RSHE & Citizenship

Curriculum

The RSHE (Relationships, Sex & Health Education) curriculum is delivered by tutors one hour a fortnight across the academic year. The RSHE lead and the designated RSHE Champions plan all the units of work in accordance with the statutory guidance, and tutors deliver these. This is supported heavily by our Wellbeing team.

Over the five years at The Priory School students will study a variety of topics including the family, diversity, staying safe, and general health and wellbeing.  They will also examine issues surrounding law and the environment as well as look at wider RSHE topics including wellbeing, sexual health, relationships and diversity.

We also run an off-timetable day for Year 9 Sex and Relationships Education. This day focuses on providing students with information on how to keep themselves safe as they enter personal relationships. The topics that students study on this day include Healthy Relationships, STIs, Pregnancy & Childbirth, and Contraception. The issue of ‘consent’ underpins the whole day as students learn about how to conduct healthy adult relationships and ask questions in a safe and informed environment. Year 11 will have a citizenship-themed off-timetable day in order to explore topics such as politics and financial management going forward into their adult life.

Should you wish to discuss your child’s RSHE provision, please do not hesitate to get in contact with Mrs Omar: cfollano@priory.herts.sch.uk.

SMSC

At The Priory School we believe in developing the whole individual through our school vision of Responsibility, Respect and Resilience. At The Priory School there are many ways that we ensure we are able to offer our students Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development:

RSHE

The Priory School was part of the ‘Early Adopter programme for the new subjects of Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education’.

We have designed a RSHE programme to encompass all of the requirements to make sure that our students are receiving good-quality RSHE education to best prepare them for the real world.

This is delivered once a fortnight by their tutors in a dedicated 1-hour slot in the timetable.

At The Priory School, students should expect a RSHE programme that:

  • Is appropriate to the age and capability of students, and allows students to have an excellent understanding of relationships and sexual development.
  • Covers sexual consent and human rights with regards to physical harm and sexual exploitation.
  • Enables students to understand how to keep themselves and others healthy and safe.
  • Makes students understand the impact of bullying on others and actively challenges all forms of bullying including homophobic and transphobic language.
  • Teaches students from a young age to consider that families exist beyond the conventional images of two parent families, such as single parent families.
  • Covers students’ body changes and the different feelings they might experience as their bodies change.

Citizenship

Students are taught citizenship as part of their tutor time programme. This programme is designed by specialist staff and delivered by their form tutors. 

In addition to the form time activities we encourage good citizenship through:

  • Assemblies such as Charity assemblies encouraging active citizenship
  • External visitors such as our local MP
  • Debating Club
  • Eco Club
  • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Club
  • Student leadership

At The Priory School students should expect to:

  • acquire a sound knowledge and understanding of how the United Kingdom is governed, its political system and how citizens participate actively in its democratic systems of government
  • develop a sound knowledge and understanding of the role of law and the justice system in our society and how laws are shaped and enforced
  • develop an interest in, and commitment to, participation in volunteering as well as other forms of responsible activity, that they will take with them into adulthood  
  • are equipped with the skills to think critically and debate political questions, to enable them to manage their money on a day-to-day basis, and plan for future financial needs.

The Curriculum and more

  • P&E teaching in Key Stage 3-5
  • History teaching in Key Stage 3-5
  • Sociology Key Stage 4 teaching
  • Psychology Key Stage 4 teaching
  • Black history celebrations
  • Celebration and acknowledgement of festivals e.g. Eid, Ramadan, Diwali, Christmas etc
  • Creative work e.g. creative writing, artistic pieces
  • Bereavement group
  • C System and R system
  • World Challenge
  • Duke of Edinburgh award
  • Sporting opportunities e.g. Sports leaders, clubs, Olympics day, sport relief fun run etc
  • Residential trips e.g. Bushcraft, Sorrento, Iceland
  • Peer mentoring
  • Drug awareness guest speaker in Year 10
  • External competitions e.g. Robotics

At The Priory School we continue to develop, review and improve our delivery of SMSC.

Enrichment

  • Key Stage 3 have drop down days in order to further build on RSHE and Citizenship topics
  • Student Leadership Committee
  • Heritage and Cultural Diversity Club
  • In order to keep up to date in Citizenship students should ensure that they regularly watch / read / listen to the news
  • Form time topics and assemblies

Careers

  • Politics
  • Public Sector jobs including Social Worker, Police Officer and Teacher
  • International Aid / Development Officer
  • Youth Officer
  • Charity Officer

Staff

  • Miss Claudia Omar – Assistant Headteacher (Student Wellbeing)
  • RSHE Champion Staff: Miss Anderson-Bonner (Year 7),  Mrs Toni Crawley (Year 8), Mr Jack Maydom (Year 9), Mrs Lisa Smith (Year 10), Miss Catherine Ellis (Year 11)

Links

The Priory School RSHE Calendar 2024-25

www.parliament.uk/education

www.citizenshipfoundation.org

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REVcitizenship.htm

http://www.channel4learning.com/support/websites/citizenship.html