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Buxton Community School

Buxton Community School

Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education

Line Manager:  Assistant Headteacher - Gill Ashworth  (gillian.ashworth@buxton.derbyshire.sch.uk)

At Buxton Community School the PHSE curriculum plays a vital role in the development of our young people.  PHSE education acknowledges and addresses the changes that young people are experiencing, beginning with their transition to secondary school, the challenges of adolescence and increasing independence.  Our curriculum aims to keep our students safe; encourage healthy lifestyles and relationships; prepare students for life beyond school and develop them as active responsible citizens in their local, national and international communities.  We go beyond the statutory requirements and provide a broad and engaging curriculum to which all our students are entitled.  

Our PHSE curriculum is divided into four main themes: health and well-being; relationships and sex education; living in the wider world, and futures and careers.  These themes are interleaved throughout the Key Stages so that learning is appropriate for each year group, links between topics can be made when relevant, and knowledge is developed at each stage.

The PHSE curriculum is delivered through a blended approach.  PHSE days throughout the year provide the main opportunity for the learning to take place.  Students are taught by school staff or visiting experts.  These days are supplemented by a weekly PHSE registration activity and assemblies and all Year 7 students also have a weekly Social and Health lesson.  In addition, the school is committed to taking advantage of opportunities from outside agencies to deliver presentations and workshops through the year when appropriate.

At Key Stage 5 our PHSE curriculum balances preparing young people to manage their lives now and providing support to help them prepare for their future.  Many of the themes addressed at Key Stage 3 and 4 are returned to and reinforced in the contexts that the young are now experiencing as older students.   Support is also provided in helping students choose their progression pathways into further study, training and employment.

In each year group we follow these topics:

Year 7

  •  Puberty
  •  Body Image /Body confidence
  •  Online safety
  •  Healthy Eating
  •  Discrimination
  •  Personal Safety
  •  Bullying – when does banter become bullying?
  •  First Aid
  •  Diverse relationships
  •  Respect
  •  Wellbeing and mental health
  •  Friendship
  •  Self-esteem

Year 8

  • Diverse relationships
  • Growth mindset
  • Screen time
  • Big problems and coping strategies
  • Alcohol
  • Body image
  • Respect
  • Anxiety
  • Drugs
  • Peer pressure
  • Advertising
  • First Aid
  • Tolerance and diversity
  • Knife crime
  • Online gambling
  • Digital footprints and sexting
  • Conflict resolution

Year 9

  • Drugs and the law
  • Healthy and unhealthy relationships
  • Stand against violence
  • Pornography and revenge porn
  • Tattoos, piercings etc
  • Knife crime
  • Consent
  • STIs
  • Emotional health
  • Contraception
  • Introduction to child sexual exploitation
  • Personal safety – streetwise
  • Identity
  • Casual misogyny and sexual aggression
  • First Aid

Year 10

  •  Unhealthy relationships
  •  Living with stigma  
  •  Online stress and FOMO
  •  Alcohol dependency
  •  Online hate
  •  Emotional health
  •  Sexual pressure
  •  Homophobia
  •  County lines

Year 11

  • Exams and wellbeing
  • Hate crime
  • Extremism
  • Anxiety and stress management
  • Consent
  • Breast and testicular cancer awareness, including self-examination
  • Impact of lifestyle on fertility
  • Online gambling and

Please see below some ideas for reading material and film recommendations along with resources with regard to Black Lives Matter.