spiritual Insight (sensitive to the needs and nature of each individual) which can empower lives with “wisdom, hope, community, & dignity” and offer young people the opportunity of happiness, personal fulfilment, and service to their world.
Journey through the years
PROGRAMME OF STUDY
Learners begin Year 7 by modelling the human person as a unity of body, mind, and spiritual soul. In this model of Embodied Spirituality, the body is valued as a vehicle for long term good and not as an object of (or for) instant gratification. Understanding that they are neither just the body (nor even the mind) allows children to rise above otherwise restrictive definitions of self. Consequently, they are able to respond to the upcoming challenges of adolescence (bullying, puberty, and the temptations of drugs and alcohol) with greater confidence and poise. By the end of the year, children should find their place comfortably on a spectrum regarding their bodies as the sacred home of their individual spirit to a temple of the Divine within all beings.
Year 8 is an often unsettling yet exciting time. Children begin to find childhood childish yet maturity feels equally uncomfortable. Nobody knows who they are in a world aggressively telling them how they should be. Influences seem to attack from every angle in a free-market determined to exploit its latest consumers. Consequently, children need to be alerted to spotting the partisan forces ‘nudging’ their developing identities (e.g. communally, psychologically, and with regard to gender)- and equipped to respond to these influences in tune with their deepening conception of self. The year concludes with advocating an identity of inter-connection- a sense of belonging without being owned or owning- nurtured through vegetarianism and congregational thanksgiving. Thus, we promote healthy lifestyles as a guide to our humanity and as paths towards true equality and inclusion.
In Year 9 GCSE options characterise an age where, for maybe the first time, children can steer their own futures. We place choices of study and career in the context of ‘what makes for a good life?’ With insights from ancient wisdom to social media gurus, a synergy of ambition, responsibility, and spirit-actuality is offered. This tangible inkling of spiritual reality not only helps children to charter perfidious waters of substance abuse and equally exploitative relationships- but offers possibilities for poise and peace when even rationality and character are found wanting. Correspondingly, the family is modelled as natural ground for an ahimsa based understanding of relationships which seek the well-being of all in an inter-dependent world.
PSHE and The Avanti Way
An exemplar of the integration of a core PSHE theme with our Paths, Values, and Core principles
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