“Choose the positive. You have choice, you are master of your attitude, choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success.”

Bruce Lee

PSHCE education will give pupils the knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe and to prepare themselves for life and work in modern Britain. Lessons will promote both emotional and physical wellbeing and will help pupils to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. It is recognised that confident, emotionally healthy pupils are better able to manage risk and are less likely to respond to negative peer pressure. This means that they are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol or to self harm. Supporting pupils’ wellbeing will facilitate their academic achievement across the curriculum by helping to avoid some potential barriers to learning. PSHCE lessons will also encourage involvement in the community and respect for others. Lessons will discourage bullying and other forms of peer on peer abuse by focussing on consent, impact and consequences and by encouraging consideration and empathy. RSE education will enable pupils to make safe, healthy and respectful choices within consensual romantic relationships. They will also be taught to recognise emotionally unhealthy or dangerous relationships, both on and off line, and shown how the media can normalise violent and coercive sexual behaviour. Sources of help and support will be made clear at the end of every lesson.

The curriculum will follow the PSHE Association’s three core themes of ‘Health and Wellbeing’, ‘Relationships and Sex Education’ and ‘Living in the Wider World. This format ensures that all statutory guidelines are followed in an integrated way, mainly within the first two themes. The third theme gives scope to look at other non statutory life skills such as planning finances and studying for exams as well as Citizenship and British Values.. Resources from both Jigsaw and EC publishing will be used (although not exclusively) to help teachers deliver effective,informative, age appropriate lessons. These resources have been validated by the PSHCE Association and have been produced in association with a variety of outside agencies.. Where there is a school or local community based need to expand on a topic or to add an unplanned topic there will be room to do this. Lessons will be supported by Dropdown days which address each of the themes and also by form time activities and assemblies. Speakers and outside agencies may be invited to contribute to our curriculum as appropriate.

Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success’ (Ofsted Handbook). Therefore, every PSHE lesson should develop pupils’ cultural capital. PSHE lessons will develop skills and knowledge that pupils will be able to draw upon in a range of situations; for example emotional resilience, how to ask for help, how to resolve conflict in a mature way, how to manage risk etc. They will also learn how to function as a citizen, understanding democracy, the judicial system and how to live harmoniously in a tolerant, multicultural society.

Learning objectives will be supported by, and will support, other subjects across the curriculum,allowing them to experience topics in a different way. For example looking at protected characteristics from an empathetic rather than a factual point of view will enhance pupils’ understanding of the Holocaust. Also looking at abortion from a religious viewpoint in RE will enable pupils to think about their own moral values and to recognise the values and opinions of others.

Lessons will begin by introducing new vocabulary and teachers will ensure that pupils understand and can use all key terms. All lessons will have the opportunity to model tasks and have plenty of scope for assessing understanding.

All staff will have whole school safeguarding training and training in the management of common learning difficulties so that they are aware of barriers to learning and how to mitigate them. Teaching and learning CPD will focus on ‘Quality First Teaching’ to enable all learners to achieve. STARS techniques will be used to help overcome the barriers experienced by disadvantaged pupils.

Pupils will study all three themes in all year groups. This enables structured spiral learning to take place as they progress through the school. Lessons are coded to show which elements of the statutory guidance they are addressing. An audit has taken place to show how all parts of the curriculum can contribute to the statutory elements of PSHE.

Policy is formulated by SLT. Lessons are planned by the PSHCE co ordinator and delivered by form tutors.