Curriculum Statement
Two Rivers High School
PSHE Curriculum Statement
PSHE is an important part of the curriculum at Two Rivers High School. There is a 50-minute lesson per week for each class but learning is also embedded across the school curriculum and is particularly evident in Intervention sessions which take a focus on mental health and wellbeing. Two Rivers High School follows an ‘enquiry based creative curriculum’ whereby the key/basic skills needed to make progress in each subject are embedded within a range of themed studies. The PSHE curriculum aims to enable students to gain knowledge and understanding and to offer students opportunities to learn and develop their knowledge and application so that they are better equipped to function in today’s society.
The PSHE curriculum looks different for each tier but all groups follow the same topics for each term: Health and wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the wider world. Under these three headings come different topics which are varied according to the age and group pupils are in and works in line with the National curriculum and the PSHE association. Learning is planned so that it shows progression across the age ranges and tiers with curriculum maps, subject overviews and skills progression grids in place to ensure this. Learning is structured based not only on the pupil’s age but on their needs with an understanding and appreciation that each class is vastly different and therefore teaching will need to be adapted to meet the needs of pupils.
Discoverers
Discoverers follow the Equals Curriculum which encompasses different objectives, styles of teaching and learning to suit the varied needs of each class. Arctic use ‘Moving on 14+, adventurer scheme’ and follow three topics each term: Road safety, personal hygiene and sexual education and reproduction. Nova uses the ‘Moving on 14+, explorer scheme’ which has three topics each term: healthy lifestyle, family and friends and body awareness and physical changes. Galaxy and Everest follow a semi-formal curriculum that covers My Physical wellbeing within the Autumn term: Autumn 1 healthy eating and lifestyles and Autumn 2 mental health and wellbeing. In Spring, they cover The world around me: People and in the Summer term Sexual relationship education. Firebird follow a combination of a formal and Informal Curriculum. Their lessons may look different to other classes within Discoverers as it is a holistic curriculum which is more experiential and works on the engagement scales. Due to their needs, their PSHE is more about being able to function within social norms and society, being able to co-operate, wait, develop some independence, learn how to have their needs met, co-regulate and self-regulate. Their topics for Autumn are My communication, My physical wellbeing and My independence. While other classes have a weekly designated lesson, Firebirds PSHE will be incorporated into their core learning and will be spread across the week.
Explorers and Adventurers
Every lesson in Explorers and Adventurers begins with sharing PSHE guidelines which have been created by pupils during Summer 2 of 2021-2022. This is shared and displayed on the PowerPoint at the start of every lesson to remind pupils of the expectations and to ensure that pupils feel safe to participate in lessons. Guidelines include rules such as having the right to pass, respecting people’s privacy, not using names if telling stories etc. Every lesson concludes with an opportunity to ask questions using an anonymous question box to ensure those pupils who do not feel comfortable asking questions aloud still have the opportunity to do so. Content and ability will differ between Explorers and Adventurers but all Explorer and Adventurer lessons will contain recaps of previous learning, sharing of the intent, teacher input (which may be varied due to pupil’s attention span and learning style) and delivered in a range of ways such as a PowerPoint presentations, a visual stimuli or resource, modelling of examples, a discussion etc. All Explorers and Adventurers cover Health and wellbeing in the Autumn term, Relationships in the Spring term and Living in the wider world in the Summer term but the objectives and content differ according to the group and age. A two-year rolling programme is followed for this.
Pioneers
Pioneers follow the core objectives of Health and wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the wider world but the topic within these changes each term and year (which can be seen in the overview). Pioneers follow the ASDAN programme which follows a three-year programme with provided objectives, resources and plans for each topic. While the theme remains the same, objectives and tasks are differentiated according to the needs of the class.
Aims
PSHE is a lesson that aims to support our pupils with:
- becoming a successfully functioning member of society
- acknowledging and recognising healthy relationships
- taking care of their health and wellbeing
- raising awareness of prejudice, discrimination, equality, tolerance and social skills
- maintaining safety of their self and others
- raising an awareness of financial responsibilities
- increasing their selfesteem and confidence
- demonstrating independence with selfcare and hygiene
- managing changes to their bodies, emotions and relationships
Themed days
Although PSHE is a weekly taught lesson, it is important to Two Rivers High School that PSHE can be seen across school life and that essential topics such as discrimination, relationships and careers are highlighted not only in lessons but in everyday life. Our school follows a PSHE calendar that celebrates and integrates a range of needs and values for example Diversity week which focusses on the LGBTQ+ community, Black History month, Anti-bullying week, World Down Syndrome Day and Eating disorder awareness week to name but a few. These days/weeks are opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding and knowledge on these subjects and highlight issues and misconceptions surrounding the topic while also incorporating fun themed activities and days where pupils are encouraged to participate and celebrate.
Our Promise
Our developing curriculum will be ever-evolving for our society and will be updated based on societal changes and issues facing our young people and local area. It will always:
-focus on the learner, their needs and existing understanding of the world.
-equip learners with transferable skills.
-provide pupils with links to real life scenarios and situations.
-focus on continuity and progression.
-be inclusive and offer equality of opportunity.
-will be necessarily flexible.
-challenge misconceptions in an informative and sensitive manner.
-provide pupils with a safe, respectful and supportive learning environment,
-support Government policy, including National Curriculum England, Europe and the World, equal opportunities, food and fitness, sustainable development and global citizenship, and the world of work and entrepreneurship.
-focus on the social and emotional aspects of learning.
-transform learning to produce resourceful, resilient, and reflective learners who will become independent and interdependent.
-be relevant, challenging, adaptable and interesting to all.
