Good Practice Example

Title: / Outstanding teaching and learning in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education
Provider: / Big WoodSchool
Type of provision: / Schools
Region (Govt office): / East Midlands
Remit area: / Secondary Schools
Upload date: / 04.03.11
Brief description: / Learning in PSHE is effectively embedded in the curriculum

Overview – the provider’s message

“I passionately believethat the most important thing in a schoolis the quality of relationships. PSHE allows students to build good relationships and discuss what’s happening in the real world. It’s not just about exam results but helping students become people who are aware of their own worth and the worth of others. We have achieved high quality by making PSHE fun, memorable and different. We use tutors to teach PSHE because they build relationships with their classes and know them well. They adopt a holistic approach to students’ well-being and challenge them to extend their thinking. We then work hard at holding staff to account for the quality of teaching and provision in PSHE.”

Bernadette Groves, Headteacher

The good practice in detail

Big WoodSchool was judged to be satisfactory overall by inspectors2010 but the provision for PSHE education was outstanding. They said: “PSHE education for all year groups is excellent and makes a significant contribution to students’ welfare, health education and understanding of social and cultural issues.” So how has the school achieved these outcomes in PSHE education?

Colin McGowan, the Deputy Head says, “The improvements to PSHE were driven initially by staff and pupil discontent. It was delivered from ‘on high’ with little involvement from those engaged in the teaching and learning. Since then we have moved away from a largely static curriculum managed by one individual to a flexible programme that can respond rapidly to need and that is ‘owned’ by all. PSHE is delivered by tutors who are given time as a team to reflect and develop the programme for their year group, with the achievement coordinator for that year having overall responsibility for coordinating resources, lesson planning and schemes of work. We recognise that not every tutor feels confident to cover all aspects of PSHE and we have tried to ameliorate this by offering some training, by working as a team, by offering a carousel programme when necessary and by engaging experts and theatre groups.”

Ownership of the Programme

An achievement coordinator for each year group works with a deputy head to develop a coherent programme for the five years that the students will be at the school. Schemes of work are flexible from year to year and lessons respond to opportunities or needs as they might arise. The tutors are not PSHE specialists but as teachers they have the requisite skills to deliver a programme that they have been involved in developing. The programme changes from year group to year group, responding to the needs of the children and the skill set of the staff who are tutors for that year. Detailed lesson plans are prepared by the achievement coordinators working with their teams of tutors. The result is shared ownership and responsibilities, and staff who gain confidence to teach sensitive issues.

Tutors and achievement coordinators benefit from in-house training and training provided by external drama groups. “We have considered delivering PSHE with a team of specialists”, says Colin, “but, for the moment at least, we believe that the strong relationship which develops between the tutor and their tutees offers the opportunity for greater trust and enables us to tackle sensitive issues more readily.”

Meeting students’ needs

Teachers are empowered to meet students’ needs. For example, an achievement coordinator was shocked when students described their drinking habits to him. As a result he went on alcohol training courses and has introduced a confidential on-line survey run by the local authority, NottinghamCity. The survey can be viewed at The school is also proactive in responding to students’ needs. For example, an assembly was held by the Young Carers Association because a very low rate of young carers had been registered at the school and the staff wanted to ensure that students gained the confidence to come forward and report their circumstances.

Assessment

Students’ progress in PSHE is tracked through the observation of classroom activities and written work which is marked and annotated carefully. At the end of the year, tutors review progress formally and write a report to parents.

Accountability

Tutors are accountable for the quality of PSHE education. During the hour-long weekly lesson, the achievement coordinators are programmed to assist, advise and observe lessons to get an overview of the quality of teaching and learning in their year group. Lessons are graded and the delivery of PSHE is part of performance management for tutors and coordinators. Regular meetings and time for evaluation ensures that the programme is evaluated and reviewed systematically and that good practice is shared to raise standards further. Colin McGowan says, “We regularly seek the opinion of pupils through online or classroom surveys. The results heavily influence the PSHE programme. Tutors are accountable for the delivery of PSHE in the same way as they are for their main subject. Learning walks and lesson observations are as likely here as they are anywhere.”

The drama group working with students

Effective use of external support

The ‘healthy schools’ team in Nottingham provides resources, expertise and support for student surveys. A local theatre group delivers an introductory sex and relationships programme to Year 7 students and offers training and resources for the tutors. The local police provide a range of programmes to all year groups and the health service provide support through the school nurse.

The Students’ Perspective

Students are overwhelmingly positive about their experience of PSHE education. They say, “It is relevant to our lives and teachers listen to us…we bond with our tutors because we stay with them for several years and we get to know them better…and, if you don’t get on with your tutor it is possible to change groups.”

Provider background

Big WoodSchool is a smaller than average, 11-16 secondary school situated in an area of economic deprivation. The school has business and enterprise specialist status and ‘Investors in People’, ‘Career Mark’ and ‘HealthySchools’ accreditation. In September 2010 the school moved to a new building.