PSHE is studied across all year groups. Although it is not an examined subject, it is something that all students in the school study as part of our school’s core values.
PSHE through the years:
In Years 7, 8 and 9, students receive 2 hours of lessons per fortnight.
In Year 10 and 11, students receive a single 1 hour lesson per fortnight.
In Year 12 and 13 students receive 2 hours of lessons per fortnight
PSHE Vision
Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School strives to provide a high quality educational experience for all students, through an enriching curriculum that enables them to acquire a deep knowledge of the world in which they live, so that they can develop a love for learning and can thrive personally, economically and academically, in life. The school aims to engage and inspire the students of today, from Y7 to Y13, to grow and develop into rounded citizens that become positive, caring and successful members of society and are equipped to become the leaders of tomorrow.
PSHE Rationale
We live in a time of rapid change, with new and exciting (but sometimes unpredictable!) opportunities and challenges constantly arising. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) helps pupils to lead confident, healthy and responsible lives, both as individuals and as members of society.
Reasons we need PSHE
- According to the Every Child a Lifesaver coalition, 95% of parents support first aid being taught in schools
- The percentage of 11-16-year-old girls in England who screened positive for possible eating problems more than doubled between 2017-2022 (from 8% to 18%; NHS Digital, 2022). The Coalition on Youth Mental Health in Schools stated in its 2021 inquiry report that ‘PSHE education can improve a student’s physical and psychosocial well-being’.
- The British National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) found that men and women who reported school lessons as their main source of sex education were more likely to have started having sex later and that their ‘first sex’ was more likely to be consensual.
At DHFS we provide students with the opportunities to:
- explore attitudes and values
- develop skills, attributes and strategies necessary to manage issues in a changing world
- prepare for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in current and later life
- reflect on their own choices.
Through the PSHE curriculum, we teach our students about personal identity, diversity, equality, rights, responsibilities, change, resilience, relationships, risk, personal safety, health and wellbeing (physical, mental and social), power (how it is used and encountered) and employability.
At DHFS we know that learning and undertaking activities in PSHE Education contributes to young people becoming:
- successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve.
- confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives.
- responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.
Our Curriculum
The PSHE spiral curriculum allows students to revisit topics or themes throughout KS3, 4 and 5. The complexity and challenge of the topic or theme increases with each revisit, allowing learning to be reinforced, solidified and deepened over time in and an age appropriate manner. The content is tailored to meet the needs of DHFS students, for example through the use of school and community data to inform planning.
Outside agencies support our curriculum and we have a range of longstanding collaborations including: Derbyshire Police, local magistrates, school nursing teams and local universities, to name but a few.
Wider Curriculum
Our curriculum links strongly to many faculties and areas of wider school life, including our SMSC mentor time programme, assemblies, and our weekly Votes for Schools discussions. Students and staff highlight these strong links through termly questionnaires and discussions.
Our Spiral Curriculum
Our curriculum has 6 big Ideas which spiral through years 7-13 within PSHE and our wider curriculum. These relate to multiple issues and aspects of modern life, in age appropriate ways.
PSHE Big Ideas
Our 6 Big Ideas encompass everything we do. The Big Ideas spiral through the curriculum from years 7 through to 13, developing and adapting to suit the needs of students. We use a variety of tools to identify what should be included in our curriculum, these include; statutory guidance, school and community data, trends, regional/national and international foci and data/feedback provided by our own students/staff and parents.
Key Stage Curriculum Plans
Policies
Relationship & Sexual Health Policy
Literacy and numeracy
The PSHE curriculum provides a broad range of learning opportunities to develop literacy and numeracy, throughout Key Stage 3-5. These include:
• Using age specific material to challenge students’ reading skills
• Interpreting laws and legalese
• Using and critiquing a range of credible sources
• Media consumption and scrutiny
• Analysing data and trends
• Writing extended arguments
• Constant discussion and debate
Wellbeing
‘Success with Care’ does not just focus on the academic side of school life, but crucially maintains a key focus on the student as a whole.
At DHFS we aim to promote a positive wellbeing in both a universal and personalised approach. Our ‘Wellbeing’ page of the school website provides further support for our school community.
This course has been informed by:
• Department for Education National Curriculum Framework Statutory Guidance Document, (Nov 2021)
• Department for Education PSHE review (March 2015)
• Department for Education PSHE education guidance, (Sept 2021)
• Department for Education National Curriculum: Citizenship programme of study and attainment targets for KS 3 & 4, (Sept 2013)
• Department for Education Prevent Duty guidance, (April 2021)
• PSHE Association Guidance on Developing your PSHE Curriculum (Sept 2015)
• PSHE Association Programme of Study (October 2014)
• Ofsted School Inspection Handbook from July 2022 2015
• Secondary National Strategy for school improvement: Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning for secondary schools – SEAL, DfES 2010 Social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) programme in secondary schools: national evaluation – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• BERT/RSE Award (Building Effective Relationships Together/Relationships and Sex Education) (Derbyshire County Council)
• The Whole School Approach to Wellbeing – (Derbyshire County Council)
• The Coriell Award – (Derbyshire County Council)
• Designated Mental Health Lead guidance – Creative Education (.gov approved provider)
• School, regional and national data
• Student, staff and parent voice
Staff
• Acting Curriculum leader – Miss Watkin lwatkin@dhfs.uk
• Assistant Curriculum leader – Miss Loh loh@dhfs.uk
• Assistant Headteacher for Personal Development and the Wider Curriculum – Mrs Helliwell nhelliwell@dhfs.uk
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