PSHE - Key Stage 3

7

What pupils will learn

How it builds on learning

Transition & Safety

Managing the transition into secondary education and dealing with the changes in friendships that this transition may bring. Recognising what it means to stay safe and how to respond to an emergency situation.

Developing Skills & Aspirations

An introduction to careers education, thinking about what a career journey actually looks like and how you can work on developing the skills required for future career paths during your time at school. Considering what the future will look like in terms of jobs and careers.

Diversity

Students will learn about protected characteristics and bulling, 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.

Health & Puberty

Here students will be encouraged to look to their own healthy and unhealthy behaviours, including physical, mental and dental health as well as the importance of sleep to education and development. Also examining the changes young bodies go through as they enter and move through puberty, touching on consent, FGM and breast-ironing.

Building Relationships

Recognising and working on self-esteem and self-efficacy, managing conflict and building an understanding of how society has a set of ‘unwritten rules’ that need to be managed and navigated as you move through the world.

Financial Decision Making

Understanding how to make safe financial choices, including saving, spending and budgeting. Looking at Ethical and unethical business practices and consumerism and examining risk-taking behaviours both financially and beyond.

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.

Community & Careers

Building on the careers work from Year 7, we continue to look at recognising and reflecting on growing strengths both socially and academically. We also look at how to make the most of opportunities and learn from setbacks as well as looking at balance in life, ensuring well-being is placed at the forefront of any career decision.

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. They will also look at gender discrimination and re-visit consent from a legal standpoint.

Emotional Wellbeing

Building on from looking at well-being in careers, here we will examine attitudes towards mental health and how to challenge stigmas surrounding it in society. We also look at the importance of sleep when coping with the challenges of life, along with healthy and unhealthy coping strategies, including self-harm.

Identity and Relationships

This unit looks at understanding what qualities you should expect in positive, healthy relationships and how to identify and act when faced with unhealthy or unacceptable behaviours. We also look at identity and stereotypes and well as the pressures of relationships, including the dangers of ‘sexting’ and how to manage any requests or pressure to send or share images.

Digital Literacy

Here we look at our online presence and communication, including addressing how to navigate social networking sites safely and recognise bias or misleading information online. We consider the ‘shelf-life’ of an online presence formed in adolescence and link it to future employment, as well as looking at the dangers of grooming, gambling and financial traps that can be found online.

9

What pupils will learn

How it builds on learning

Peer Influence, Substance Use & Gangs

Building on from the last unit of Year 8, students begin to consider what negative and potentially dangerous information there might be about that that could be shared or exploited by someone posing as a friend. Students are taught to assess and manage risks as well as how to communicate effectively and assertively, so their needs are met. We then look at managing the risks in relation to gangs and knife crime and finish up by revisiting the dangers of drug and alcohol use in young people.

Setting Goals

Building on the Careers unit in Year 8, students are encouraged to consider their own skills and goals and use these to aid their decision making when it comes to thinking ahead to GCSE options. We also explore how to take full control of our own career journeys, tailoring hobbies, subjects and outside-of-education experiences accordingly. Finally, we explore the legal limits to working hours and look at how to manage to money earned through work.

RHSE – Intimate and Respectful Relationships (double unit – 6 lessons)

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.

Healthy Lifestyles

In this unit we revisit the Health & Wellbeing units previously covered to extend our learning into examining the outside influences that affect our own mental and physical health. We look at how the media in all its platforms influences feelings about body image and link this with learning how to balance work, leisure, exercise and sleep to ensure every student is the healthiest version of themselves in every way.

Living in the Wider World

Leading on from management of self, here students learn about how we manage our country, 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. We then link this to enterprise and employability and our digital footprint, learning that what we put online in our younger years, can stay with us forever.