PSHE

Objectives in PSHE (Personal, social, health and economic education)

The aim of the PSHE curriculum is to provide students with the skills and knowledge to be safe and successful both inside and outside of school, and later in their lives, in an age appropriate way, as well as meeting the statutory RSE requirements set out by the DfE. We liaise with parents, staff and students in order to ensure that our PSHE curriculum is as relevant as it possibly can be. Our PSHE curriculum is based upon three key topics, each of which will be revisited systematically by students throughout their time at Ibstock:

  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Living in the Wider World
  • Relationships

In order to ensure that this is both purposeful and age appropriate, different elements of these topics are studied in each year:

Year 7:

  • Transition and Safety – During this unit students learn about how to cope with and to enjoy the changes which come with moving from primary to secondary school. We learn about life as a secondary school pupil, how to make friends, staying safe on the commute to school and outside of school, and safe and appropriate use of social media.
  • Developing Skills and Aspirations – Students will spend a half term gaining an introduction in to working life. We learn about transferable problem solving skills, equality of opportunity, including how and why stereotypes are damaging, and how values and interests link to careers.
  • Diversity – Students will learn about their own roles and responsibilities within society, and what it means to live in a diverse society, as well as how to support others in many contexts, such as challenging prejudice and discrimination and reporting all forms of bullying.
  • Health and Puberty – During this unit students will learn how to make healthy lifestyle choices, including physical, dental and mental health and personal hygiene, how to manage influences involving caffeine, smoking and alcohol, recognising and responding to inappropriate physical contact, and understanding what FGM is and how to access support for either themselves or others.
  • Relationships – Students will spend a half term exploring what self-worth is, why it is important, and how to develop it, the difference between unhealthy and healthy relationships, managing expectations regarding romantic relationships and understanding what consent is, and how to seek consent and assertively communicate consent.
  • Financial Decision Making – The final half term of year 7 will be spent learning how to make safe financial choices and managing risk taking behaviour, saving, spending and budgeting, and understanding ethical and unethical business practices and consumerism.

Year 8:

  • Drugs and Alcohol – During this unit, students will learn what a drug is and the effects and consequences of drugs, both medical and legal. Students will also learn about the effects of smoking, managing influences in relation to drug and alcohol use, and how to assess the risks of drugs, alcohol and smoking.
  • Community and Careers – students will spend a half term learning about life both outside of and after school, including being part of a community, setting aspirational targets and aiming high, understanding the world of work and how stereotypes can be damaging to this.
  • Discrimination – understanding what causes us to think a certain way, and managing influences on our beliefs and values, recognising and challenging transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, racism, religious based discrimination and gender based discrimination.
  • Emotional Wellbeing – During this unit, students will learn what mental health is and how to manage emotions, healthy and unhealthy coping strategies, challenging myths and stigma surrounding mental health and taking care of daily wellbeing, including digital resilience.
  • Identity and Relationships – What healthy behaviours are within a relationship and how to demonstrate them, forming partnerships and developing relationships, gender identity and sexual orientation, all about consent, the risks and consequences of sexting and an introduction to some forms of contraception.
  • Digital Literacy – Students will spend the final half term of year 8 learning about how to manage risks and stay safe when using social media, recognising different types of online grooming and seeking support, recognising biased or misleading information, understanding age restrictions and making sensible decisions.

Year 9:

  • Peer Influence, Substance Use and Gangs – Students will spend the first half term of year 9 understanding the links between peer pressure, healthy and unhealthy relationships, drugs and gangs.
  • Setting Goals – Students then begin to consider their future in more detail, and explore their hobbies, interests and strengths and how these could feed in to selection of GCSE subjects and a potential future career.
  • Respectful Relationships – This unit focuses mostly on family relationships, including different types of families, resolving conflict and reducing homelessness in young people, managing changes within the family and accessing support services.
  • Healthy Lifestyle – Students then begin to learn how to take more responsibility for their own health. During this unit we will study the relationship between physical and mental health and how to make positive choices, managing influences on body image and self-examination.
  • Intimate Relationships – During this unit students will learn about readiness for sex, the choice to delay sex and enjoying intimacy without sex. They will also learn about consent in more detail, negotiating safer sex, consequences of unprotected sex and how the portrayal of relationships in the media and in pornography may affect expectations.
  • Employability Skills – The last half term of year 9 will focus more heavily on becoming prepared for life beyond school. They will learn how to manage their “personal brand” online, skills needed for employability and their rights with regard to employment.

Year 10:

  • Mental health: During this unit students will learn about managing the challenges of adolescence, reframing negative thinking, strategies to promote good mental health, signs of emotional ill health and accessing support, and dealing with change, loss and grief.
  • Financial decision making: During this unit students will learn about budgeting, preventing and managing debt, how data is used, safety around gambling, and financial activities and the law.
  • Healthy Relationships: During this unit students will learn about relationships and sex expectations, myths, pleasures and challenges, and the impact of pornography.
  • Exploring Influence: During this unit students will learn about the influence and impact of drugs, gangs, role models and the media.
  • Addressing Extremism and Radicalisation: During this unit students will learn about communities, belonging and challenging extremism.
  • Work Experience: During this unit students will learn about readiness for work, and evaluate work experience.