PSHE Curriculum Approach
The school teaches its PSHE provision primarily through a combination of a comprehensive, 7 year tutor time programme alongside timetabled year group-specific drop down days, assemblies and special events. Both the tutor time programme and the drop down day programme are designed to form a spiral curriculum, allowing students’ knowledge to build and develop in an age-appropriate way as they progress through their time at secondary school and sixth form.
- You can see all the details here: Chesterton PSHE Curriculum
Curriculum Overview
The overarching aims of our PSHE programme are:
- To promote happy, healthy lives
- To create a safe community
- To understand British Values and the law
- To promote happy, healthy relationships
- To understand how to keep ourselves and others safe
- To understand relationship values and the law
- To promote the 5Rs and address child-on-child abuse in a meaningful way with all stakeholders
All provision meets the needs of students where they are in their phase of life, individually and collectively, while encompassing a preventative approach.
Culture of Respect, Consent and Wellbeing
All starter activities in PSHE for all content revisit the 5Rs, wellbeing and the vision and values of each school to foster a culture of embedded understanding of a core ethos that underpins PSHE.
CPD (Continuing Professional Development)
Our PSHE leads meet regularly with their colleagues in other schools to share CPD, create resources and evaluate impact. This hones the Trust provision and creates a hub of specialists within the Trust. Chesterton ensures half-termly CPD led by PSHE leads is delivered all staff to outline topics, share our ethos and advise on approaches as required. PSHE leads are trained in safeguarding and meet regularly with the DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead) to ensure strong links between safeguarding and PSHE provision.
Role of the Personal Tutor (PTs)
- To be the pivotal trusted adult for a tutor group
- To promote belonging, safeguarding, 5rs and the Vision and Values of the school
- To teach high quality, interactive PSHE
- To ensure high standards of behaviour, attendance and uniform
- To be a proactive home-school link
Role of the Head of House
To line manage all areas of personal development to ensure all areas of the tutor role are fulfilled and students receive an outstanding pastoral provision.
Communication
A letter with a PSHE guide is sent to parents/carers at the start of each academic year. The PSHE guide outlines topics, workshops, external provision and the sequential curriculum.
All stakeholders (parents/carers, staff, governors and students) complete an annual 360 PSHE survey to further develop the curriculum and ensure effective communication takes place – likewise, all are invited to an annual Parent Forum to discuss Personal Development holistically.
Value-led PSHE for Tricky Topics
Chesterton recognises the need for positive delivery in PSHE, and adopts a value-led approach for tricky topics.
For example, a core value is ‘respect your body’ and rooted in this a range of tricky topics can be broached – from FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) to abusive intimate relationships. The umbrella value links to a myriad of topics which will be highlighted, revisited and approached with sensitivity as required.
External specialist speakers will be advised of this approach and the more challenging PSHE will always link to values. Likewise, many topics have cross-curricular links across the school which enhance and reinforce key PSHE messages.
PSHE is delivered in tiers
| Tiers | Delivery | Delivered by |
| Tier 1 Bite-size and light-touch PSHE | Morning tutor time | Tutors |
| Tier 2 Special days/events/issues awareness raising topics | Assemblies | HOH / Leads |
| Tier 3 Extended topics of mixed and more challenging themes | Drop Down Mornings (mixed themes, extended topics) | Teachers |
| Tier 4 Tricky / sensitive topics | Extended Assemblies and Drop-Down Mornings | Trained PSHE in-school specialists |
| Tier 5 External events | Specialist workshops, trips or events | External trained speakers |
Tier 1 & 2
The link for the PSHE curriculum can be found here.
Tier 3 & 4: Drop Down Mornings
For Tier3/4 content Chesterton run Drop Down Mornings consisting of four lessons. This covers important statutory content in more depth and varies the sessions so that there is a mix of content. Schools will offer safe spaces during sessions that may involve sensitive content. Surveys will be conducted as follow-up opportunities and to further develop content in future Drop Down sessions.
Each drop down morning follows this outline and is differentiated by year group. There will be overlap of content (e.g., Addictions will cover online behaviour as well as drugs) as well as incorporating additional topics where required (e.g., checking for cancer signs in body positivity Y9/10). The titles will be adapted per year group and have a positive title for students:
| Theme | Lesson 1 Every Body is important | Lesson 2 I Expect Respect | Lesson 3 We keep safe online | Lesson 4 My future in my hands |
| Autumn | Health: Addictions | SRE: Consent and 5Rs | ESafety: Cyberbullying | Finance and Futures |
| Spring | Health: Wellbeing | SRE: Grooming and CSE | ESafety: Online Legacy | Finance and Futures |
| Summer | Health: Body Positivity | SRE: Sexual Health and Keeping Safe | ESafety: Extremism and Grooming online | Finance and Futures |
Tier 4: Extended Assemblies
An example plan of extended assemblies differentiated across year groups is as follows for tricky topics:
| 1 | Autumn 1 | Puberty & Hygiene / year group specifics SRE health / what is abuse |
| 2 | Autumn 2 | Consent / 5Rs/ child-on-child abuse / nude/semi-nude images |
| 3 | Spring 1 | Healthy relationships / red flag behaviour |
| 4 | Spring 2 | Grief and Loss |
| 5 | Summer 1 | Family break-ups |
| 6 | Summer 2 | Healthy sexual relationships, identity and sex for pleasure |
Progression and Evaluation
Each half term students complete an online Form to assess progression of topics covered. In addition, wellbeing and specific surveys take place to reflect important whole-school issues such as protected characteristics or safeguarding matters.
In PSHE lessons, teachers evaluate progression with effective Learning Objectives and Plenaries, as well as a myriad of activities to test and gauge learning. Teachers feed back to PSHE leads where areas need further development.
Evaluation also takes place following Drop Down events, external workshops, or significant extended assemblies.
Community Arts Projects
To enhance the learning experience of PSHE, students partake in Community Arts Projects to express outwardly their inward thoughts, feelings and knowledge of important topics. An example of this is the wooden hearts Equality lesson – where students design their hearts following a lesson on protected characteristics.
Safe Spaces
Chesterton provides a safe space, trigger warnings and pastoral support for all students. As many topics could potentially cause a trigger, the CPD among tutors and communication with the DSL is essential to ensuring all students are accommodated.
PSHE Policy
- You can view our PSHE policy here.
Our PSHE provision is designed to be accessible to every pupil.
As per the statutory guidance, parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from Sex Education delivered as part of the PSHE programme.
There is however no right to withdraw from Relationships Education or Health Education, nor is there a right to withdraw from topics taught within the Science National Curriculum.
To discuss any queries related to PSHE please contact the relevant member of the team:
- Ms Naomi Barker – PSHE SLT Link
- Miss Sophie Malik – PSHE Tutor Time Coordinator
- Miss Madeleine Bean – PSHE Drop Down Day Coordinator
- Mr Christopher Gee – PSHE Trust Lead
