Hamstead Hall Academy
PSHE
PSHE and Citizenship Intent
Hamstead Hall Academy is committed to providing a high-quality educational experience for all pupils within PSHE. Our curriculum is embedded in the whole ethos of our Academy. At Hamstead Hall, our Personal, Social and Health education (PSHE) curriculum brings together citizenship with personal well-being and SMSC whilst promoting fundamental British values. PSHE is taught across the Academy continuously during lessons, assemblies, Academy clubs, Academy events and PSHE Days. In addition, PSHE is integrated into all of our school life through our Academy motto, SMSC provision, our weekly core 5P’s values and behaviour focus and it also underpins all activities, assemblies, educational visits and extra-curricular clubs at the Academy. We offer a cohesive whole-school approach which enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society.
At Hamstead Hall Academy, children are taught to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future by giving them:
· opportunities to explore, clarify and challenge their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities
· the skills, language and strategies they need in order to live healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced lives
· opportunities to develop positive personal attributes such as resilience, self-confidence, self-esteem, and empathy
The provision is cohesively planned and highly inclusive to ensure development in Physical, Social and Health Development so there will be no performance gap between different groups. In provision, children will explore the ideas of relationships, feelings and appropriate behaviours, self-confidence and self-awareness, rules and routines, empathy and justice and sexual education in line with the Sept 2020 new RSE Curriculum. We use the PSHE Association to inform our curriculum planning. All topics are included in the programme of study and SMSC and FBV agendas are audited throughout the Academy. Our programme will offer a holistic PSHE learning journey spanning the pupils’ high school career, with a progressive, spiral curriculum that addresses real needs in a rapidly changing world.
The PSHE Curriculum embeds the requirements of The Education Act of 2002 that all schools need to, ‘promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and prepare pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life’, while having a duty to keep pupils safe. The Equality Act 2010 places duties on schools not just to address prejudice-based bullying but also to help to prevent it happening, and in doing so to keep protected characteristic groups safe. The DfE’s Character Education policy released in Nov 2019 is followed and the PSHE Curriculum has specific lessons to comply with these new requirements as well as the culture HHA has created through effective pastoral programmes and form time activities.
Hamstead Hall strongly believes in the importance of PSHE education which gives pupils the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe and to prepare them for life and work in modern Britain.
Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) Intent
At Hamstead Hall we believe that our high-quality Relationships and Sex Education will stay with our pupils for life. RSE is not about encouraging teenagers to become sexually active nor is it about promoting any lifestyle or relationship choice. RSE is about providing pupils with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to make safe, healthy, and informed relationship choices as young people and in the future as adults. RSE at Hamstead Hall is pioneering an innovative curriculum fit for the world our young people are living in. We believe in empowering our pupils to understand their bodies, to reflect on their relationship values and to be able to openly discuss relationships and sex. We believe that this approach will reduce the risk of unhealthy and abusive relationships. At Hamstead Hall we are committed to the important role that RSE plays in pupil’s holistic education and we aim to build on the RSE programmes covered in Primary School and focus on developing prior learning and achievement. The theme of consent underpins all our RSE sessions. We introduce pupils to the importance of consent from Year 7 and this is revisited on a yearly basis and adapted to the age of each year group.
At Hamstead Hall our Relationships and Sex Education Programme seeks to:
Be age appropriate and differentiated to the needs of the pupils including SEN, EAL and disadvantaged pupils that require a bespoke curriculum
Present information in an objective, balanced and sensitive manner
Encourage the development of social skills and strategies, which will reduce the risk of exploitation, misunderstanding and abuse
Be fully inclusive of all genders, sexual orientations, and all types of families
Develop a clear understanding of the importance of consent; how to give, withdraw, ask for and recognise consent
Reinforce the importance of loving relationships, rooted in mutual respect
Explore the skills needed for effective parenting and how to assess one’s readiness to be a parent
To represent all types of families and to explore the different methods for starting a family
To ensure that BAME, LGBTQAI+ and people with disabilities are positively represented in our curriculum
Ensure pupils can identify the qualities of healthy and unhealthy relationships
Allow pupils to examine the physical and emotional implications of sexual behaviour and to explore the arguments for delaying sexual activity
Make pupils aware how and where to seek help if they are in an unhealthy or abusive relationship
Prepare pupils for the journey from adolescence to adulthood
Provide pupils with a safe environment to learn about sexual orientation and gender identity, reinforcing the importance of mutual respect and tackling LGBT misconceptions, homophobia, transphobia, bi-phobia, and gender stereotypes
Ensure that pupils have a clear understanding of sexual and reproductive biology, including knowledge of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections
Ensure pupils understand the different risks associated with various types of sexual activity and understand how to engage in safe sexual activity by exploring a range of contraception
Place paramount importance on online safety and the risks of using social media and the internet for sexual purposes
Develop pupils’ understanding of the dangers of pornographic material
