PSHE

PSHE encourages personal growth and well-being, both mentally and physically, and fosters an appreciation of the ethical, social, and cultural values that shape the diverse society we are part of.

PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education) and RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) at The Maynard is a planned programme of learning through which our children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to navigate the opportunities, duties, experiences, and potential difficulties of life.

As part of our whole-school approach, PSHE education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society, with our school values – Kindness, Courage, Community and Integrity – embedded in the PSHE curriculum. It focuses on personal and social development, and tackling important issues like bullying, citizenship, and health. It also includes relationship and sex education, economic wellbeing and careers.

Topics taught:

Pre-Prep and Junior School

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, PSHE and Citizenship education is delivered through the Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) area of learning, as required by the EYFS Statutory Framework (2024). Provision is designed to:

• Help children develop a positive sense of themselves and others.
• Encourage the formation of positive relationships and respect for others.
• Support the development of social skills and emotional regulation.
• Foster independence, self-confidence, and self-awareness.
• Enable children to understand boundaries, rules, and routines, supporting their ability to manage their feelings and behaviour.
• Teach age-appropriate strategies for keeping themselves safe, both in the real world and online, using play-based and interactive approaches.

Observational assessment against the Early Learning Goals for PSED ensures progress is tracked and individual needs are met. Safeguarding principles underpin all EYFS delivery.

Years 1–6

We follow the Twinkl Life PSHE and Citizenship programme, fully aligned with the PSHE Association Programme of Study (2020) and meeting statutory DfE requirements for Relationships Education and Health Education.

The curriculum is structured around three core themes:
1. Health and Wellbeing – physical and mental health, healthy lifestyles, growing and changing, personal safety, and awareness of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
2. Relationships – families, friendships, managing hurtful behaviour, bullying, safe relationships, and respect for self and others.
3. Living in the Wider World – shared responsibilities, community engagement, media literacy, digital resilience, economic wellbeing, careers, and British Values.

We use a spiral curriculum, revisiting and building on topics every two years, ensuring age-appropriate progression.

For information about Pre-Prep and Junior School PSHE, please see their respective curriculum information.

Year 7

• Transition into Senior School
• “Maynard Manners”
• Healthy friendships
• Dealing with conflict
• Evaluating influence and healthy phone use
• Physical and mental wellbeing including the importance of sleep
• Body awareness and period positivity
• What is a community?
• Respectful behaviours
• Being an active bystander – bullying
• Basic first aid
• Good exam strategies/coping with exams

Year 8

• The Craft Fair Project
• Living in the wider community – raising funds for charity
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Budgeting and planning
• RSE Families and Relationships
• RSE Healthy Friendships
• RSE Romantic Relationships
• RSE Physical Intimacy
• RSE Keeping Safe Online
• RSE Boundaries and Consent
• Physical and mental wellbeing – healthy coping strategies
• Developing self-confidence through oracy
• Good exam strategies/coping with exams

Year 9

Carousel 1:
• Personal Safety – the dangers of drugs, alcohol and smoking
• Physical Health – healthy eating, sleep and exercise
• Community – fundamental British values, British values and LGBTQ+, human rights, bias, stereotypes, discrimination and the protected characteristics, diverse and supportive communities, values and constructive disagreement, valuing diversity

Carousel 2:
• Personal Safety – RSE, body image, healthy relationships, sexual relationships, consent, staying safe online, FGM
• Physical Health – growing up, puberty, menstruation, personal hygiene
• Community – media bias, filter bubbles, fake news and AI, conspiracy and extremism online, cults, politics and the media, online scams and gambling

Also covered in Year 9:
• Physical and Mental wellbeing
• Active Listening
• Respectful Behaviours
• Paths to Success and Responding to Challenge
• Good exam strategies/coping with exams
• ‘Headspace Sessions’ – a series of lessons and debate focusing on topical issues

Year 10

• Cyber Security – protecting personal information, managing devices and accounts, Identifying scams and sources of support
• Confident Me: appearance ideals
• Media Literacy – reading between the lines
• Mental Wellbeing and conversations about mental health
• Human Rights and online wellbeing
• First Aid – wounds, choking, AEDs, organ donations, vaccinations, cosmetic and plastic surgery, preventing cancer and heart disease, alcohol and drug-related emergencies
• Finance – saving, spending and value, borrowing, money (education, work, retirement), risk and reward
• Paths to Success – responding to challenge, expressing yourself, ideas of success, active listening, managing distractions, listening and respectful conversations
• Families, conflict, unhealthy relationships, consent, respectful relationships, communicating intimacy, anatomy, contraception, pregnancy, parenthood, fertility, breaking up, harassment, FGM, forced marriage, sexting, pornography, sextortion, personal safety
• Mental health strategies
• Good exam strategies/coping with exams

Year 11

• Adulting and self-worth, self-concept and motivation, stress, learning resilience.
• Black History
• Personal Health and Safety – vaping, alcohol, drugs
• Female Safety – socialising and staying safe, staying safe at festivals
• Female Health – breast awareness, cervical health, periods and endometriosis
• Controlling and abusive relationships
• Gender norms, identities and stereotypes
• Antisemitism and islamophobia
• Banter versus rude and hurtful behaviour
• Why parroting others can cause harm
• Dealing with rejection
• Taking responsibility
• Artificial Intelligence
• Online challenges
• Staying safe on public transport
• Elimination of violence against women
• Defying expectations
• Staying healthy over summer
• Mental health strategies
• Good exam strategies/coping with exams

Year 12

• Study Habits – memory/learning, time management, note taking, plagiarism and referencing, essay writing
• Health and Wellbeing – self esteem and body image, sleep, healthy diet, exercise, risk and personal safety including festivals. Challenges around poor mental health, signs and where to get support
• Relationships – relationship values, prejudice and discrimination, making new friends, healthy and unhealthy relationships, toxic relationships and coercive control, pleasure/intimacy, forced marriage and honor based violence, harrassment and stalking, consent, sexuality/gender, realities of sex, contraception, contraception and STI’s, unintended pregnancy
• Learning opportunities in the wider world-Introduction to choices and pathways post 16-degree apprenticeships, careers, university applications
• Alcohol and drug use, including vaping, the law on drugs, learn to live programme
• Learning opportunities in the wider world – challenging online content, online presence and social media distortion, extremism and radicalisation online, personal privacy and online scams.

Year 13

• Living in the Wider World – UCAS and university preparation, writing letters of application, LinkedIn, CV’s
• Interviews and MMS
• Budgeting and student finance, salary deductions, savings options – Pensions and ISA’s, consumer rights, managing financial contracts, debt repayments and pay day loans
• Health and Wellbeing, Womens Health – cervical screening, breast awareness, meningitis/Freshers Flu, registering and accessing medical services, sun safety, menstrual health – PCOS, menopause, miscarriage and fertility, gap year travel health and travel as a woman

Meet Mrs Finnegan, Head of PSHE

Mrs Finnegan studied BA (Hons) Fashion and Textiles at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, where a world-class design education fostered her passion for creativity, craftsmanship, and innovation. After starting a family, she retrained as a teacher, gaining a PGCE in Fashion, Textiles, and Food and Nutrition from the University of Exeter.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Mrs Finnegan has worked as a Head Designer and created womenswear collections for numerous high-street brands and designer diffusion lines. Her admiration for Alexander McQueen reflects her belief in design as a powerful tool for storytelling, identity, and inclusivity.

At The Maynard, she draws on her professional background to shape the PSHE curriculum, bringing insight into issues such as body image, sustainability, diversity, and ethical production. She values open discussion, critical thinking, and empathy, helping students develop confidence and emotional intelligence.

Outside school, Mrs Finnegan enjoys swimming, gardening, sewing, cooking with seasonal produce, and learning French.