PSHE/RSE

PSHE Curriculum Intent 2024–2025

At Ormiston Bridge Academy, our PSHE curriculum equips young people with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead healthy, safe, and fulfilling lives. We empower learners to understand themselves and others, make informed choices, and become resilient, respectful, and active citizens in a diverse and rapidly changing world.

Our curriculum is rooted in three core strands: Health and Wellbeing, Relationships, and Living in the Wider World. It is designed to be inclusive, trauma-informed, and responsive to the needs of our students—many of whom have experienced disrupted education or challenges in their personal lives.

We explicitly address key safeguarding issues relevant to our context, such as peer influence, gangs, online exploitation, and substance misuse. Through this, we aim to develop emotionally literate and socially aware young people who can recognise risk, seek support, and make positive choices.

The curriculum is enriched through GCSE Citizenship in KS4, supporting students to understand their rights and responsibilities, develop political literacy, and explore British Values. Learners also engage in activities that promote community connection, such as volunteering, social action projects, and careers education.

Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is delivered within the PSHE programme and focuses on building healthy, respectful and safe relationships, including understanding consent, sexuality, and emotional wellbeing. Parents retain the right to withdraw their child from sex education content up to three terms before the age of 16. Further information can be found in our RSE policy.

PSHE is delivered weekly by trained staff and is assessed through student voice, reflection tasks, and work reviews. Our aim is to ensure that all students leave Ormiston Bridge with the knowledge and strategies to care for themselves and others, to contribute to their communities, and to lead confident, connected lives.

The PSHE curriculum is split into 3 separate curricular areas: Health and Wellbeing, Living in the Wider World and Relationships. Learners will delve into these areas as follows:

KS3 KS4 
Drugs and alcohol 
Community and careers 
Discrimination 
Emotional wellbeing 
Identity and relationships 
Digital wellbeing 
Peer influence, substance use and gangs 
Setting goals 
Respectful relationships 
Healthy lifestyle  
Intimate relationships 
Employability skills 
Mental health 
Financial decision making 
Healthy relationships 
Exploring influence 
Addressing extremism and radicalisation 
Work experience 
Building for the future 
Next steps 
Communication in relationships 
Independence 
Families  

RSE 

Relationships and Sex Education in a compulsory part of the PSHE curriculum in secondary schools and we intend to deliver it within the PSHE curriculum. We focus on the importance of developing healthy intimate relationships.

Further information can be found in the Ormiston Bridge RSE policy on our website. Parents retain the right to withdraw their child from this aspect of the curriculum up to and until three terms before the age of 16.