PSHE & SMSC curriculum content

Personal Social Health Education (PHSE) is delivered in one-hour sessions focused on pertinent topics for each year group. Students will also receive Social Moral, Spiritual and Cultural (SMSC) education in pastoral time each week that includes debating, respecting others’ opinions, democracy, and modern examples of SMSC linked to current affairs.

PSHE content is also delivered in assemblies throughout the year as well as inviting in guest speakers such as the NHS, the police, fire service, local vicar and the NSPCC. Students also experience drop-down days during the year that include an Emotional Wellbeing Day that is delivered by NHS staff. This gives students the opportunity to attend workshops such as stress management, safe relationships, anxiety and positive contributions.

Year 9 will experience the YAM programme (Youth Aware of Mental Health) which is a five-week course that raises awareness of mental health and the coping strategies associated with it.

Finally, Year 8 and 10 experience a police carousel day that focuses on online safety, hate crime, safe relationships and consent, substance misuse and anti-social behaviour.

Typical content includes:

Online safety	Explain how to manage passwords safely. Explain what a digital footprint is and the impact it can have on our lives. Does having more followers / online friends mean you are more popular? Compare and contrast cyber-bullying with real world bullying. Explain what is appropriate / inappropriate conversation online Explain the dangers of social media and how best to keep safe Explain the term, the law and the danger of 'sexting' Explain what is a safe relationship/peer pressures
Positive relationships	Compare the differences between a positive and a negative relationship Develop respect and tolerance for differences Identify important qualities of friendship. Identify difficulties in friendships and develop strategies to overcome these
Mutual respect and tolerance / diversity	Recognise and accept that people are different Explain what LGBT is Demonstrate an understanding of how students' attitudes and values affect the way they respond to different situations Explain the importance of individuality Explore why the existence of diversity and respect is important within the community Understand and explore why tolerance is needed within today’s society Decide what behaviour is and is not acceptable Evaluate your own beliefs on respect
Positive contributions	To recognise and describe your individual strengths How can we make a positive contribution to our local community? Evaluate the importance of belonging to a community Recognise the impact of charity
British Values	Describe and explain what the British Values are What does being British mean to you? Explain the term ‘Britishness’ Explain radicalisation and the PREVENT duty Explain the different types of faith and beliefs in the UK and why it is important to respect these To understand what British values are Understanding and exploring the values, beliefs and opinions of others To understand the history of democracy Explain how community cohesion is so important. To understand and explain the meaning of British values To understand how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process To understand that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law To understand the importance of identifying and combating discrimination
Bullying	Share ideas and beliefs to develop guidelines for a positive classroom community What is bullying? Understand our rights and responsibilities To discuss how young people can be supported To understand the different types of bullying and the effects they have on others To challenge students to think about the way they behave towards each other To explain the consequences of bullying and can discuss the nature of why bullying happens To consider the significance of kindness and respect the impact our society has others
Stress management	To identify effects of stress on everyday issues To create strategies to reduce or control stress Identify sources of stress and common signs of stress in young people To understand the meaning of resilience Discuss some of the different sources of stress Describe and explain ways that stress can affect people Describe some ways of relieving stress Evaluate particular techniques to alleviate your own stress
Self-esteem and positivity	To understand what self-esteem is To identify ways students can help their self-esteem to improve To analyse specific people’s root cause of self-esteem To understand the importance of positivity
Consent / safe relationships / sexual harrassment	I can understand when someone is consenting and when they are not To understand the consequences of not respecting sexual consent Identify examples of sexual harassment and understand the effect this harassment has To understand the difference between assertive, passive and aggressive behaviour and how our behaviour can affect a relationship Describe the different types of relationships people have (family, friend, boyfriend/girlfriend etc.) Define ‘consent’ Describe the laws surrounding sexual consent, distribution of indecent images and sexual harassment, and describe the consequences of the laws surrounding these Distinguish between the differences in terms used for gender identity, gender expression and biological sex
Substance misuse	To understand the effect alcohol has on my mind and the consequences of my actions To enhance individual’s knowledge of legal and illegal substances To understand the risks of taking drugs To consider how drugs and alcohol can affect personal relationships
Mental health and wellbeing	Describe what is meant by mental health and can give examples of mental health conditions What do young people need to have a healthy lifestyle Evaluate whether social media causes the greatest harm to young people’s self-esteem How can we improve our wellbeing?