PSHE at The Archbishop Lanfranc Academy is designed to equip our students with vital life skills that will help them understand their world now and into the future. At key stage 3, students build on the knowledge and understanding, skills, attributes and values they have acquired and developed during the primary phase. PSHE education acknowledges and addresses the changes that young people experience, beginning with transition to secondary school, the challenges of adolescence and their increasing independence. It teaches the knowledge and skills which will equip them for the opportunities and challenges of life. Students learn to manage diverse relationships, their online lives, and the increasing influence of peers and the media, as well as how to keep themselves sage, mentally and physically healthy.

At key stage 4, students deepen knowledge and understanding, extend and rehearse skills, and further explore attitudes, values and attributes acquired during key stage 3. PSHE education reflects the fact that students are moving towards an independent role in adult life, taking on greater responsibility for themselves and others.

PSHE covers three main themes

• Living in the Wider World – this unit prepares our students for adulthood, covering learning about economic wellbeing, career pathways and choices post-16 as well as GCSE option choices and work experience, developing digital and media literacy, young people’s rights in the community, and social issues such as extremism and radicalisation.
• Health and Wellbeing – this theme teaches skills and knowledge related to healthy lifestyles, including food choices, exercise, sleep and dental health, mental health, drugs and alcohol, sexual health and fertility, and managing risk and personal safety. This education directly supports students to be mentally and physically healthy, which in term supports their education outcomes and awareness of themselves and their ever changing bodies.
• Relationships – this core theme teaches students about positive friendships, bulling and unsafe relationships, relationship values, marriage and parenting, consent and how to safely engage in relationships online, supporting young students to develop healthy relationships with others and reducing the range of harms to children and young people, including reducing sexual violence, making it more likely that first sex is delayed and consensual and increasing the likelihood of safe sexual health practices, alongside increasing the chances that young people seek help should they experience harm, guidance on what to do and bringing awareness to these issues.

Through these core themes, students are able to explore life within our school, local, national and wider communities, and understand the ever changing dynamics of the world around them. Additionally, they are able to build interpersonal skills that will equip them for life after Lanfranc and give them the tools to navigate the wider world.

Students are taught in their tutor groups, in order to foster and develop meaningful conversations within their small pastoral communities and encourage openness and trust for topics that students may find difficult to discuss in other areas of their lives, such as at home. Additionally, students are taught by the form tutors, who understand the context of their students and families in a holistic and pastoral setting – this enables both teachers and students to foster open and honest conversations in this environment, and encourage a sense of community, belonging and trust within their tutor teams.

Students are also able to practice other skills in PSHE, such as literacy skills (oracy, reading and writing), developing arguments, analysis, and developing in open class discussions, which will support their learning and skills in others academic pursuits around the school.