Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education is a school curriculum subject in England that focuses on strengthening the knowledge, skills, and connections to keep children and young people healthy and safe and prepare them for life and work.
Curriculum Intent
Bexhill Academy is a larger than average mixed secondary academy with students serving the coastal town of Bexhill. There are currently 1513 students on roll. One of our main catchment areas is Sidley, which has recently been identified as being in the Top 10 most deprived postcodes in the country. Furthermore, the academy is in the 4thquintile (more deprived) for deprivation, higher than the National Average.
We have 31.15% of students who are currently eligible for support through the pupil premium; 1.13% of students in care and 2.23% are young carers. Therefore, the academy has a significant responsibility to ensure our children are not disadvantaged and have the right attitudes and employment - ready skills : to keep them safe throughout life, providing them with everything we possibly can to have an ambitious and positive future.
Traditionally, Bexhill and the local area has seen a strong right wing presence, in particular online during the Covid lock down period, and little variability in cultural diversity. At Bexhill Academy, 93.8% of our students are White British and 6.4%(93 students) are EAL (English as an Additional Language). At Bexhill Academy we are “proudly diverse” and display the flag of every country which students have connections with, emphasising our school motto of “respect” no matter where we are from. We want to provide our students with a strong understanding of the diverse world around them and support them in contributing positively to the school and the wider community.
The PSHE curriculum is a working document which is adapted if needed. Locally and nationally online racism was identified as issue of priority in September 2021 through robust reviewing and monitoring of safeguarding incidents and reports. A follow up programme of education was implemented, devised with the PSHE team, with a clear emphasis on impact of racism, celebrating diversity and British Values. Training on diversity and Unconscious Bias was also provided for staff. Since then we have seen a significant decline in incidents reported. Refugees and more recently Ukrainian students are warmly integrated into the academy.
Asa school we have delivered the statutory content for SRE from September 2020.When children arrived back in school September 2020 every year group focused on mental health and well-being due to the impact of Covid on mental health. The curriculum was then adapted again due to the next lock down and to suit home learning. These lessons focused on topics on Living in the Wider World such as careers and employability, responding to requests for increased emphasis on this work through our student consultation programme.
In a recent student voice(2021) it was evident that there was a gap in knowledge and understanding in regards to ‘Living in the Wider World’ particularly in relation to job opportunities, CV writing, debt, credit cards, mortgages and rent. Working with our Careers Liaison Officer, we were able to make specific adjustments to the PSHE curriculum to address these gaps. This change has been reviewed as successful, which is evident in further student voice feedback.
The PSHE curriculum intent is to ensure pupils are aware of reliable information regarding support and where to find it. By working together we want to guide pupils in knowing how to maintain physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing. This will aid in the development of resilient, healthy, happy and empowered young people who can make informed decisions about their safety, consequences of their actions and how to minimise risk. Overall, we aim to enable pupils to be independent and have the key skills preparing them for life.
