At Co-op Academy Southfield, we understand the importance of educating students about Personal and social development (PSD) in order to help them make responsible and well-informed decisions in their lives. PSD is delivered daily through Health & Wellbeing, Living in the Wider World (LiWW) and Relationships & Sex Education (RSE). The vulnerability of our students means that safeguarding is central to the PSD curriculum along with a focus to develop Cultural Capital in all our students.

“At the heart of these subjects there is a focus on keeping children safe and schools play an important role in preventative education” KCSIE 2023

Through the delivery of our Health and Wellbeing curriculum we intend to develop our students' understanding of their own and others’ emotions.  We support students to have healthy coping strategies and to know how to seek appropriate support when needed. We encourage students to talk openly about their mental health to equip students to adopt healthy behaviours and strategies and to seek trustworthy support when they or their friends need it. This also serves to break down any associated stigma surrounding mental health.

The Health and Wellbeing curriculum covers the statutory Health content safely, sensitively and in a way that’s appropriate to each students’ stage of development. Students learn about the importance of good communication, problem-solving, having healthy coping skills, resilience, recognising emotions and how these can reduce the risk of turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms. 

Assessment

In Health and Wellbeing, staff are expected to complete one "Evidence for Learning" (EFL) log per term or maintain a marked workbook/annotated portfolio of work. The EFL log should document the student's progress against the skills progression steps, reflecting their understanding and personal development in health-related topics. Alternatively, the workbook or portfolio will be regularly marked and annotated by teachers and learning support assistants, delivering feedback on personal health goals, wellbeing activities, and understanding of health concepts, addressing misconceptions, and outlining positive reinforcement and next steps.