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Key staff

Subject Co-Leader
Miss D L Tickell
[email protected]

Subject Co-Leader
Miss M Mee
[email protected]

Life Matters

PSHE education gives students the knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe and to prepare them for life and work in modern Britain. Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education is a school subject through which students develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future.

These skills and attributes help students to stay healthy, safe and prepare them for life and work in modern Britain. PSHE education helps students to achieve their academic potential, and leave school equipped with skills they will need throughout later life.

PSHE education helps students to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. From making responsible decisions about alcohol to succeeding in their first job, PSHE education helps students to manage many of the most critical opportunities, challenges and responsibilities they will face growing up.

In 2015, the UK Youth Parliament made 'A Curriculum which prepares us for Life' a top priority, based on a consultation of almost a million young people. This was the third year in a row that PSHE education has been voted a priority by young people.

PSHE makes a crucial contribution to schools' duties. The Education Act 2002 requires all schools to teach a curriculum that is "broadly based, balanced and meets the needs of students". Schools must "promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of students at the school and of society, and prepare students at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life" while having a duty to keep students safe.

A growing body of research shows that students who are emotionally healthy do better at school. PSHE education helps children and young people to achieve their potential by supporting their wellbeing and tackling issues that can affect their ability to learn, such as anxiety and unhealthy relationships. PSHE education also helps students to develop skills and aptitudes - like teamwork, communication, and resilience - that are crucial to navigating the challenges and opportunities of the modern world, and are increasingly valued by employers.

We believe that parents welcome a partnership between home and school which supports their children’s personal and social development, and helps to deal with issues of increasing complexity such as those related to mental health and staying safe, both online and offline. It is therefore important that parents are involved in our delivery of PSHE.

Quick information

Curriculum overview

Curriculum intention

Curriculum intention (Careers)

What do we teach?

KS3
KS4
Careers
RSE

Key Stage 3

Students at King Edward VI follow the PSHE Association suggested programme of study. This is a rolling programme of various topics based on the three main issues of Health & Wellbeing; RSE (Relationships and Sex Sducation) and Living in the Wider World. RSE lessons also comply with the DFE RSE Framework. The Life Matters curriculum is planned lesson by lesson by the PSHE coordinators and then delivered by the form tutors (the most important people in the team). The curriculum is reviewed annually at King Edward VI. This is done with the help and support of various outside agencies.

There is a standalone lesson of 50 minutes each week and this is called Life Matters as we feel this better conveys the PSHE message to our students. As well as this single lesson we also organise and deliver various workshops and drop down days across the academic year. Some of which are planned and delivered ‘in house’ but we also, where budget allows, ask in outside agencies such as drugs awareness, mindfulness and yoga sessions.

In Year 7, students complete transition lessons to help them settle into their new school; they have lessons on health and wellbeing such as diet and exercise as well as an introduction to school council. Health issues such as puberty; road safety; alcohol and smoking issues are also taught later in the year. They also have their first RSE lessons which focus on friendships, safe relationships, family self-esteem and online safety. Living in the wider world topics begin with an introduction to careers education (the school uses the Unifrog platform to help its delivery of CEIAG) as well as British values and extremism awareness. Year 7 students will also have introductory lesson on money issues such as budgeting and bank accounts.

In Year 8, the Life Matters programme builds on the foundations of many Y7 topics. There are further lessons on road safety, drugs and alcohol, self-esteem lessons focus on positive body images and dealing with peer pressure in such situations. There are also lessons on dealing with loss. RSE lessons in Y8 focus on respect within relationships, issues linked to alcohol and sex, more online safety advice is given and there are lesson on racist and religious bullying. There are also extra lessons on dealing with peer pressure in relationships. Living in the wider world lessons focus on more careers education as well as investigating rights and responsibilities. Further money lessons are delivered. Students also begin to make options choices at the end of Y8 and these are also supported in the Life Matters programme.

In Year 9, the students look again at diet and self-image in the healthy living topics as well as having lessons on gangs, more drugs awareness, which includes county lines issues and CSE awareness (Child Sexual Exploitation). RSE lessons focus on dealing with conflict in different types of relationships, LGBTQ+ issues, such as homophobia and transphobia, and they also look at gender issues. Later in the year, Y9 students will also have lessons on sex and consent, what contraception options are available and where to access these, as well as what STI’s are and how to deal with them responsibly. They will also look at issues linked to pregnancy.

Key Stage 4

In Year 10, students look at what makes a good role model and begin to investigate mental health and how to have a healthy one. They also complete First Aid top-up sessions on CPR and have more lessons on drug awareness as part of their Health & Wellbeing. In RSE they look at dealing with break ups, pornography & sexual images, forced marriage, domestic abuse, as well as more lessons on consent and rape. Living in the wider world topics focus more on Careers education including work experience options for student’s, employability skills, volunteering and fundraising and also beginning to look at apprenticeship options in more detail.

In Year 11, students have lessons on stress and mindfulness as well as different revision techniques as part of their lessons on Health & Wellbeing. They also have lessons on healthy choices as well as final lessons of self-esteem. RSE lessons focus on grooming, sex, teenage pregnancy, parenting skills, domestic abuse and date rape issues. Living in the Wider World lessons look at issues surrounding debt and gambling.