PSHE - Key Stage 3

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Curriculum Year 7 / Year 8 / Year 9

Assessment

Supporting your child

Extended learning

 

Curriculum

7	What pupils will learn	How it builds on learning
	My community, my rights	Students will build on the prejudice and inclusion learning they will have received in primary school and also look at how they can make the most out of their time at CamVC.
	Health & Wellbeing	Considering consent, understanding well-being and self-worth as well as mental health and emotional health and well-being (EMWB), healthy lifestyles, puberty, and menstrual cycles. Here students learn how to keep themselves healthy, resilient, and happy, again building on Primary School learning.
	Bullying & Internet Safety	Students will learn about protected characteristics and bullying, cyberbullying and what a healthy relationship looks like. They will also look at ways to manage conflict and deal with issues in a proactive and healthy manner.
	Myself as a learner and a global citizen	Here students will be encouraged to look to the future and where they would like to be, encouraging self-reflection and looking at personal safety and first aid. They will also look at how they can engage with the wider world and help make it a better place.
8	What pupils will learn	How it builds on learning
	Drugs & Alcohol	Here we address the myths of drugs and alcohol and ensure that students understand the dangers of illegal substances and the laws surrounding drugs and alcohol. We also look at tobacco and vaping and look at the dangers and issues surrounding both. We build on the Year 7 topic of Health & Well-being, looking at how to stay safe and healthy in the face of these issues.
	The Needs of Young People	Again, building on from the Health & Well-being unit in Year 7, here we look at how students can meet their needs and the needs of others in a respectful and healthy way. We look at sleep, personal hygiene and respect for oneself and others. In this unit, we also teach the students CPR and other lifesaving skills.
	Cultural Differences and Discrimination	Students will learn about how our culture differs from those around the world and examine how one person can make a difference. They will look at discrimination from a cultural perspective and learn how to become a more understanding and compassionate person.
	Life Skills for the Future	Building on from the Myself as a Learner unit in Year 7, here students begin to look to the future and consider how their behaviour, work ethic and actions may shape their development as young adults and students. We also look at digital safety and gambling and consider how money can impact all facets of life.
9	What pupils will learn	How it builds on learning
	Options and Careers	Building on from the last unit of Year 8, students begin to consider what their possible futures will look like and consider their own personal skills and attributes. They will start thinking about possible career pathways and business opportunities and look at how networking works to help build and develop future prospects.
	RHSE	Building on all Health & Well-being learning so far, this unit examines the complexities of family, parenting and long-term relationships as well as looking at gender identity and sexuality. The students look at how to form relationships in a healthy and respectful manner and learn about sexual health, STIs and contraception options. We also examine what a healthy and unhealthy relationship looks like and look at issues surrounding Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and breast ironing, as well as fertility, pregnancy, and sanitary items.
	Becoming 21st Century Citizens	Introducing a new topic looking at loss and the effects of change, including how to deal with bereavement and process emotions, students use all of their EHWB learning so far to consider how resilient they are emotionally and mentally. Here we also touch back on digital resilience and consider how important media literacy is in ensuring students remain safe online.
	Government & the law	Leading on from digital literacy, here students learn about how our government is formed and works, looking at the law in relation to previous PSHE topics such as Drugs and Alcohol and examining how change is affected through voting and becoming informed and involved citizens of our country.

Assessment

Students are assessed both on their engagement and understanding of the subject. We have regular knowledge checks using Microsoft Forms, Mentimeter and in-class discussions/polls, to ensure the students understand the content and have retained the key information. Retrieval Practice is also used throughout the year to ensure that topics are not forgotten once we’ve moved on. However, our main focus is that students are engaged in their PSHE lessons and taking these vital life lessons on board and remembering them for the future. Here parents can support us by continuing these topical discussions at home.

Supporting your child

What you can do at home:

As with the delivery of RSHE education, we see PSHE as a partnership between home and school, providing the opportunity for all pupils to learn about important topics in safe environments and support their journey to becoming healthy, happy, and secure adults. The most important way to support your child with their PSHE learning and progression is to be ready to have open and honest conversations with your child about the topics covered in the classroom. If you would like any support with this or feel nervous about how to broach certain topics, do please email for help and guidance.

There are also many excellent websites out there offering help, advice, and guidance for parenting in the 21^st century. We have included links below in the Extended Study Suggestions and Reading Lists section as a starting point. There is also an excellent section in our school library on issues covered within PSHE such as dealing with bullying, processing puberty changes and emotional and physical health.

Please note, we will offer support to parents and carers to extend their knowledge where we can, such as our annual online safety training, and are always available to answer questions and help in any way we can. Just because we have all been teenagers does not mean we are experts in raising them!

Equipment:

All students will be expected to attend their PSHE lessons with the core school equipment. Please also ensure they always have their iPad charger with them.

Extended learning

Homework policy:

Students are not set formal homework in PSHE. We only ask that the students go away from each lesson and are prepared to continue the discussions facilitated in lessons with their friends and their adults at home. Thinking through the issues covered and how they relate to the individual student is the ongoing aim of PSHE.

Clubs/ Enrichment opportunities:

As a subject that supports emotional and physical health and well-being, all clubs that are offered at CamVC, whether it be a sporting club, of which there are many that run throughout the year, or something more meditative like Art Club or Reading Club, are beneficial to furthering elements of learning in PSHE. There is an excellent LGBTQ+ and Allies club called We Are All Made of Molecules that offers a safe space and wonderful support for all students wanting to find out more about LGBTQ+ issues. The Political Literacy course in Year 9 builds on learning about Citizenship and Politics.

Extended study suggestions and reading lists:

If you would like to look further into any of the issues studied in PSHE, then the Internet is usually the best place to start. However, research in PSHE is a very personal thing and the needs of one student might be totally different to the needs of another. Below are a few websites that are more specific to the areas of interest that might come up:

NSPCC | The UK children's charity | NSPCC (excellent help with childhood issues, particularly surrounding abuse, and mistreatment.)

Sexual Health & Wellbeing - Brook – Healthy lives for young people (Brook is an amazing service that offers help and guidance for all young people on many different topics surrounding sexual health, identity, drugs, alcohol, and many others.)

Honest information about drugs | FRANK (talktofrank.com) (Focusing specifically on all issues and concerns surrounding drugs, this site is informative and helpful if you have any queries or concerns. It details all illegal drugs and explains the law relating to them, as well as side-effects and alternative names.)

YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMinds A comprehensive guide for both students and parents, this website contains lots of information pertaining to mental health and emotional well-being.

If Your Child is Aged 13 or Over - Get Safe Online (This is an excellent website about digital safety for all. I have linked specifically to the area for young adults, but there is so much useful information here for everyone.)

Teenagers | Family Lives This website has information useful to all elements of family life but this specific section is all about how to communicate and help your teenage children as they navigate through young adulthood.

Possible trips and visits:

Unfortunately, at this point, there are no specific PSHE trips or visits. However, the last week of the school year sees all Year 7-10 students take part in Activities Week which offers a range of options from outdoor education to work experience. Every one of these options in Activities Week has an explicit PSHE link, be it looking at physical health with the many sports options or mental health with therapeutic options such as crocheting or art, there is something to aid the personal development of every student.

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