VLE
PSHE develops essential life skills which students require both in school and beyond. The Secondary PSHE programme contains appropriate topics for Middle and Upper Department students. Students’ work throughout Years 6-11 progresses in incremental steps, building upon previously attained knowledge and skills.
The PSHE programme aims to equip students with important life skills and to inform them of issues that will allow them to lead full and enriching lives. PSHE also aims to address issues that students need in school and beyond their school lives. There is a focus on promoting self-critical reflection and a self-corrective mindset.
This dynamic, forward-looking programme creates opportunities for students to develop the essential skills and qualities needed for learning, life and future employment. The skills acquired from PSHE are transferable and help to maximise learning across all other curricular areas.
All About Me: This introductory lesson deals with feelings, anxieties, worries and Primary-Secondary transition. The objective of the lesson is to allow students to take responsibility, recognise any potential problems at school and address ways in which to deal with them.
Managing Time: These lessons seek to address pupils’ potential problems with time management and homework issues in a fun and interactive way. The lessons outline strategies to make the best possible use of time.
Jobs: An introduction to work and what it is. This set of lessons deals with why people work and the advantages and disadvantages of working.
Money Management: This is an introduction to managing pocket money. The lessons deal with saving money, spending pocket money and budgeting.
How should I behave? This section of the programme deals with the rules of the school, as well as broader issues such as self-respect and manners.
Healthy Lifestyle: An introduction into how to keep yourself healthy through diet and exercise.
Decision Making and Managing Risk: These lessons allow students to understand what risk is and seeks to assist students in being able to make informed choices about safety, health and wellbeing.
Developing and Maintaining Friendships: This topic focuses, in particular, on the nature of empathy. It also challenges prejudice and discrimination.
Peer Pressure: This unit looks at understanding the nature of peer pressure, how it can affect lives and how students can deal with it.
Investigating Careers: This unit examines different areas of work, including administrative work, creative jobs, technical and scientific careers, construction and service jobs. Students gain an awareness of the types of skills that are needed in each area of work. Students complete a questionnaire to begin to learn about what types of work might best suit them.
Study Skills: This is an intensive study skills course which develops skills learned in the Middle Department. The course focuses on equipping students with the much required skills in order for them to progress in all of their studies. It especially helps students develop techniques for revision, effective time management and organisational skills.
Road Safety: This topic addresses issues of risk-taking when driving or being a passenger in a vehicle. Two specific aims of the unit is to make students aware of the significant dangers of not wearing a seat belt and of driving whilst using a hand-held communications device.
Citizenship and Human Rights: As well as looking at the basic human rights of people all over the world, the programme also looks at what it means to be a ‘just and fair’ employer. Issues such as justice and equality for all, regardless of race or nationality, are highlighted.
Non-Governmental Organisations: This citizenship unit takes into account the good work of NGOs and how people can become involved. It looks at why such organisations intervene and promote goodwill while operating separately from national governments. It also focuses on the different types of humanitarian work done by NGOs.
Health, Diet and Personal Wellbeing: This unit highlights what makes a healthy lifestyle. It emphasises the links between diabetes and obesity. Students learn about the effects of smoking and the damage that passive or secondary smoking has on those who inhale other people’s smoke. This topic also addresses issues relating to bullying and cyber-bullying.
First Aid: Whether it involves administering treatment to oneself or another person, first aid is an essential life skill. This unit provides practical advice and skills that might be needed in a day to day situation, whether in the home, in a car or whilst outside, to treat both minor injuries and those that are life-threatening. Practical teaching is carried out by the Senior School Nurse.
Food Preparation: All BSK students become gradually more independent during their time in school. Eventually they will attend university and find themselves responsible for managing their own home routines. Being able to prepare a healthy meal is therefore an important skill. This unit teaches students how to prepare three basic, wholesome dishes, and develops the skill and confidence to use kitchen utensils safely.
Personal Finance and Financial Capability: This topic area aims to allow students to understand the nature of the world of work and allow students to manage their money and finances more effectively.
Careers and CV Writing: Within this subject area, students are taught how to correctly write a Curriculum Vitae and letters of application in preparation for the college, university and the workplace. Students complete a specialised online career questionnaire which asks questions about their skills, their qualities, what they enjoy and concludes by suggesting types of work to which they may be suited.
In Middle Department, PSHE is taught by students’ Class Tutors, in their tutor rooms with the rest of their tutor group. Middle Department Students work from a specially designed PSHE booklet.
Upper Department students are also taught in their tutor groups, but not always by their Class Tutors. Year 9-11 students are taught PSHE on a rotational basis so will therefore have different teachers for different units, each of which lasts for four or five weeks. This approach allows students to be taught by specialist teachers who have developed a greater depth of knowledge of more complex areas of the PSHE curriculum. Upper Department PSHE is VLE-based, so all students must bring their laptop computers to lessons.
Assessment is fundamental to good teaching and learning. Assessment, especially A4L (Assessment for Learning) is embedded into the PSHE programme and allows learners to recognise their own achievement and to make progress. Teachers will continually assess students throughout the programme, and an end of year grade, as well as an A2L (Attitude to Learning) description will appear on their report.