Personal Development (inc PSHE/RSE)
Our Personal Development curriculum is designed to impart powerful knowledge to our students so that they can gain the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to lead a “happy”, independent life, to become informed, responsible, positive, productive citizens within their local community and beyond.
PhoenixPlace staff have high expectations of all students and support students with a clear understanding of their needs, aspirations and challenges as we work towards achieving our vision for our students.
As our purpose states, our two guiding aims are ensuring students not only receive a high quality of education, but alongside this a high quality of care.
Personal Development Curriculum
- Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
- Relationships, Sex Education (RSE)
- Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural (SMSC) education
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
PSHE at PhoenixPlace is a subject through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe, and prepare for school, life and the world of work.
The PSHE curriculum covers the six core themes across KS3 and 4.;
- Being Me in My World
- Celebrating Difference
- Dreams and Goals (inc Careers development)
- Healthy Me
- Relationships
- Changing Me
We use the Jigsaw PSHE Mindfulness programme of study to structure our themes across the year and intertwine this with the Life Lessons resources in order to ensure coverage of all the topics. PSHE is delivered at least once or twice per week in discrete lessons and some Tutor slots.
A broad range of other topics are delivered through a series of assemblies, guest speakers, educational visits, and tailored lessons, both current and historical, which include:
- World celebrations
- Cultural/religious beliefs
- Online safety/Cyber bullying
- Online Presence/Impact of social media
- Mental Health Awareness
- Tobacco, alcohol and drugs
- LGBTQ+ Awareness
- Knife Crime
- County lines
Our PSHE delivery is designed to have an impact on both academic and non-academic outcomes for pupils, particularly the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. KS3 and KS4 received a well-balanced series of lessons and activities designed to enhance their understanding of life skills and beyond.
Relationships Sex Education (RSE)
RSE is taught within the following subject areas at PhoenixPlace:
- PSHE
- Science
- Prince’s Trust
- Business
- ICT
- Tutor time
Where appropriate, pupils will also receive stand-alone sex education sessions delivered by a trained health professional.
The RSE at PhoenixPlace, aims to provide our students with the knowledge that will help them make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health, and to help them develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds
In partnership with Life Lessons and Jigsaw, we have developed a curriculum which takes into account a wide diverse range of subjects. Life Lessons and Jigsaw support our staff to deliver an outstanding RSE programme.
The programme includes bitesize videos which are both led by young people and professionals and also includes lessons which are current and have topical media stories making the curriculum relevant.
Further to this, the programme encourages discussion and offers opportunities for students to be able to develop empathy and respect for one another.
These areas of learning are taught within the context of family life taking care to ensure that there is no stigmatisation of pupils based on their home circumstances. Families can include single parent families, LGBT parents, families headed by grandparents, adoptive parents, foster parents/carers amongst other structures.
It is also important for teachers to deliver in a way that reflects sensitively that some pupils may have a different structure of support around them (for example looked after children or young carers). This is particularly important in our school’s context as some of our pupils don’t live with their biological parents.
We believe this knowledge will support them in developing the capacity to make sound decisions if facing risks, challenges, or complex contexts.
We define RSE as giving our students the information they need to help them develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds, not just intimate relationships.
- Our curriculum enables students to know what a healthy relationship looks like and what makes a good friend, a good colleague and a successful marriage or other type of committed relationship.
- Our curriculum also covers contraception, developing intimate relationships and resisting pressure to have sex (and not applying pressure).
- Our curriculum teaches what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in relationships which is very key to our students development. This helps students understand the positive effects that good relationships have on their mental wellbeing, identify when relationships are not right and understand how such situations can be managed and also know where to go for support & guidance.
Our RSE programme does not encourage early sexual experimentation. It teaches our students to understand human sexuality and to respect themselves and others.
Through discussions, assemblies, direct teaching, mentoring and counselling support, our RSE curriculum enables our students to mature, build their confidence and self-esteem and understand the reasons for delaying sexual activity.
Effective RSE teaching and guidance aims to plant the seed to support our students throughout their lives so that they are able to develop safe, fulfilling, and healthy sexual relationships, at the appropriate time.
