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PSHE

Curriculum Intent

The PSHE (RSE) Curriculum at Grace Academy Coventry seeks to provide a curriculum accessible by all and is shaped to the context of our Academy. The curriculum is structured to enhance our students’ personal growth, emotional wellbeing, appreciation of our British Values and Citizenship, as well as promoting Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development. At Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 (Years 10 - 13), statutory RE is also delivered through this programme. 

The Curriculum teaches the skills needed to help students navigate opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of life. It develops the students’ knowledge and understanding of health and wellbeing, relationships, living and contributing to the wider world. It equips students to become confident and resilient learners to take a positive, active role in a diverse society. It provides students with the skills needed to stay safe within the community, as well as a safe environment within the Academy where they’re able to discuss a range of topics while enhancing SMSC development and cultural capital. 

Developing from Year 7-Year 13, our spiral curriculum is age-appropriate whilst challenging, with topics developed and built upon to increase powerful knowledge. An example of this is teaching our students the importance of healthy relationships which is taught throughout KS3-KS5 through PSHE lessons, tutor sessions, assemblies, and enrichment lessons. 

Our PSHE spiral curriculum is embedded within Personal Development which is delivered throughout everyday life at the Academy and is underpinned by our Grace Values of Amazing Grace, Mutual Respect, Genuine Integrity, Limitless Potential, and Intentional Excellence. 

This term, we are studying… 

Year

Topic(s)

Why this? Why now?

Year 7

Families

Making and keeping positive friendships

FGM

Healthy lifestyle

Bullying and the different types of bullying

 

  • It is important to introduce students to the different types of families (e.g. nuclear/extended) and how they make and keep positive friendships, following on from Term 1 learning about what makes a good friend. We know that friendships are important for students in Year 7 as they are developing new friendships and still adapting to the transition from primary school. It is also important that students learn how to stay safe in these relationships and what a positive relationship and friendship looks like.
  • We also continue building on our students understanding of “The Grace Way” discussing the importance of mutual respect and genuine integrity and the detrimental impact of bullying and banter.
  • We introduce the concepts of FGM, and healthy lifestyles which is built upon each year and within other curriculum areas e.g. Food Technology.

Year 8

Consent

Pornography

Domestic conflict

FGM

British Values

Human Rights

Values

  • Every year we look at consent; what it is and why this it is so important. This is built on each year. In Year 8 we build on their previous knowledge from Year 7 and move onto look at pornography.
  • We revisit FGM to build on previous knowledge and to ensure the students fully understand how to keep themselves safe and the signs to look out for.
  • British Values are taught throughout the pastoral curriculum but are focused upon in Year 8 to ensure students understand the importance of British Values and the Human rights that they have including protective characteristics.
  • We build upon the understanding of human rights and British Values as we look at what values look like within different cultures and countries.

Year 9

Fertility

Domestic violence/coercive control

Sexual harassment

Organised crime and CSE

Fake news and money laundering

Interpersonal skills

Online presence

  • Students begin looking at fertility and the various routes into parenthood. This follows on from their previous learning around different types of families.
  • Domestic violence, coercive control and abusive relationships are taught in Year 9 following previous learning about safe and positive relationships in Year 7.
  • Following previous learning about consent, Year 9 learn about sexual harassment and harmful sexual behaviours here.
  • As students in Year 9 often have more access to the internet and knowledge on how to access information online, it is important that fake news, money laundering and online presence is taught at this point. This is underpinned by content taught in Year 7 on internet safety and online grooming.
  • We then build upon the career’s curriculum by teaching Year 9s about how our online presence can affect our career and how we develop our interpersonal skills. We then look at skills needed for the workplace in Year 10 and 11.

Year 10

Families and parenthood

Prejudice and stereotypes

Forced and arranged marriages

Revenge pornography

Harmful sexual behaviour

Body shaming

Unhealthy lifestyle choices

Peer pressure

  • Following on from KS3, where we look at families and fertility, we look at it here in more depth and how being a new parent can be challenging. Year 11 content then looks at fertility and our reproductive health. This is covered also in the Science curriculum.
  • We look at prejudice and stereotypes in more detail here, following on from KS3 content where we look at bullying. This is then covered in Year 11 where we specifically teach homophobic and transphobic bullying.
  • Following previous learning where we look at healthy and unhealthy relationships, here we look at revenge pornography and harmful sexual behaviour. This is underpinned by content on consent throughout KS3 and KS4, as well as the Year 10 BHR Day.
  • Unhealthy lifestyle choices including the harmful effects of illegal substances is looked at here, following on from the risks of piercings, tattoos and binge drinking in the Autumn term.
  • Peer pressure is something we know can affect teenagers of this age whilst looking at healthy and unhealthy lifestyle choices.

Year 11

Fertility and reproductive health

Healthy relationships

Consent and sexual harassment

Gambling

Types of bullying

Human rights

Marriage and co-habitation

 

  • Following on from Year 10 where we look at parenthood, here we look more indepth at fertility and reproductive health.
  • Consent and sexual harassment are covered once again here in Year 11, alongside what makes a healthy relationship. Students are aged 1516 here and as we know, consent can legally be given at the age of 16 so it is important we embed this knowledge. This knowledge is underpinned by our Year 11 BHR Day.
  • We teach students about gambling in Year 11 as we know that young adults aged 1824 are more likely to engage in gambling behaviour. This follows on from learning in Year 10 around risky behaviours.
  • Following on from KS3, students here look more in depth at the role of a citizen, human rights, and the government. This helps them as they also look at the age in which you can vote.

Marriage and co-habitation are taught here alongside consent.

Post 16

Budgeting

Managing income and expenditure

Consumer rights

Savings and debt

Healthy lifestyle

Force Marriage

Honour-based violence

Professional online presence

Radicalisation and extremism

Gangs and crime

  • Students here are looking at next steps in education and in the workplace. It is important students learn about budgeting and money management. This is supported by work with CBS, our careers programme and content learnt in KS4 on savings, debt, and budgeting.
  • We also cover how to keep a positive and professional online presence and how they can affect future prospects.
  • Students here are taught about negative influences in society. This includes online platforms, gangs and carrying weapons as students are exposed to these influences in society.
  • It is important to teach our students about how to maintain a healthy work/home life balance as they look to next steps. This is underpinned by previous content taught on healthy lifestyles and importance of sleep.
  • In Year 11, we look at marriage and cohabitation. Here in Post 16, we look at forced marriage and honour-based violence and where to seek help.
  • The Year 10 BHR Day looked at radicalisation and extremism, as well as in Year 9 where we teach students how to look for the signs. This is reiterated here in Post 16.


Curriculum content:

Attached are the curriculum maps which outline the sequence we use in order to structure our learning. If you would like to support your child's learning, we have attached links to Oak National Academy who provide lessons, activities and resources for commonly taught topics. Please use the curriculum map for this subject before visiting:

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/rshe-pshe/key-stages/key-stage-2

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/rshe-pshe/key-stages/key-stage-3

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/citizenship/key-stages/key-stage-3

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/rshe-pshe/key-stages/key-stage-4

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/citizenship/key-stages/key-stage-4

Our Values

LIMITLESS POTENTIAL 
We can achieve so much more than we think we can

INTENTIONAL EXCELLENCE

Success doesn’t happen by mistake

MUTUAL RESPECT

Everyone deserves to feel valued and important

GENUINE INTEGRITY

Honesty and doing the right thing are what really counts

AMAZING GRACE

Life is better with fresh starts and second chances