All Senior School students have a weekly lesson of Skills for Life. The curriculum is delivered by the pastoral staff in each year group and covers the areas of Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE).
As part of this programme we welcome guest speakers who are experts in specific areas such as online safety and mental health.
Through these lessons, students will develop knowledge and skills including risk management, working as part of a team and critical thinking.
Curriculum
The Senior School programme is organised into three sections:
- Living in the wider world: citizenship, diversity and inclusion, financial literacy, media literacy, online safety, assessing and managing risk, careers and skills development
- Relationships: healthy friendships and relationships (including online) and family life
- Health and wellbeing: personal safety, physical health, mental health and wellbeing, health-related choices and First Aid
Relationships, Sex and Health Education
Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is a statutory requirement. Students cannot be withdrawn from any aspect of Relationships or Health Education. Families may opt to withdraw from aspects of Sex Education following discussion with the Head of PSHE.
Although it is very difficult to know exactly when is the right moment to introduce these concepts, we do everything we can to approach this sensitive area of our students’ education with age-appropriate subject matter and the most suitable resources available to us.
An example of some of the topics covered can be found below. For a full overview of the Skills for Life curriculum, or to see some of the resources we use, please contact the Head of PSHE.
Living in the wider world | Relationships | Health and wellbeing | |
Upper III | - Study skills - Digital literacy - Interests and values - Rights and responsibilities - Understanding inequality | - Making new friends - Managing conflict, including online - Challenging unhealthy relationships | - Growing and changing - Healthy lifestyle choices - Managing emotions - Identifying personal strengths - First Aid |
Lower IV | - Identity and beliefs - Understanding discrimination - Challenges of online life - Trustworthy online sources | - Changing friendships - Intimate relationships - Keeping safe online - Sending nudes | - Healthy lifestyle choices - The facts about alcohol - First Aid |
Upper IV | - Understanding the law - Human rights - Protected Characteristics - Volunteering - Budgeting and spending | - Different family dynamics - Long-term relationships - Communicating about consent - Safe and unsafe sex | - Managing difficult emotions - Bereavement - Managing peer influences: alcohol and nicotine - First Aid |
Lower V | - Communities and belonging - Managing conflicting views - Challenging discrimination - Understanding extremism | - Sexual attitudes and expectations and the media - Sexual health and contraception - Marriage and civil partnerships | - Promoting good mental health - Mental health and the media - Positive role models - Blood, organ and stem cell donation - Legal and illegal drugs - First Aid |
Upper V | - Revision techniques and strategies - Using feedback constructively - Setting goals - Post-16 options and pathways - Maximising employability and managing online presence | - Signs of controlling and abusive relationships - Unwanted attention and harassment - Forced marriage - Sexual attitudes and expectations and the media - Routes to parenthood | - Stress management - Impact of lifestyle choices on health and fertility - Self-examination and screening - Cosmetic and aesthetic procedures - Keeping safe at festivals - First Aid |
