PSHRE

PSHRE Curriculum

'I can contribute to wider society by being respectful, tolerant and understanding to become a valued member of my community.'

PSHRE is a combination of Personal, Social, Health, Economic (PSHE) and Religious education (RE). The intent of this curriculum is to help the students become as independent as possible whilst developing a respect and understanding of our diverse culture and society; all underpinned by our Fundamental British Values. 

During the five years at the Abbey, students will develop a broad and balanced knowledge and understanding of the community and society they live in, be introduced to a range of different world views, cultures, religions and ideologies. 

It is an ambitious curriculum where students are introduced to new ideas with the aim for all to gain a greater understanding of others, which in turn will enable students to have respect and understanding for different choices and opinions. British Values underpin the teaching and themes taught across all year groups.

The intent of the curriculum is to develop emotional resilience and respect the opinions of other students' and those beyond the school environment. The curriculum is inclusive and personalised. There is logical sequencing that starts with foundation knowledge and skills, and develops at a rate that challenges each student. Topics are revisited as part of the spiral curriculum and offer more cognitive challenge, a greater depth of understanding and encourage students to make cross curricular links. 

The ambitious curriculum has been designed to build a foundational knowledge for students to develop:

• Respect, rule of law, democracy, individual liberty, 

• Being part of the school and wider community, 

• Golden rules, 

• Moral compass, 

• Relationships and RSE,

• Diversity and bullying,

• Good decision making to support resilience and tolerance of different choices. 

These topics are revisited throughout the lessons and are embedded into each lesson.

Supporting Reading

Subject disciplinary literacy is taught explicitly in PSHRE with key words identified and introduced at the start of topics and revisited regularly to aid retention. Specific key words are highlighted in green to give focus in each lesson. Words mats, matching words, supporting images and examples are all used to introduce key vocabulary. Repetition of new and key vocabulary is used to support learning and to give students context to use these words. Especially with words that are not English or religious terminology.

In PSHRE, the ‘incidental teaching’ of phonics using Abbey Phonics supports both decoding and encoding. Scripts are used to give a consistent approach across the school. 

Where possible, stories and books are used to bring ideas to life, to give context to learning and to support retention, relating new concepts to scenarios that the students can identify with.

Widgit symbols are used in addition to text to support comprehension for students when reading.

In PSHRE, we provide regular opportunities for students to read a range of different texts. We encourage students to read for learning, moving beyond the mechanics of reading to gathering meaning and information from the text. We also give recommendations of reading materials to encourage reading beyond the classroom.

Students have access to headsets & Chromebooks where they can use the dictation feature or use the Select to Speak tool, reading selected text to the user.

Year 7 Overview

Year 8 & 9 Overview

Cycle 1

Cycle 2

Year 10 & 11 Overview

Cycle 1/ Year 10

Cycle 2/ Year 11

Assessment

End of topic assessments are carried out towards the end of each half term. Within lessons opportunities are planned to assess and ensure students' understanding of ideas and key terms, these can be in a written format or through verbal questioning which enable staff to gauge each student's level of retention and progress. At the end of a lesson, the plenary is planned to confirm what students have understood and learnt during the lesson. This will then inform the planning for the next lesson, whether the concepts and ideas are embedded or whether they will need to be recapped and revisited going forward ensuring all students are secure in their understanding and make progress.

Enrichment Opportunities

Trips and outreach opportunities are planned into the PSHRE scheme of learning. This includes  trips to visit different religious buildings and visits from guest speakers to celebrate key events throughout the year. In addition focused lessons are planned for special events like Anti-Bullying Week, Mental Health Day, Diwali, Eid and News Year’s Resolutions.

In addition, we look at the skills students need to be independent after their time at the Abbey School, to gain employment, participate in and contribute to their local community in the future. Support in future careers is given to students within PSHRE, Life Skills and the Tutor Times schemes of learning.

Discussion Club has been established during lunchtime for students to further explore questions raised during lessons or areas of interest be that societal, political or related to current affairs.