A programme of half-termly units across Years 12 and 13, following the PSHE Association’s Key Stage 5 Curriculum Model and Programme of Study. Units draw on three core themes — Health & Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World — to prepare students for independent adult life.
Sixth form PSHE completes the spiral approach begun in Year 7. At Key Stage 5, students are no longer simply preparing for the situations PSHE addresses — they are already living them, and many will soon leave home to live independently. Earlier learning is revisited in contexts that matter now: bullying through the lens of workplace or relationship abuse, online safety through protecting a professional identity, and personal safety through socialising in new environments and travelling independently. The programme is shaped by national and local health data and by student voice, which informs rather than dictates what is taught, and is regularly evaluated with students and colleagues to keep it relevant.
Year 12
Physical and mental health and wellbeing
Thriving in post-16 education, managing sleep independently, health inequalities, testicular and breast cancer awareness and self-examination, and vaginal health
Healthy relationships and consent
Revisiting consent, its responsibilities and consequences, recognising pressure and coercion, communicating wants and needs, unwanted and illegal behaviours, and pornography, technology and consent
Recognising and responding to harmful relationship behaviours
Abuse, manipulation, coercion and persuasion, including ‘honour’-based abuse, FGM and VAWG, looking out for each other, and how and when to seek support
Work, study and careers
Rights and responsibilities in the workplace, researching career pathways, evaluating post-18 options, applications and interviews
Drugs, alcohol, and managing risk
Effects of legal and illegal substances and medicines, understanding risks and consequences, managing influences, seeking support, and keeping safe at home and abroad
Financial decisions
Student finance, borrowing, renting and buying property, cryptocurrency, money and wellbeing, and decision making
Year 13
Next steps
Researching post-18 options and planning next steps, including applying for university, apprenticeships or jobs, and managing exam stress
Independence and personal safety
Assessing and responding to risk, keeping safe, travel in the UK and abroad, responsible driving and motor insurance, independent health choices and recognising serious illness
Sexual and reproductive health
Sexual and reproductive health within healthy relationships: reducing risk, testing and treatment, fertility and routes to parenthood, pregnancy outcomes and choices, and accessing healthcare and support
Life online
Online influence on wellbeing and relationships, evaluating content critically, recognising harmful narratives, high-risk online spending, the cost of love online, and body modifications
Future finances
The economy, mortgages, credit cards, pensions, ISAs and making informed financial decisions as an adult
