Autumn

Spring

Summer

Rationale

Year 7

Topic Area/Key Question

Resilience

Relationships, Consent and Respect

Drugs and alcohol

Autumn Term - This unit helps students to gain an

understanding of the importance of resilience in all aspects of life.

Spring Term - This unit helps students to understand the importance of consent and respect in relationships.

Summer Term – This unit seeks to introduce students to the risks associated with drug abuse and it is also to prepare them for the summer holidays and what they need to be aware of in order to stay safe.

Content covered

Students begin by learning what PSHCE is and the three main topics covered in PSHCE which are:

·         Health and wellbeing

·         Living in the wider world

·         Relationships and sex education

Students also learn about the importance of PSHCE as a subject, what the ROCK ground rules are and Oakwood’s ‘No Outsiders’ policy.

Students then go through a series of lessons about resilience. Discussions are based on a story about 2 friends, Ben and Bea, and how being resilient or not can impact our lives.

Students learn about topics such as:

·         The different parts of the brain and how they work

·         The ABC of resilience

·         The gremlin beliefs

·         Optimism vs Pessimism

Students learn about the changes their bodies go through during puberty and how this can have an impact on them, not just physically, but also emotionally.

Students learn about how to take care of their bodies during this period, but also how to be considerate of each other in order to maintain positive relationships.

Students learn about different topics including:

·         What good or bad friendship looks like

·         The difference between bullying and banter

·         Consent and respect

·         Equality and Diversity

·         Racism and No Outsiders

Students also learn about effective strategies to use in managing conflict within friendship groups and where to go to for support.

Students learn about the risks associated with drug abuse.

Students also learn how to recognise dangers and understand the warning signs to help them stay safe and how to put someone in the recovery position.

Students are signposted to where they can get support if they have any concerns or questions.

Assessment

There is one assessment in this unit.

Students can either create a leaflet/poster or a written report on resilience, including all the different aspects of resilience covered in the unit.

This is marked and fed back to students in line with the marking policy.

There is one assessment in this unit.

Students can either create a leaflet/poster or a written report on relationships, consent and respect.

This is marked and fed back to students in line with the marking policy.

No assessment

Literacy focus

Students do extended writing at different points in this unit (e.g. writing their own example of the ABC of resilience.

There are also opportunities for reading in class as we go through the Ben and Bea story.

There are opportunities for reading in class, such as reading the article ‘Race doesn’t exist, but racism does’.

Opportunities to read different scenarios and develop students’ comprehension.

Opportunities for extended writing (e.g. writing an analysis about their drawing of a person who uses drugs.

Opportunities (links to careers/EDI/PSHCE)

Importance of resilience in all career paths. In the Ben and Bea story, there is a link to Investigative jobs

Keyword: investigative : careers library (unifrog.org)

EDI – The Equality Act 2010

Protected characteristics

Careers – Equalities Officer

Equalities officer : careers library (unifrog.org)

PSHCE – Risks associated with drug abuse.

Careers – Substance misuse practitioner

Substance misuse practitioner : careers library (unifrog.org)

National Curriculum links / GCSE connections

Importance of resilience in achieving success on all levels including GCSEs.​

Links to RE curriculum – Marriage and Family

 Links to RE curriculum – Crime and Punishment

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Rationale

Year 8

Topic Area/Key Question

Resilience, Health and Relationships

Choices and Influences

Anti-social Behaviour and Personal Safety

Autumn Term - This unit helps students to develop the skills that can help them to become more resilient. It also helps them to understand the importance of positive relationships and making decisions that will have a positive impact on their physical and mental health.

Spring Term - This unit helps students to understand the factors that can impact their choices in life. It also helps them to understand and develop healthy coping strategies to use when they face challenges in life.

Summer Term – This unit seeks to introduce students to the risks and consequences associated with gangs and crime. It also helps them to understand the Law with regards to young people involved in crime.

Content covered

Students learn how to build their resilience further. They also set targets for themselves by using the SMART system, where targets must be:

·         Specific

·         Measurable

·         Achieveable

·         Realistic

·         Time-bound

Students learn about healthy eating and the role the media plays in influencing our diet choices. Students also learn about healthy relationships, both online and in real life, peer pressure, sexual harassment and where to go to for support in relation to these issues.

Finally, students learn about how social media can impact our mental health and what strategies we can use to be digitally resilient.

Students learn about factors that can impact their choices and decisions in life. Topics covered include:

·         Body image

·         Challenging misconceptions about mental health

·         Sexuality and gender identity

·         Sexism (misogyny and misandry)

·         Healthy and Unhealthy coping strategies

·         Drugs and alcohol (tobacco and vaping)

Students also do a feedback lesson on a Peer Production Play they watch in an assembly called ‘Masking’, which addresses the impact of modern life on teenagers’ mental health.

Students learn about reasons why young people may join gangs, the consequences of joining gangs and evaluate methods to avoid or exit gangs safely. Students also learn about reasons why some young people may commit crimes such as knife crime and why carrying knives is wrong, some examples of different punishments for youth crimes and whether youth prisons are an effective way to rehabilitate young people.

Students are signposted to where they can get support with issues relating to gangs and crime.

Students finally learn about how to manage risks and look after their personal safety.

Assessment

There is one assessment in this unit.

Students can either create a leaflet/poster or a written report on resilience, health and relationships.

This is marked and fed back to students in line with the marking policy.

There is one assessment in this unit.

Students can either create a leaflet/poster or a written report on Choices and Influences.

This is marked and fed back to students in line with the marking policy.

No assessment

Literacy focus

Students gain an understanding of what it means to be:

·         Assertive

·         Passive

·         Aggressive

·         Passive aggressive

Students also get the opportunity to read in class (e.g. story about the impact of social medi on Rachel’s mental health and wellbeing).

There are opportunities for reading in class, such as reading Pete’s story and an article on Eurocentric Beauty Standards.

Students also have the opportunity to complete an extended piece of writing as their end of unit assessment.

There are opportunities for reading in class, such as reading the scenarios about identifying risks.

Students also get the opportunity to do extended writing (e.g. doing an extended piece of writing on life in Britain’s Young Offender Institutions.

Opportunities (links to careers/EDI/PSHCE)

PSHCE – Importance of boundaries in a positive relationship.

Careers – Cognitive Behavioural Therapist

Cognitive behavioural therapist : careers library (unifrog.org)

Careers - Prison Officer

Prison officer : careers library (unifrog.org)

Youth Worker

Youth worker : careers library (unifrog.org)

National Curriculum links / GCSE connections

Links to RE curriculum – Marriage and Family

Links to RE curriculum – Marriage and Family

 â€‹ Links to RE curriculum – Crime and Punishment

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4

Rationale

Year 9

Topic Area/Key Question

Mental and Physical Health

Careers and Options

Healthy Relationships

Drugs, Alcohol and Gambling

Unit 1 – This unit helps students to understand the importance of making good decisions about their mental and physical health, some of the barriers to making these decisions and startegies they can use to overcome these barriers.

Unit 2 – This unit helps to prepare students for their transition into KS 4. It also helps them to be well informed and ready for the GCSE options process.

Unit 3 – This unit will equip our students to be able to identify whether a relationship is healthy or unhealthy. It also prepares them to be able to make informed decisions about sex.  

Unit 4 – This unit helps students to understand the risks associated with drugs, alcohol and gambling, what the law says and where to seek help.

Content covered

Students learn about factors that can affect our emotional wellbeing, identify ways we can use to build our emotional wellbeing and resilience, and strategies we can use to reframe and learn from disappointments and setbacks.

Students also learn about healthy ways of managing difficult feelings or challenging circumstances and the importance of asking for support when we need it.

Finally, students learn about the benefits of maintaining good physical health, why choices regarding physical health might differ between people, the potential barriers to making healthier choices and the strategies to overcome them, and the strategies to use in making good health choices in life.

Students learn about different kinds of work and why jobs satisfaction varies, the different ways of looking at careers and how they develop​ and how to access impartial careers information using Uexplore.

Students then go on to evaluate their personal strengths and weaknesses, and begin to consider the opportunities and options available to them as they prepare to transition into KS4.

Students learn about what a healthy relationship should look like. Topics covered include:

·         Safe sex and consent

·         Sexting

·         Dangers of pornography

·         Contraception and STIs

Students will be able to identify when consent has or hasn’t been given, what the law says about consent (the age of consent), the positives and negatives of online relationships and what to do if worried about anything that’s happening online, issues around sharing nudes, how harmful pornography can be to both viewers and those involved in the industry, the different types of contraception, how they work and which types of contraception may be good in different situations.

Students learn about reasons why people choose to take drugs (or not)​, the side effects of different drugs​, the risks attached to drug use and how to mitigate those risks, and the laws surrounding drug use.

Students will also understand units of measure for alcohol ​and ways to drink safely.

Finally, students learn about the reasons why people may become addicted to gambling​, how gambling companies' tactics can lead to addiction​, the negative consequences of gambling company tactics and the thinking errors they create​ and advice for people with a gambling addiction or a developing problem.

Students are also signposted to where they can get help with gambling addiction.

Assessment

No assessment

(Assessment is built into the assessment for the next unit)

There is one assessment in this unit.

Students can create a leaflet/poster called ‘Navigating Year 9’, where they cover top tips on making healthier life choices and living a happier life. Students can also write an essay, arguing for and against the statement, ‘The key to living a happy life is doing what you enjoy’ and they have to reach a justified conclusion.

This is marked and fed back to students in line with the marking policy.

There is one assessment in this unit.

This is a written assessment where students have to provide information and advice about the following:

·         Consent and rape culture

·         Healthy relationships and sending nudes

·         Pornography

·         Safe sex (include - when is the right time and contraception and STIs) 

This is marked and fed back to students in line with the marking policy.

No assessment

Literacy focus

Students learn about different emotions and words that can be used to express the different degrees of those emotions (e.g. anger - irritated, annoyed, incensed, furious, livid).

Students also keep a reflective journal for a week, where they note down any difficult feelings encountered and any strategies they used to manage them.

Students carry out online searches on careers that interest them and they complete written accounts about those careers.

Students are also given the opportunity to write an essay about what a happy life looks like as their end of unit assessment.

Students will know different STIs, their symptoms, long term effects and how they can be treated/cured.

Students are also given the opportunity to read in class (e.g. an article on how watching pornography at a young age affected Billie Eilish.

Students get the opportunity to read in class (e.g. scenarios that help students understand how gambling companies' tactics can lead to addiction​, the negative consequences of gambling company tactics and the thinking errors they create).

Opportunities (links to careers/EDI/PSHCE)

Careers – Wellbeing Counsellor

Wellbeing counsellor : careers library (unifrog.org)

Students carry out searches on different careers they’re interested in using Unifrog.

Careers - Student - Unifrog

Careers – Sexual Health Advisor

Sexual health adviser : careers library (unifrog.org)

Careers – Substance Misuse Practitioner

Substance misuse practitioner : careers library (unifrog.org)

National Curriculum links / GCSE connections

Students develop skills they can use to help them manage the challenges they may face at KS4 (e.g. exam stress)

Students are prepared to pick their GCSE subjects.

Links to RE curriculum – Marriage and Family

Links to RE curriculum – Crime and Punishment