Introduction

PSHE and citizenship underpins the whole curriculum at Gloucester House and is woven through all curriculum areas and social parts of our day. This is due to the profile of needs in our pupil population.

It is also taught as a discrete subject and is the centre of some of our topic weeks. It is a central part of class discussions and links closely to our behaviour policy, particularly the aspects which focus on reflecting on the link between both thoughts and feelings.

The PHSCE & Citizenship curriculum develops pupil’s knowledge and understanding of self and others. It develops citizenship, self-worth and how to live a healthy life style. It also provides pupils with a broad general knowledge of public institutions and services in England, such as police, emergency services and local government services.

For young people with behavioural difficulties, developing appropriate social skills is a significant challenge. Pupils at the Gloucester House also have low self-esteem and/or poor self-image.

PHSCE links closely to the therapeutic interventions within Gloucester House.

Our PHSCE curriculum also underpins the promotion of British values.

Aims

To outline content of the PHSE and Citizenship curriculum.
To clarify and explain importance of PHSCE at Gloucester House.

In P.H.S.E we promote learning by:

Developing and enhancing self-esteem and positive self-concept through personal skills programmes.
Developing pupils’ ability to build effective relationships and behave in an appropriate manner.
Developing knowledge and understanding of what is right and wrong and individuals’ responsibilities in relation to others.

Our Citizenship programme promotes learning by:

Involving pupils positively, encouraging them to participate in community life;
Making links with our community partners;
Supporting inclusion and promoting positive behaviour, equal opportunities, respect and responsibility;
Providing a focus for celebrating and publicising school activities;
Developing understanding of a healthy lifestyle.
Providing pupils with a broad knowledge of public institutions and services in England.
Having a pupil parliament and weekly assemblies where pupils can participate and become involved in decision making process and learn through experience the main aspects of a democracy.

Responsibility

All staff in Gloucester House are responsible for the ethos in the school and the pupil’s social, emotional and behavioural development.
The curriculum coordinator and teachers will develop units of work as appropriate.
The clinicians and nursing team will implement targeted interventions for groups and individuals as identified.
The class teams and pupils will set and monitor daily targets to develop the pupil’s capacities.
The parents/carers with case coordinators, teachers and pupils will develop and review GBO (Goal Based Outcomes) termly.

Forms of Provision – Approaches

P.S.H.E and Citizenship cannot just be confined to a specific timetabled time. A variety of forms of provision should be considered in combination and at different times.

Discrete curriculum time
Whole school events and activities
Individual behaviour plans
Gloucester House behaviour guidelines
Class based events and activities
Mealtimes, playtimes and other social aspects of Gloucester Houses life
The ethos of Gloucester House
Therapeutic interventions (specific) and a therapeutic milieu in all aspects of Gloucester House life
Whole school/class meetings
Assemblies/pupil parliament/community meeting

There are a range of Schemes of Work for PHSCE which cover all aspects of the requirements of the National Curriculum. These are planned in addition to the social aspects of PSHCE that we cover through lunchtime, playtime, circle time, behaviour reflection times, recovery times, pupil parliament and class meetings.

Off site visits and special day events or topic weeks/days provide other opportunities for pupils to plan and work together and develop and maintain relationships under different circumstances.

There are also opportunities for class meetings times and ‘whole unit meetings’ and these can be called as and when staff and pupils feel they are appropriate. They can be informal and ad hoc or planned for shorter or longer term to tackle specific or general issues. Sometimes these may include members of the clinical team.

Class Meetings

Class meetings are used as a model for promoting reflection, speaking and listening including feedback to one another, turn taking, self-esteem and building relationships. It is also a place for self-evaluation and a time to explore or resolve issues at Gloucester House.

Pupil Parliament:

All pupils who attend are part of the meeting. The aim of it is:

To have a say in the running of Gloucester House
To address issues within Gloucester House
To be able to make decisions
To link with issues arising at other times in the life of Gloucester House e.g. class meetings

Therapeutic work at Gloucester House

We are a multidisciplinary team made up of a head teacher, teachers, progress support workers, specialist nurses, therapeutic support workers, child psychotherapists, child psychiatrist, a family therapists, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, art therapist, a consultant social worker and access to educational and/or clinical psychology. We work together to progress the pupil’s emotional, social and educational development.

We do this by providing a therapeutic environment which involves education, behaviour management, work with parents/carers, therapy and where appropriate, medication.

We offer a range of therapies. We try to be as creative and flexible as possible in matching each pupil’s needs to our resources:

Individual Child Psychotherapy
Family Therapy
A range of individual and group therapies
Parent/carer Work
Parent/carer & Child Work
Supported use of the nurture space

These provide a vital part of our PSHCE curriculum.

Learning and Assessment

Pupils take an active part in the lessons with teachers having a positive expectation of achievement. Pupils make good use of the opportunities given to them to consolidate and improve skills. Emphasis is put on developing self-control and self -evaluation. Time to reflect and communicate opinions and ideas are integral to learning.

The procedure for assessment demonstrates progression and identify development for each pupil. Reporting is carried out in line with the Gloucester House’s existing practice. At appropriate times, pupils are encouraged to self-assess.

Monitoring and Assessment of Teaching and Learning

The headteacher, deputy headteacher and curriculum coordinator shall be responsible for monitoring and assessment of teaching and learning. This shall take the form of observations and positive feedback to class teachers, progress support workers, book looks and learning walks

Teachers will require a range of skills to provide the breadth of teaching required and individual needs in training shall be identified and met. This could be in the form of in service training, visits by designated advisors and the coordinator to disseminate relevant information to staff.

Monitoring and assessment of teaching and learning shall fall into Gloucester House’s guidelines and be performed in conjunction with School Development Plan.

Equal Opportunities

All pupils shall have access to a relevant curriculum that meets their needs whilst providing a breadth of experience. Materials should reflect the multi-cultural society in which we live. All resources used will be free from race and gender stereotypes.

Protected Characteristics from the Equality Act:

We celebrate diversity and through PHSCE we think about discrimination in all its forms. For the purposes of this policy, discrimination means treating people less favourably than others on the grounds of their age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, race, ethnic origin, disability, religion or religious beliefs, whether this be direct or indirect by applying a provision, criterion or practice, which disadvantages such persons.