Social and Personal Education

Click here for Social and Personal Education curriculum outline

Why do we study Social and Personal Education?

The Social and Personal Education curriculum is intended to equip students with the skills needed to become life-long learners and active citizens in their community and the world we live in. The schemes of work have been planned in order to cover all aspects in the 2020 Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education guidelines, giving students the breadth of understanding needed to move into the next stage of their lives as informed and as aware of their surroundings as possible. The schemes of work also link to contemporary issues and discussions to ensure engagement and relevance to students in the modern world. It is intended that students learn how to be safe and healthy in a variety of aspects, and manage their social and academic lives in an increasingly complex world. The curriculum has also been designed to incorporate a variety of skills that students need to develop to be successful not only in Social and Personal Education lessons and their future lives, but in other subjects at Studley High School. These skills will include the use of literacy and numeracy skills where possible, including the development of understanding articles in the media and the appropriate and sensible use of finances available to them. They will also include the ability to understand and critically evaluate current practices around the world, including different countries’ governmental roles in human rights and peace organisations, the work of charities in a range of topic areas, and how different types of governments uphold their laws and values. Furthermore, there will be a lot of coverage on physical and mental health and wellbeing. All of these skills will support students to access their curriculums in a range of subjects including Religious Education, Physical Education, History, Geography, and Science. In Social and Personal Education, students are taught using a range of resources and take part in a wide range of activities. Students explore the subject through group work, a large number of group and class discussions, and examples of case studies to support their learning. All resources used in lessons, especially with topics such as Sex and Relationships Education are delivered in a factual and impartial way. Students use and develop a range of skills such as resilience, kindness, integrity, generosity, and honesty in their Social and Personal Education lessons. Student progress is facilitated through them studying a well-planned and exciting curriculum, and is measured through regular assessment for each topic studied. Individual student progress is continually assessed through teacher questioning and observation in the classroom.

Assessment and skills 

Social and Personal Education is not an assessed subject in the way that many other subjects are, however pupil progress in their understanding is still of paramount importance. Pupil progress is measured through regular review of content covered and by pupils completing recall tasks at the end of each lesson and module. What is equally important as pupil progress in their understanding of the content covered is that students in Social and Personal Education develop a range of life-long skills such as resilience, confidence and independence and how to keep physically and mentally healthy. The skills that students develop in Social and Personal Education will enable them to continue in the next stages of their lives to further education, apprenticeships, and the world of work.

How can parents and guardians support at home?

There are a range of ways in which parents and guardians can support students at home. By regularly checking the delivery grid to see what will be studied that half term, relevant conversations to prepare for students for the discussions that may take place in lessons can be facilitated at home. This will also support development of their opinions on content covered, further developing their wider understanding of their role in the world considerably. Here is a link to useful for support on on how to facilitate these conversations:

Extra-curricular opportunities

Numerous guest speakers and visitors are invited into school throughout the year, during lessons and on SPE Days, to support students’ learning and understanding further. Engagement with a range of charities and organisations broadens student cultural capital and allows them to become well-rounded and informed citizens. Further information around the Department for Education’s statutory RSE content can be found here For any queries, please contact Miss R Massey via the school reception or [email protected] You can find a copy of our latest RSE Policy here: Policies | Studley High School