About Us: Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE)

Our PSHE programme is a vital part of the curriculum for all girls in the school and underpins our pastoral work.

Year 7 students are taught by their form tutors in tutor groups. Year 8 are taught in tutor groups by a team of four specialists in rotation, and years 9, 10 and 11 have dedicated PHSE afternoons every half term with specialists.

The PSHE programme is designed to help the pupils to develop the following important skills throughout years 7 to 11:

Confidence, responsibility and making the most of their abilities

• Pupils are taught to reflect on and assess their strengths in relation to their personal qualities, skills, achievements and potential
• They learn to understand how others see them and be able to give and receive constructive feedback and praise
• They recognise the stages of emotions associated with loss and change caused by death, divorce, separation and new family members and how to deal positively with their feelings
• Job opportunities are related to personal qualifications and skills and pupils make choices based on their knowledge, personal strengths and the changing world of work, and they plan realistic targets for career plans
• They learn to understand what influences how they spend and save, and become competent at managing personal money.

A healthy, safer lifestyle

• Pupils manage the physical and emotional changes that take place at puberty in a positive way
• Think about the long and short term consequences when making decisions about personal health
• Learn that good relationships and an appropriate balance between work, leisure and exercise can promote physical and mental health
• Understand the causes, symptoms and treatments for stress and depression and identify strategies for prevention and management
• Recognise the link between eating patterns and self image, including eating disorders
• Have a knowledge of basic facts and laws including school rules about alcohol, tobacco, illegal substances and the risks of misusing prescribed drugs
• Learn about reproduction, contraception, where to get advice, sexually transmitted infections, HIV and high risk behaviours in the context of the importance of relationships
• Understand the health risks of alcohol, tobacco, other drug use, early sexual activity, pregnancy, food choice and sunbathing and how to make safer choices
• Recognise when pressure from others threatens their personal safety and develop ways of resisting pressures, including when and where to get help
• Be familiar with basic emergency aid procedures, follow health and safety advice and where to get help and support.

Good relationships and respecting the differences between people

• Understand the effects of stereotyping, prejudice, bullying, racism, exploitation, discrimination and offending behaviour and how to challenge them assertively
• Work cooperatively with a range of people who are different from themselves
• Talk about relationships and feelings
• Empathise with people different from themselves
• Learn about the nature of friendship and how to make and keep friends
• Recognise the changing nature of relationships with friends and family and when and how to seek help
• Learn about the responsibilities and importance of marriage, parents and carers in family relationships
• Know about the statutory and voluntary organisations that support relationships in crisis
• Know that goodwill is essential to positive relationships and when and how to make compromises
• Learn to resist pressure to do wrong and understand when others need help and how to support them.