Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
Overview
The PSHE curriculum aims to give our students the knowledge, skills, and understanding to lead confident, healthy, and independent lives. It is a statutory requirement to deliver components of PSHE, and Department for Education (DfE) guidance details exactly what schools must cover.
In conjunction with the PSHE Association resources and its Programmes of Study (PoS), local data from Public Health England’s Child and Maternal Health (CHIMAT) snapshot is used to inform our curriculum content. CHIMAT provides clear insights into child health in Harrow and its surrounding boroughs, helping us intentionally tackle local health inequalities. Exploring these challenges ensures our PSHE curriculum remains directly relevant and appropriate to the real-life needs of our students.
Using a spiral curriculum layout, students' progress through three core themes year-on-year: Health and Wellbeing, Relationships, and Living in the Wider World. Lessons are designed to build sequentially, ensuring prior knowledge is continuously revisited and extended.
Curriculum Intent
The department aims to:
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Develop confident, self-aware individuals who can navigate the challenges of adolescence safely.
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Build strong foundations in understanding physical health, emotional wellbeing, and personal safety.
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Foster a deep appreciation for diversity, equality, and human rights within our community.
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Encourage resilience, critical thinking, and sound financial decision-making as independence grows.
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Equip students with transferable life skills to manage relationships safely both offline and online.
Key knowledge includes:
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Core terminology and frameworks across health, relationships, digital literacy, and personal finance.
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Statutory frameworks and protections, including the Equality Act 2010.
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Local and national health contexts, including routines for physical, dental, and mental hygiene.
Key skills include:
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Critically analysing media influences, "fake news," and online environments.
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Assertiveness, managing peer pressure, and setting clear relationship boundaries.
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Identifying risk and knowing how and when to access help or support networks.
Curriculum Implementation
Teaching Approach
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Use of mapped PSHE Association Programmes of Study to provide highly structured progression.
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Emphasis on establishing safe learning environments and ground rules from the very first lesson.
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Modelling of scenario-based problem solving and communication strategies before student-led reflection.
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Regular retrieval practice of key protective concepts, legal rights, and financial skills.
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Interactive activities, structured debate, pair work, and collaborative team tasks.
Sequencing of Learning
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Begins in Year 7 with an immediate focus on secondary school transition, basic digital resilience, and managing personal changes and puberty.
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Builds in Year 8 to exploring broader social values, identifying discrimination, managing online content choices, and introducing basic economic mechanics like payslips.
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Progresses in Year 9 to complex societal navigation, focusing heavily on substance risks, futures planning (GCSE options), and mature relationship dynamics like contraception and consent.
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N.B. Topics are intentionally structured as a spiral layout; if deemed necessary by current cohorts, specific content may be brought forward to address immediate pupil needs.
Assessment
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Regular formative assessment through quizzes, baseline awareness tasks, and group scenario evaluations.
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End-of-unit assessments checking core knowledge application and reflective reasoning.
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Summative tasks, written exams, and thematic project work aligned to statutory monitoring.
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Feedback focused on deepening risk assessment abilities and expanding evaluated responses.
Curriculum Impact
Success is measured through:
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Student development and confidence across all three core PSHE themes.
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Increasing critical awareness when evaluating online media, peer actions, and financial risks.
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Spontaneous, respectful participation in classroom discussions regarding sensitive social topics.
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Assessment outcomes, project quality, and structured reflection data.
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Student voice surveys highlighting increased feelings of personal safety, self-worth, and readiness for the future.
Examples of impact:
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Students confidently defining legal protections under the Equality Act 2010 by Year 8.
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Use of mature risk-assessment skills and informed decision-making frameworks by Year 9.
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Clear articulation of healthy coping strategies, physical boundaries, and personal values.
Curriculum Control Note: To preserve age-appropriateness, specific sensitive topics are strictly redirected out of the Key Stage 3 framework. Unhealthy coping strategies (such as self-harm, suicide tracking, and eating disorders), alongside bereavement, medicinal/recreational habit formation, and prescription safety frameworks, are explicitly reserved for target delivery in Year 10.
Associated Frameworks:
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PSHE Association Programmes of Study (PoS) referenced code points mapped to curriculum delivery items.
Useful Websites:
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BBC Bitesize GCSE PSHE / Citizenship
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The Mix (Essential support for under-25s)
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MoneyHelper UK (Government-backed financial guidance)
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Childline / YoungMinds Mental Health Hubs
Enrichment
The PSHE Wellbeing Club is a dedicated, supportive lunchtime provision designed for students navigating social challenges, experiencing difficulties with peer relationships or bullying, or looking to build confidence in socializing. Operating as an extension of our core Health and Wellbeing curriculum, the club provides a safe, quiet, and structured environment during less structured school hours. Guided by trained staff and student mentors, the club focuses on breaking down social barriers, practicing communication, and equipping students with the tools to build positive, resilient friendships.