Personal Development
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
INTENT
‘Education that helps young people develop has transformative potential’ – UNICEF
Our Personal Development curriculum at St Anthony’s encompasses Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education (PSHE), Relationship and Sex Education (RSE), Citizenship and CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance). We aim to equip all of our students with the relevant skills, knowledge and understanding to lead happy and successful lives, to relish opportunities and to face any challenges with resilience, rooted in our Mercy values.
Our wide-ranging, dynamic, sequenced and reactive curriculum provides students with an insight into a range of topics and scenarios taught through three core themes:
- Health and Wellbeing
- Relationships
- Living in the Wider World.
Through teaching and discussion of these three core themes, our aim is for all of our students to be able to:
- Maintain physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing throughout life.
- Make informed choices about health and wellbeing matters including drugs, alcohol and smoking/vaping, maintaining a balanced diet, physical activity and sexual health.
- Develop and maintain a variety of healthy relationships, learn how to manage emotions, and understand how to deal with negative relationships including bullying, abuse and violence.
- Understand consent, parenthood and the consequences of teenage pregnancy.
- Assess and manage risks in life, and how to keep themselves and others safe, including online.
- Know how to respond in an emergency, including administering first aid.
- Understand the role and influence of the media on lifestyle and self-esteem.
- Understand and embody the British Values and Protected Characteristics.
- Respect equality and tolerance, understand rights and responsibilities and be an active citizen and member of a diverse community.
- Make informed future and career choices and be enterprising and ambitious.
- Develop employability, team-working and leadership skills, and develop flexibility and resilience.
- Understand financial choices in life and how this can have an impact on self and others.
- Identify and know how to access help, advice and support.
IMPLEMENTATION
Students in Y7-Y13 receive two hours of Personal Development lessons per fortnight, and will gain an insight into the following topics:
All lessons are delivered by staff in controlled classroom environments, where discussion and debate of these important topics can take place safely. Themes are often revisited in tutor time and assemblies, and allow students to reflect on their learning.
In addition to the taught curriculum we also welcome guest speakers, professionals and organisations into school to deliver talks, workshops and assemblies to our students. Examples of these include:
- Knife crime
- County Lines
- FGM and forced marriage
- Cyber bullying and sharing information and images online
- Gender specific health issues (eg breast and testicular cancer awareness)
- Sexual health
- Other local safeguarding risks (including road, rail and water safety)
- Representatives from further, higher and technical education and employers (please see Careers programme for more information)
We also raise awareness of many pertinent topics through themed days and weeks in the academy. Examples of these include:
- Mental health awareness week
- Anti-bullying week
- Show Racism the Red Card initiative
- Culture and Diversity week
- International Woman’s Day
- European Day of Languages
- National Apprenticeship week
- National Careers week
- Inter-house sports competitions and tournaments
RSE (Relationships and Sex Education):
Under the Children and Social Work Act 2017, the government committed to making (RSE) statutory in all secondary schools. As a Catholic school, we follow the RSE resources created by ‘Ten Ten’; a Catholic education organisation that has been approved by our diocese.
Students have RSE lessons during one half-term of each year on a rotation.
All teaching materials are available for parents/carers to view via the Ten Ten Parent Portal: https://www.tentenresources.co.uk/parent-portal/ Username and passwords are emailed to all parents/carers annually, but a reminder is available on request.
Useful documents:
Further information:
Mrs L Dudley (Assistant Headteacher: Personal Development): 0191 5658904 or ldudley@staga.co.uk