Curriculum for Life

Curriculum for Life

Curriculum for Life aims to develop the whole student and their awareness of key concepts in UK society, in order to full be prepared for their next step beyond Our Lady Queen of Peace. It covers the national curriculum for Citizenship and statutory guidelines for PSHE, RSE, Healthy Lifestyles and Careers Education. It also considers the wider faith context of our school and embraces student voice in its delivery.

How it is delivered

Curriculum for Life encompasses five core areas:

• Careers Education
• Citizenship
• Health & Wellbeing
• Healthy Relationships 
• Finance

Staff work in dedicated teams to plan and deliver across the five core areas and deliver their area to the whole school.

Careers Education

Effective Careers education is linked to higher achievement at GCSE. All students will be supported to make a smooth transition into further education, training and/or employment.  Key aims are:

• To support students to make informed choices about their future
• To identify talents and interests 
• To have a strong knowledge of labour market information
• To be aware of a full range of destinations available to them post-16

Citizenship

Citizenship provides students with knowledge, skills and understanding to prepare them to play a full and active part in society.

• To acquire a sound knowledge and understanding of how the United Kingdom is governed, its political system and how citizens participate actively in its democratic systems of government
• To develop a sound knowledge and understanding of the role of law and the justice system in our society and how laws are shaped and enforced
• To develop an interest in, and commitment to, participation in volunteering as well as other forms of responsible activity, that they will take with them into adulthood
• To are equipped with the skills to think critically and debate political questions, to enable them to manage their money on a day-to-day basis, and plan for future financial needs.

Health & Wellbeing

The health and well-being area of the programme aims to support students to develop a healthy lifestyle and to think about the decisions they make and how they will affect their life. It encompasses:

• how to maintain physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing
• how to manage risks to physical and emotional health and wellbeing
• ways of keeping physically and emotionally safe
• managing change, including puberty, transition and loss
• how to make informed choices about health and wellbeing and to recognise sources of help with this
• how to respond in an emergency
• how to identify different influences on health and wellbeing

Healthy Relationships

The Healthy Relationships area of the programme seeks to offer students the knowledge and life skills that will prepare them for the various relationship issues they will face as they grow, or that they may face in the future. Over the 5-year programme, the age-appropriate lessons will focus on:

• different types of relationships, including friendships, family relationships, intimate relationships and dealing with strangers;
• how to recognise, understand and build healthy relationships, including self-respect and respect for others, commitment, tolerance, boundaries and consent, and how to manage conflict, and also how to recognise unhealthy relationships;
• how relationships may affect health and wellbeing, including mental health;
• healthy relationships and safety online; and
• factual knowledge, at secondary school, around sex, sexual health and sexuality, set firmly within the context of relationships.

All lessons have been designed to include Catholic teaching on relationships.

Financial Management

The finance programme aims to equip students with the knowledge and understanding of personal financial management to enable them to make well informed decisions about their spending, saving and borrowing when they become adults. During the 5-year programme students will learn about:

• Sources of income
• Credit and debt
• Savings and investments, planning for the future including pensions
• Pay and deductions
• Making sound financial choices
• Long term impact of poor financial management and poor decision making

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