The Personal Health and Social Education and RSE curriculum is important to the school and supports us in achieving our core purpose to prepare students for their life journey, enabling them to reach their potential to be confident, independent, thoughtful and ambitious young adults.

There is a clear, progressive that is followed to ensure students gain a wide range of skills and knowledge- however - this curriculum is also adaptable ,and if a topic has been identified within school as something students are struggling with, or need to work on then the scheme is then able to be changed immediately in order to focus on the issue at hand. E.g there was a short phase when some students in year 8 were using homophobic language in the playground towards each other as a joke. I then swapped the topic we were due to cover in PSHE and instead focussed on homophobic language and slurs and the impact of this on other people.

Students are taught the basic tenets of self- care in order to begin to become independent adults. They are taught about the stages of puberty and the affect this can have on their bodies. They learn about how to form and maintain healthy relationships and recognise relationships that may be exploitative. They learn about sexual relationships- including the law around consent, how to keep themselves and others physically and emotionally safe, and where to go for support in accessing sexual health and contraception advice.

The curriculum is designed to be fully inclusive, and although issues around the LGBTQ+ community are dealt with separately in terms of LGBTQ+ discrimination and history- where topics look at relationships, LGBTQ+ relationships are included as part of these discussions so as not to “mark them “ out as something out of the ordinary.

Students learn about their emotions and how to recognise how they are feeling. They learn strategies to help them cope with difficult feelings and how to be empathetic to the needs of others.

Students also learn about the world they live in, how to manage danger, how to avoid difficult financial situations and manage money worries.

The PHSE curriculum works alongside the life skills curriculum at KS3 where students learn practical knowledge in the following areas:

● Making food and drinks

● Staying healthy

● In the home

● Shopping

● Road safety

● Grooming

● Dressing

At Key stage 4 students develop deeper knowledge in self care, self management and understanding the world.

Students develop a deeper understanding of relationships, their importance and how to maintain a healthy relationship. Also how to recognise when a relationship is unhealthy.

Students learn about the world of work, the role that work fulfils in your life and how to manage earnings.

Students learn about diversity and how to accept and celebrate the differences in others.

The PHSE curriculum at KS4 works alongside the Finance qualification L.I.F.E and the WJEC independent living qualification.