'Education for Life’ Programme

'Education for Life’ Programmes

The ‘Education for Life’ (EfL) programme runs through weekly tutor sessions for Years 7 to 11. The compulsory elements of the course, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), Health Education, Religious Studies in KS4 and Careers Education are taught as part our social, moral and cultural curriculum.

The aim of the programme is to offer students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and develop skills which will enable them to keep themselves and others physically, emotionally and mentally safe. 

Within the delivery of our EfL lessons our focus will be on our school core ICARE skills of independence, creativity, active learning, resilience and empathy where students will also be provided with guidance to employment and higher education prospects, while allowing them to become informed UK citizens who are able to maturely justify their opinions and show empathy to others.

The schemes of work will be delivered by tutors twice a week in a rolling programme, and the curriculum will cover the following topics for each year group.  Where there is a repeated title, the content will be age appropriate and incremental to what has been taught before.

Year 7: Transition and Safety, Building Relationships, Developing Skills and Aspirations, Health and Puberty, Online Safety and Financial Decision Making.

Year 8: Emotional Wellbeing, Identity and Relationships, Community and Careers, Drugs and Alcohol, Identity and Relationships and Digital Literacy.

Year 9: Healthy Lifestyle, Intimate Relationships, Employability Skills/Setting Goals, Peer Influence – Substance Abuse and Gangs, Addressing Extremism and Radicalisation and Respectful Relationships.

Year 10: The Self, Love, Mock Interview Prep, Influence, Exploitation and Careers.

Year 11: Next Steps, Personhood, Families, Independence and Perseverance.

Assessment for the EfL course will be in the form of end of unit appraisals and reflection journals. Students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of the topics covered, via discussion and multiple-choice questioning. They will also have opportunities to record their learning in an EfL journal, as necessary.

The curriculum is further enriched by a program of external guests who are invited to attend classes to deepen students understanding of the issues that they study.  Workshops on the related topics of finance, drug abuse and road safety will be on offer throughout the first term, with more ongoing throughout the year.

Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education: FAQs