Curriculum

Our vision

At New Mills School our vision is to enable all students to become culturally, socially and politically engaged in their communities.

Our Personal Development programme aims to empower our students to develop the skills to navigate life with confidence now and in the future.

Statutory Relationship and Sex Education is taught within our Personal, Social, Health and Economic curriculum. This is delivered through a dedicated lesson once a fortnight, as well as through the form time programme and assemblies.

Why Personal Development matters

 

Statutory requirements in Secondary Education

• From 2020, Relationships and sex Education became compulsory in all secondary schools
• Following consultations with parents, young people and professionals, the Dept for Education published statutory guidance for Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education.

A new focus in the requirements was on supporting young people to have healthy and consensual relationships (previously, only sex education was compulsory and was covered mainly in Science).

Our curriculum

Long Term Plan

Medium term plans:

Term 1
Term 2

 Age appropriateness

Schools must be sensitive to teach topics at a time that will most benefit the safety and development of the child. The maturity and development of children varies hugely and this is influenced by many factors including:

• A child’s homelife - language and openness modelled by parents/carers 
• The influence of other people including friends and older siblings 
• Access to technology and the world of adult focussed content it opens up
• Neurodivergence

We use a combination of the following inputs to develop and deliver our curriculum:

1. National statistics and evidence - for example recommendations published by the PSHE Association or by national charities such as the NSPCC
2. We use a spiral curriculum format - this means themes are revisited throughout a child’s time in secondary education, each time revisiting the topic in an age appropriate way.
3. An awareness of the community students are growing up within including police data
4. Surveys to students and parents
5. Our understanding of pupil maturity based upon their behaviour, language and prevalence of safeguarding concerns raised in schools
6. Two classes within the same year group could in theory receive different lessons based upon a judgment of maturity and need.
7. There is potential for us to deliver interventions with a pupil(s) who need education on a specific topic without a whole class receiving that lesson. 
8. Feedback from parents!

Life Lessons

This year we have partnered with life lessons to support our Personal Development programme

• Life Lessons take an evidence based approach, using best practice recommended by the government endorsed PSHE Association to create their lesson materials.
• Unlike other providers, Life Lessons update their materials ongoing so their lessons reflect what’s going on in the world and in the lives of young people.
• Life Lessons materials are 100% flexible. So what we teach, to who and when is all in our control as a school and parent community.
• Life Lessons support our whole school approach with materials designed for use to deliver the curriculum but also to reinforce important themes elsewhere in form times and assemblies.
• Life Lessons do not have any ‘agenda’ with their materials other than believing that topics that affect a young person’s life now, and in the near future need to be talked about. Their materials, in particular their videos, make discussion much easier as they model the conversation in the classroom. 

Our teachers benefit from ongoing trainingand support from the Life Lessons team

How parents can support their child in their RSE journey

• Celebrate individual differences to promote a greater sense of belonging for everyone in society 
• Talk openly with your child to model confidence in discussing tricky topics
• Listen to your child without judgement 
• Engage with the school’s parent consultations about RSE topics 
• Ask for support if you need it - you are not expected to know everything!

Useful resources for parents

Online safety 

• Support your child to be safe online by monitoring their device usage. There are free courses available via National Online Safety on how to do this.
• Be aware of social media age restrictions. Guidance available at Internet Matters. 
• Find support on the NSPCC website related to social media use and staying safe online.

Specific advice available around the use of tablets, smart TVs, games consoles and smart speakers at UK Safer Internet Centre.

Communicating with your child

• The BBC parent toolkit has a wealth of resources including how to speak to your child about mental health and support in talking to them about LGBTQ+
• David Chambers’ (a masculinity and relationships coach) video on understanding and communicating emotions 

Find support around alcohol and drugs,racism, mental health, and how to speak to your child about difficult topics on the NSPCC website.

Right to withdraw

Entitlement to withdraw

• Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of ‘sex education’ delivered as part of broader statutory RSE.
• The precise definition of sex education, and what is included, is determined by the school. 
• Parents cannot withdraw their child from lessons on sexual reproduction and body development. Effectively biological content that could be taught within the science curriculum.

The school’s responsibility 

• The school should respect the parents’ request to withdraw the child, up to and until three terms before the child turns 16. 
• After the age of 16, if the child wishes to receive sex education rather than be withdrawn, the school should make arrangements to provide the child with sex education during one of those terms.

The process and discussion

Head teachers should discuss with parents the benefits of receiving this important education and any detrimental effects that withdrawal might have on the child. This could include any social and emotional effects of being excluded, as well as the likelihood of the child hearing their peers’ version of what was said in the classes, rather than what was directly said by the teacher (although the detrimental effects may be mitigated if the parents propose to deliver sex education to their child at home instead).

Contact us

Have questions or need more information? Contact our Personal Development Team:

Assistant Headteacher – Mrs E Adrio

Email: eadrio@newmillsschool.co.uk

Phone: 01663743284

Head of Personal Development – Mrs S Salthouse

Email: ssalthouse@newmillsschool.co.uk

Phone: 01663743284