PSHE and Healthy Minds
Year 7 – Managing the World Around Me
During Year 7, students develop the cognitive and behavioural skills required to make the most of opportunities and deal with setbacks. These foundational skills are relevant now and transferable beyond school. Students then learn about applying these skills to navigating the media and social media, as well as harnessing the potential of their mind, and increasing their attentional skills using mindfulness.
Year 8 – Moving Towards My Future
Year 8 students will consider who they are now and who they hope to be as adults. They learn to set realistic goals that matter to them and bring the future nearer, so they can see that what they do now in school is directly connected to what they want for their future. In this context, they then think about the influences around them and debate social norms and myths about nutrition, health, body images, tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs. Towards the end of the year, they also explore how their bodies are changing and how to create and sustain healthy relationships.
Year 9 – Taking Control of the Decisions I Make
In Year 9, students build on their learning to apply their new skills to developing positive relationships and consider the risks associated with unhealthy relationships. They discuss the health and emotional implications of sexual relationships and debate the impact of alcohol use and misuse. Using the skills and knowledge gained in Years 7 and 8, the focus is on making good decisions as life becomes more complicated.
Year 10 – The Beginning of Adulthood
During Year 10, students will learn about mental illness and how to recognise it in themselves and those around them, as well as the stigma surrounding mental illness and when and how to seek help. As the students are moving towards adulthood they will consider their values and levels of maturity as their relationships develop and they will explore the responsibilities of being a parent. They will also engage in a mature debate about making informed choices in relation to substance use. The lessons will provide an opportunity to reinforce learning from Year 7, by revisiting and reapplying the skills learned, exploring their relevance for now and into the future.
PSHE Learning Journey
Healthy Minds Research Project 2013-2018
Chancellor's School is proud to announce that its involvement in the Healthy Minds research project has led the school to being awarded the kitemark, only achieved by schools who successfully met all the criteria of the project to a consistently high standard. This milestone is a major move forward in our mission to deliver the best personal, social and health education available and evidence of our ongoing commitment to the personal development of our students.
Overview
Healthy Minds is an evidence-based health and relationships curriculum for years 7-10 that is equipping young people with the life skills they need to thrive in and beyond school. This unique study helps us understand the impact that good quality teaching and learning can have on important outcomes, and how to create a culture of resilience where teachers and students thrive.
Background
Starting as a research project by the London School of Economics and Bounce Forward, Healthy Minds was funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and trialled in 34 schools over 5 years. Building on learning from the project and feedback from teachers and students, the curriculum is now available to all schools.
As Lord Richard Layard, London School of Economics has said, “Young people need to develop healthy minds and schools should make it a top priority. It is the most outstanding wellbeing curriculum in the world”.
Results
The curriculum consists of 113 lessons over four years and includes topics such as resilience, mental health, social media, mindfulness, sex education, alcohol and drug awareness, relationships, decision making, media awareness and more. Students across the 34 schools involved in the research project completed questionnaires before and after completing the curriculum, here are the results:
Click here to learn more about the Healthy Minds Research Project
