The PSHE curriculum at Stowe aims to cultivate a thoughtful, cooperative, considerate and compassionate generation of young people who are adept at negotiating the complexities of modern day life.
The PSHE course is holistic in its approach with a strong emphasis on relationships, health and sex education in the Lower School, while incorporating broader themes in the Sixth Form. The course is designed to encourage pupils to develop dispositions such as empathy and resilience while enhancing critical thinking and debating skills.
PSHE delivery at Stowe requires pupils to debate and question within their lessons and they are encouraged to demonstrate creative adaptation and enquiry. At the completion of their time at Stowe, we would expect pupils to have developed skills in considerate communication, self-management, collaborative work, critical and creative thinking, and, finally, enquiry and reflection.
The PSHE curriculum is delivered to all Lower School Stoics during one period a week. In the Sixth Form, a programme of external speakers is offered with a view to furthering our pupils’ understanding of their place in the world, the impact of life choices on career and personal opportunities and the ability to ‘give back’ through volunteering programmes.
The programme of study is supported, and augmented, by teaching in other disciplines such as Philosophy, History and the Sciences. In addition, the Medical Centre, the Careers Department, the Chaplaincy, the School Therapists, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team and other associated professionals augment the programme. Above all, the attentive eyes and ears of the pastoral teams within the Houses, which include House Parents, Matrons, and Tutors liaise to ensure that we are proactive to emergent needs at a whole School level. To that end, the curriculum content remains flexible to allow for impromptu topic delivery to a particular form or year group as the need arises. These issues may include topics such as bereavement, use of social media, relationships and friendships and can be requested by pupils, tutors or Houseparents in response to a particular issue within a form or year group.