PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic) Education.

All students, Years 7 to 13, follow the PSHE programme.

Aims of PSHE

The content of PSHE at CCHS follows the statutory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum guidelines which has been compulsory in all schools since September 2020.

These statutory guidelines include the following themes.

  • different types of relationships, including friendships, family relationships, dealing with strangers and, at secondary school, intimate relationships.
  • how to recognise, understand and build healthy relationships, including self-respect and respect for others, commitment, tolerance, boundaries, and consent, how to manage conflict, and also how to recognise unhealthy relationships.
  • factual knowledge, at secondary school, around sex, sexual health, and sexuality.
  • how online pornography may affect health and wellbeing, including mental health and relationships.

Schemes of work have been designed to cover all of these guidelines and also include other topics such as financial awareness and internet safety.

Years 7 to 11 are taught by tutors for one hour per week in a ‘rolling’ period superimposed on the timetable. Lessons encourage students to participate in group work, class discussions and role play to allow them to experience social issues in a safe environment. These lessons also help students to foster and develop attitudes of tolerance towards the religious, cultural, and moral values of others whilst ensuring students are confident regarding their growing maturity and personal health.

Topics that are taught in the year groups are:

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11
Friendship Discrimination Sex Education Exam Skills Risky Behaviour
Puberty Coping Strategies Finance Unhealthy/Toxic relationships Sixth Form preparation
Care for Ourselves Bereavement Perfectionism Extremism & Radicalisation
Gambling

At CCHS we are sensitive to the changing needs of our students and the world they live in; therefore, the syllabus is reviewed and potentially modified on a yearly basis. Topics such as Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ issues, personal safety and consent are at the forefront of the syllabus currently.

PSHE also has extensive relationships with external agencies who bring their own expertise and unique perspective to some of the content being taught. Students have access to speakers from the Samaritans, Fire Department and they are taught self-defence. Several charities work with the school such as Teenage Cancer Trust and Coppafeel to ensure all the students are self-aware of health issues and where to turn to for help.

External lessons include.

  • Road safety play in Year 7 & 9
  • Run Hide Tell – safety in terrorist attack – in Year 8 & 10
  • Fire service in Year 7 & 8
  • Samaritans in Year 10
  • Coppafeel in Year 11
  • Self defence in Year 9 & 11.

Older students also assist in teaching year 9 students about consent, contraception, and sexual transmitted diseases in a specific peer-led morning in the Spring Term. The feedback from the year 9 students is always positive and they enjoy being taught by their peers and feel more comfortable asking them questions.

Careers

The students are all enrolled on the Unifrog programme which provides careers guidance and advice. All students are given a password and username, so they are able to access their account at school and at home. They will attend two lessons with Dr Hiner who explains the programme and its functionality.

Right to be excused from sex education (commonly referred to as the right to withdraw)

Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE, except those parts covered by statutory National Curriculum in Science.  However, a child will also have the right to opt into sex education from their 15th birthday (specifically three academic terms before they turn 16).   Parents who wish to exercise this right should complete the form found at the bottom of this webpage.

Sixth Form PSHE Programme

Sixth Form students participate in the rolling tutor period (RTP) programme with the main school, but the Sixth Form programme is arranged slightly differently in order to best equip students with the knowledge, understanding and strategies they need as they begin to navigate adult life.

The Autumn Term is mostly spent covering various aspects of PSHE as shown in the table below. The sessions are a mixture of whole year group sessions by external speakers or CCHS teachers, lessons taught by the form tutor and student led workshops. During these sessions we cover:

Year 12 Year 13
Healthy eating Living independently
Emotional wellbeing and stress Relaxation and mediation
Cosmetic surgery Interview skills
Consent Gender & LGBTQ
Rape culture Call out culture and the media
Pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion & adoption Feminism & Misogyny
Menopause Toxic masculinity & relationships
 Honor based violent & FGM Finance
Social drugs and parties
Alcohol

There are three other significant components to our RTP programme:

Model United Nations

Year 12 students participate in a MUN conference during the Autumn Term and spend time preparing during the RTP sessions in the weeks prior to the conference. During this time, they learn about the country they are representing in the MUN and its context and background. This process shines a light on the economic, historical, and cultural factors that lead to conflict, inequality, and injustice around the world. Each student will prepare and deliver speeches to represent their country at committees or the general council. MUN is an important opportunity to develop confidence and to ‘find your voice.’

Higher Education and Careers

Mrs Hopkins and Dr Hiner lead on the HE and Careers programme during the Summer term in Year 12. Students are introduced to the UCAS application process, are taught how to write an effective personal statement, to make informed choices about universities and courses that they might wish to apply for and learn about student finance and how to apply for it. There are also standalone sessions at other points during the Sixth Form where students learn about alternative options such as Degree Apprenticeships and develop the interview skills needed for entry to competitive universities/courses and jobs.

Elective Programme

The elective programme is a popular part of the Sixth Form RTP programme with both students and staff. It takes place during the Spring Term in both Year 13, for three weeks. Each student will take part in an elective. The electives allow students to take responsibility for a small part of their own curriculum and allow staff to share something they are passionate about with. The electives that we offer are varied, and change as the Sixth Form tutor team changes, but fall into three main categories:

  • Designed to encourage students to learn or be creative for its own sake.
  • Designed to teach students an important skill that will be useful in their lives as independent adults.
  • Designed to help students to know themselves better or to support them in living healthy lives (mentally or physically).

PSHE Shorts

We also make time for PSHE during our fortnightly tutor time programme. These ‘Life Skills’ sessions are delivered by form tutors to their tutor groups and allow for discussion of important and topical issues, as well as preparing for life as independent adults. The topics covered range from cervical smear tests to mental health, and bank accounts to laundry.

Evaluation and Feedback

Students are asked to evaluate the RTP programme once during each academic year but are also able to ask questions or feedback informally at any time. Students’ feedback and ideas are important to us, and we adapt the programme to respond to these. The PSHE Shorts are designed to be a flexible addition to our PSHE offering and provide another opportunity to tailor the student experience as their needs and wants change with time.