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.