PSHE relates to Personal, social, health and economic education.
Ashford School’s PSHE Programme of Study encompasses the three Core Themes laid out by the national curriculum framework:
- Core Theme 1: Health and Wellbeing
- Core Theme 2: Relationships
- Core Theme 3: Living in the Wider World
PSHE education equips pupils to live healthy, safe, productive, capable, responsible and balanced lives. It also encourages pupils to be enterprising and supports them in making effective transitions at key stages in their emotional development. Furthermore, PSHE encourages pupils to reflect on important life and career choices, and also guides them to consider what is meant by economic wellbeing.
PSHE is taught by form tutors in a dedicated period 6 lesson every Friday. Through class discussions and focused learning activities, sessions provide pupils with opportunities to reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes whilst building confidence, resilience and self-esteem.
It is firmly underpinned by the five principal values of mental wellbeing:
- Connecting with others
- Being active
- Continued learning
- Giving to others, and
- Mindfulness
The Year 7-11 PSHE Programme of Study is below. All RSE topics are highlighted in red:
Year 7 |
Year 8 |
Year 9 |
Year 10 |
Year 11 |
| What is PSHE and RSE? | Careers | Teenage Brain and wellbeing | KS4 Work Patterns | Year 11: Good preparation |
| Careers: High Aspirations and debunking stereotypes | Body Image and the media | Self-care | The importance of sleep | Ashford School 6th Form |
| Friends | This Is Me | Stigma of mental ill health | Growth mindset | Target Setting |
| Family | Language and Meaning | Unhealthy coping strategies | My body: Screening and self-examination | Future options |
| Parents | LGBTQ+ | Resilience and reframing failure | Making safer choices: Drugs | Making safer choices: House parties |
| Using my Surface | Organisation | My body: sun safety, tattoos and piercings | DSM Drugs Talk | Routes into Work/Young People’s Employment Rights and responsibilities |
| Christmas Shoeboxes | Christmas Shoeboxes | Alcohol | Making safer choices: County lines and serious organised crime | Effective revision |
| Bullying | Healthy Relationships | Smoking | Future Plans: Pregnancy (incl. miscarriage) | Vaping |
| Safety online: Stranger danger | Management of conflict | Poverty and the Welfare State | Pregnancy Options | Marriage – legal status and alternatives |
| Multiculturism | Prejudice | Charity Project | Morrisby | Arranged marriages |
| Protected Characteristics | Discrimination | Study Skills | Work Values | Digital Banking |
| Disability Awareness | The media’s role in hate crime | Immigration |
Study Skills: The science of revision | Cybercrime and online gambling |
| BSL | Study Skills | Radicalisation – honour based violence | Recognising unhealthy relationships | |
| Family Breakdown | What matters to you? | Love and Sex: Is it time? | Criminal relationships: Coercion and domestic violence and abuse | |
| Study Skills | Democracy – protest and petitions | Consent | Sex online – porn, grooming and exploitation | |
| My body: Personal Hygiene including dental health and vaccinations | Politics | Healthy Sex: Contraception and Avoiding STIs | Dealing with unwanted attention – online, harassment and stalking | |
| Looking after my body and mind: Exercise | Cyberbullying | Bloody, organ and stem cell donation | ||
| Looking after my body and mind: Healthy Eating | Digital Relationships | |||
| Looking after my body and mind: Self-care | Loss: Bereavement | |||
| My body: My rights (idea of consent) | ||||
| My body: My rights (FGM) | ||||
| Letter to Future Self |
Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (RSE) is taught at Ashford School through PSHE, as well as the wider academic curriculum. For more information, please refer to our RSE Information page.