Personal Development (PD) is a programme of study through which all pupils will develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. These lessons help our young people to stay healthy, safe and look after their relationships and understand sex education, whilst also helping them prepare for life and work. Our programme, through one 45 minute lesson per week at KS3 and KS4, aims to equip pupils with a sound understanding of risk and with the knowledge and skills necessary to make safe and informed decisions. Classroom discussion helps boost their curiosity, through collaboration and teamwork during group projects, the opportunity to ask questions in a safe environment, listening to others respectfully, and being given the chance to self-reflect at the end of each lesson. All of the skills learned in PD lessons set our students up to understand and achieve their maximum academic potential. We value the PD programme as a statutory subject, playing an important role in a young person’s holistic development and education throughout secondary level.
Knowledge Term 1 13 12 11
Term 2
Gambling awareness, self defence training, first aid training, how to manage finances, and weekly tutor based activities. Safe drive stay alive, drugs and alcohol awareness, online safety and pornography, gang culture, child sexual exploitation, talking therapies to help with mental health, UCAS, university fairs and university application support. Living in the wider world
Relationships
Career opportunities
Teenage pregnancy
Financial decisions
Adoption and abortion
CV writing
Sex in the media
University research
Impact of drugs and alcohol on choices
10
Relationships Health and wellbeing
Emotional and mental wellbeing Sexually transmitted infections (STI’s)
Emotions and feelings, Parenting skills and family life Domestic abuse Diversity in sexual attraction and developing sexuality
9
Term 3
Health an wellbeing
Living in the wider world
Body image, addictions and knife crime
Employment law, gambling and bullying
Health and wellbeing
Managing feelings about body image Signs of cancer and other illnesses Emergency help and first aid Substance abuse Personal safety and protection Living in the wider world Discrimination
Rights and responsibilities Employment skills Career identity
Relationships Sexual relationships, consent, intimacy and contraception
Health and wellbeing
8 7
Relationships
Immunisations, vaccinations and infections,
Living in the wider world
Sexual relationships and consent
legal and illegal substances
Employment and types of work
Relationships Types, features and qualities
Health and wellbeing Balanced diet, physical activity and social drugs
Living in the wider world Goal setting, communities and learning
All year 7 students work through the core themes of “relationships, health & wellbeing, and living in the wider world.� Year 7 begin their secondary school experience with a focus on building relationships with their peers and having a successful transition from primary to secondary school. It is important that year 7 students learn about different types of relationships; including recognising a healthy versus unhealthy relationship, both on and offline. Year 7 students look at how the media portray relationships to young people, as well as understanding what is meant by consent. There is also a focus on different types of bullying and peer pressure. In the Spring term year 7 students explore the challenges of becoming an adolescent, looking at puberty and understanding their body changes. There is also a focus on physical and mental health as well as resilience and safety. The year 7 cohort finish off their summer term in PD with a focus on living in the wider world; how to manage money, and what a salary is. They look at what type of learners they are which will help prepare them for their summer examinations. Year 7 students are also taught about child labour and respecting diversity. These three core themes set the year 7 cohort up for a smooth transition into year 8.
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Relationships
Health and Wellbeing
Living in the Wider World
Topic
Summary of Content
1. To acquire the skills and develop the knowledge required to manage the transition to, and the expectations of, secondary education. 2. To recognise, clarify and if necessary challenge their own core values and how their values influence their choices. 3. To understand the feelings and pressure that they face for peer approval. 4. To consider the qualities and be haviours they should expect and exhibit in a wide variety of positive relationships (including teams, class, friendships etc.) 5. To recognise the features of positive and stable relationships (including trust, mutual respect, honesty) and those of unhealthy relationships. 6. To understand about different types of relationships, including those within families, friendships, romantic or intimate relationships and the factors that can affect these (including age, gender, power and interests).
Assessment
1. To recognise the characteristics of mental and emotional health and strategies for managing it; to manage growth and change as normal parts of growing up (including consolidation and reinforcement of Key Stage 2 learning on puberty, human reproduction, pregnancy and the physical and emotional changes of adolescence).
2. To understand the benefits of physical activity and exercise and the importance of sleep. 3. To recognise and manage what influences their choices about exercise. 4. To understand the importance of balance between work, leisure and exercise. 5. To recognise what constitutes a balanced diet and its benefits (including the risks associated with both obesity and dieting). 6. To be aware of the positive and negative roles played by drugs in society (including alcohol). Prep set once a week
1. To understand how to acquire the knowledge and skills needed for setting realistic and challenging personal targets and goals. 2. To recognise the similarities, differences and diversity among people of different race, culture, ability, disability, sex, gender identity, age and sexual orientation and the impact of stereotyping, prejudice, bullying, discrimination on individuals and communities. 3. To recognise discrimination, know how to respond when being discriminated against and their responsibilities towards others who are experiencing discrimination. 4. To understand the benefits of being ambitious and enterprising in all aspects of life.
5. To get to know about their own identity as a learner, preferred style of learning and to develop study, research and personal presentation and organisation skills.
Year 8 students follow a similar structure to year 7 through the core themes of “relationships, health & wellbeing, and living in the wider world” as an extension to the topics covered the previous year. Year 8 students begin to understand the importance of friendship and begin to consider love and sexual relationships through the topics of: romantic relationships, noticing the signs of when to break up with someone, sexuality, pornography and contraception. Year 8 students also begin to explore more about what affects our health through the topics of; the risks of alcohol, smoking and cannabis, understanding cancer and vaccinations, as well as looking at what makes a successful community in society. Finally, in the summer term the year 8 students begin working on their skills and qualities, and thinking about future employability and careers through the use of our online programme “E-clips”. Our students also explore the world of finance more, as well as thinking about personal savings. Before year 8 students transition into year 9 with new students from middle schools, they take part in some team building activities in a dragon’s den style, this also brings out a creative and competitive side in students!
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Relationships
Health and Wellbeing
Living in the Wider World
1. To understand the importance of friendship and to begin to consider love and sexual relationships in this context.
1. To understand about where they live and belong and what they can do.
1. To identify own strengths, interests, skills and qualities as part of the personal review and planning process, including their value to future employability.
Topic
Summary of Content
2. To know that they have rights over their bodies and other people have no right to touch them in intimate places without their express consent. 3. To begin to consider different levels of intimacy and their consequences. 4. To know how to deal with a breakdown in a relationship and the effects of change. 5. To understand about the difference between sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. 6. To recognise the terms associated with sex, gender identity and sexual orientation and to understand accepted terminology. 7. To be aware of what laws exist to protect their right to withhold their consent.
Assessment
2. To understand the purpose and importance of immunisation and vaccination. 3. To know about cancer prevention, including healthy lifestyles, acknowledging that childhood cancer is rarely caused by lifestyle choices. 4. To know that certain infections can be spread through sexual activity and that barrier contraceptives offer some protection against certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 5. To learn about contraception, including the condom and pill. 6. To understand information about legal and illegal substances, including alcohol, volatile substances, tobacco and cannabis and the law relating to their supply, use and misuse.
Prep set once a week
2. To learn about different types of business, how they are organised and financed. 3. To understand ethical consumerism/ investments. 4. To assess and manage risk in relation to financial decisions that young people might make. 5. To know about different types of work, including employment, self-employment and voluntary work; that everyone has a ‘career’; their pathway through education and work.
The year 9 PD programme differs slightly to the rest of the KS3 years at Holyport College. There is a focus on primarily their health and wellbeing during these adolescent years, as well as a focus on career and GCSE option choices that they are about to embark on. At some point during the year, each year 9 will also get the chance to participate in a “taster term” of Latin, so they can decide if this is an extra GCSE they would like to take in year 10, thus they have two terms of PD and one term of Latin. The year 9 cohort are made aware of the dangers of: alcohol, smoking and drugs, as well as a big focus on mental health and its consequences, and different types of disorders. The year 9 group also gets the opportunity to understand and ask more questions around “gang culture” and “knife crime”, as well as how to perform first aid if they ever find themselves or someone else in danger. In 2020, our year 9 students partnered with Eton College research centre to participate in a resilience project too, learning how to become more resilient students in society. Additionally our year 9 students also get the opportunity to attend a careers fair and use an online “Kudos” programme, this helps them to decide which subjects they need to take for GCSE and begin their career pathways with support from their teachers. In 2020, our year 9 students partnered with Eton College research centre to participate in a resilience project too, learning how to become more resilient students in society!
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Health and Wellbeing
Living in the Wider World
Relationships
1.To consider how the media portrays young people, body image and health issues and that identity is affected by a range of factors, including the media and a positive sense of self.
1. To know about the laws and by-laws relating to young people’s permitted hours and types of employment and how to minimise health and safety risks.
1. To understand the importance of friendship and to begin to consider love and sexual relationships in this context.
Topic
Summary of Content
2. To understand about eating disorders, including recognising when they or others need help, sources of help and strategies for accessing it. 3. To understand about the safe use of prescribed and over the counter medicines. 4. To be aware of the risks and consequences of ‘experimental’ and ‘occasional’ substance use and the terms ‘dependence’ and ‘addiction.
2. To understand about the labour market (including the diversity of local and national employment opportunities), about learning options, skills, occupations and progression routes and about self-employment. 3. To be aware of gambling and its consequences (including on-line gambling), why people might choose to gamble, how the gambling industry encourages gambling.
5. To understand about knife crime and how to protect yourself, including first aid.
4. To know about the potential tensions between human rights, British Law and cultural and religious expectations and practices.
6. To be made aware of how to access local health services, school services available.
5. To recognise and maximise their achievements. 6. To recognise bullying and abuse in all its forms (including prejudice-based bullying both in school and online, exploitation, trafficking, female genital mutilation and forced marriage) and to have the skills and strategies to manage being targeted or witnessing others being
Assessment
Prep set once a week
2. To understand that being pressurised, persuaded or coerced to agree to something is not ‘consent’. 3. To consider different levels of intimacy and their consequences. 4. To understand that consent is something that should only be given freely; that the seeker of consent is responsible for ensuring that consent has been given freely. They should also learn that if consent is not given or it is withdrawn, that decision should always be respected. 5. To know about contraception, including the condom and pill and the importance of communication and negotiation in condom use.
The year 10 students enter the KS4 part of the PD programme, and there is a lot more in-depth discussion and curiosity with this age group. The students focus on looking after their health and learning coping strategies on how to handle GCSE pressure. There is more of a focus on sex education at this age; discovering about STI’s, abortion, birth control methods, fertility and teenage pregnancy. The year 10 cohort also explores what different types of relationships look like, and the negative signs to look out for. For example, they discuss the topics of; abuse, harassment, exploitation, modern slavery, underage sex, consent under the influence and arranged marriages in a safe environment. The year 10’s in the summer term end with a focus on what happens in the workplace. It is important that our students understand their rights, what confidentiality is, and what discrimination in a work place looks like. The year 10 students also get the chance to go to a careers fair to ask questions at different stands about their futures. Additionally they get the opportunity to have a one-to-one careers interview through Morrisby testing. Ending the term with this gives our students the right focus to enter year 11 with the correct attitude and focus they need to succeed in their GCSEs.
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Health and Wellbeing
Relationships
Living in the Wider World
1. To evaluate the extent to which their self confidence and self-esteem are affected by the judgments of others.
1.To learn about strategies to understand and control strong emotions or feelings.
1. To be made aware of the unacceptability of all forms of discrimination, and the need to challenge it in the wider community including the workplace.
Topic
Summary of Content
2. To recognise the characteristics of emotional and mental health and the causes, symptoms and treatments of some mental and emotional health disorders (including stress, anxiety and depression).
3. To learn about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS. 4. To understand that fertility levels can vary in different people; can be damaged by some sexually transmitted infections, decreases with age. 5. To understand that there are options open to people who are not able to conceive. 6. To understand how lifestyle choices affect a foetus.
2. To discuss parenting skills and qualities and their central importance to family life (including the implications of young parenthood). 3. To learn about the concept of consent in relevant, age-appropriate contexts. 4. To understand how to access and what the correct use of contraception, negotiating condom use. 5. To learn about impact of domestic abuse. 6. To understand the impact of separation, divorce, and bereavement on families and the need to adapt to changing circumstances. 7. To learn about diversity in sexual attraction and developing sexuality. 8. To know how to negotiate the agreement, or withholding of consent, to engage in different degrees of sexual activity.
Assessment
Prep set once a week
2. To understand rights and responsibilities at work (including their roles as workers, and the roles and responsibilities of employers and unions).
3. To learn about confidentiality in the workplace, when it should be kept and when it might need to be broken. 4. To develop study and employability skills (including time management, selforganisation and presentation, project planning, team-working, networking and managing online presence). 5. To develop their career identity, including how to maximise their chances when applying for education or employment opportunities.
Year 11 is an important year in PD, as we set our students up to follow the correct career pathway depending on their individual needs. Through these lessons they understand the range of opportunities available to them for career progression, including in education, training and employment. Students in year 11 will all have the opportunity to write a CV to set them up for their first part-time job, they also practise interview skills for jobs, and also sixth form interviews. Students will leave this year educated about finances and student loans for university too.
Additionally, there is a big emphasis on revision techniques and how to cope with exam stress before mocks. After the mock examinations students explore sex education and relationships in more depth, with a focus on; sexual bullying, STI’s and pornography, and how to cope with the pressures of social media. As year 11 students progress, the students also have educated debates in these lessons on topics like: feminism, transgender identity and racism, this helps prepare them for sixth form style lessons. In the summer term this PD lesson turns into a GCSE, independent revision slot for students to focus on GCSE exam preparation and to get support from their PD teacher.
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Living in the Wider World
Relationships
Health and Wellbeing
1. To understand the range of opportunities available to them for career progression, including in education, training and employment.
1.To comprehend the consequences of unintended pregnancy and of teenage parenthood (in the context of learning about parenting skills and qualities and their importance to family life).
1.To recognize and manage feelings about, and influences on, their body image including the media’s portrayal of idealized and artificial body shapes.
Topic
Summary of Content
2. To understand and recognise their future opportunities, the skills they possess and what options they have for next year.
3. To recognise and manage the influences on their financial decisions, (including managing risk, planning for expenditure, understanding debt and gambling in all its forms). 4. To develop their CVs; practice completing application forms; practice interview skills. 5. To be critical consumers of goods and services (including financial services) and recognise the wider impact of their purchasing choices. 6. To investigate and research different types of universities and requirements for different courses.
2. To be aware of the reasons why parents choose to adopt or to place children for adoption.
3. To learn about abortion, including the current legal position and the range of beliefs, opinions and myths about it. 4. To understand that fertility decreases with age. 5. To understand the role of sex in the media and its impact on sexuality (including pornography and related sexual ethics such as consent, negotiation, boundaries, respect, gender norms, sexual 'norms', trust, communication, pleasure, orgasms, rights, empowerment, sexism, feminism). 6. To recognise the impact of drugs and alcohol on choices and sexual behaviour. 7. To learn how to manage unwanted attention in a variety of contexts (including harassment and stalking).
Assessment
Prep set once a week
2. To be made aware of checking themselves for cancer and other illnesses, including knowing what to do if you’re feeling unwell and checking for signs of illness. 3. To know how to find sources of emergency help and how to give basic and emergency first aid in appropriate contexts. 4. To be made aware of the short and long-term consequences of substance use and misuse for the health and mental and emotional wellbeing of individuals, families and communities, including the health risks related to second-hand smoke.
5. To learn about personal safety and protection, reducing risk and minimising harm in different settings (including social settings, the street, on roads and during travel).
At KS5 (year 12 and 13), the PD programme shifts from a 45 minute set lesson once per week to two different workshop sessions per term outside of the classroom. These workshops for year 12 include: “Safe drive, stay alive”, a hard-hitting workshop where students see the dangers first hand of not being sensible drivers on the road when they pass their driving tests. The second workshop has a focus on drugs and alcohol, and understanding the severe consequences and effects they can have on young people’s lives. Other workshops throughout the year look at online safety and pornography, gang culture, child sexual exploitation and talking therapies to help with mental health. Year 12 during form time with their sixth form tutors use the platform “Unifrog”, which sets them up for applying for universities, whilst their form tutors can closely monitor their progress. Throughout the year, year 12’s also have workshops and training on UCAS, and get to go to a university fair where they can ask questions to potential future universities they would like to apply for. In year 13, the students spend less time outside of the classroom as they prepare for their A level examinations. However, they still get to participate in workshops on: gambling awareness, self defence training, first aid training, and advice on how to manage finances. Their form tutor plays a big part in challenging the students with a weekly quiz to keep our students up-to-date with current affairs. Each student must take it in turns to present a ted talk each week, which will spark discussion and debate in the classroom. The overall aim at Holyport College is that our sixth form leave prepared for the next stage of their careers or education, entering the world as good citizens.