PSHE
Our Vision
At Bristol Metropolitan Academy, our Personal Development and Relationships Education curriculum supports students to become safe, healthy, respectful and informed young people who are prepared for life beyond school and modern society.
Through a broad, inclusive and safeguarding-led curriculum, students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to:
- build positive relationships
- make informed decisions
- manage challenges confidently
- understand risk and personal safety
- prepare for adulthood and future opportunities
Curriculum Structure
Personal Development and Relationships Education is delivered weekly to students in Years 7–10 through timetabled lessons, with Year 11 students engaging with key themes through Learning Family time and additional focused sessions where appropriate.
Students also participate in assemblies, Safety Days, external workshops, enrichment activities and visiting speaker opportunities which further support personal development and wellbeing across the academy.
Our curriculum uses guidance from the PSHE Association Programme of Study and is structured around three core themes:
- Health and Wellbeing
- Relationships
- Living in the Wider World (including impartial CEIAG aligned to the Gatsby Benchmarks)
Topics are carefully sequenced and revisited throughout each year group to support progression, build confidence and allow students to develop understanding over time.
What Students Learn
Students engage with a wide range of topics including:
- healthy relationships and consent
- mental health and emotional wellbeing
- online safety and digital literacy
- equality, diversity and inclusion
- safeguarding and personal safety
- financial wellbeing and careers education
- exploitation, coercion and grooming
- extremism and radicalisation
- physical and sexual health
Our curriculum continues to evolve in response to emerging safeguarding priorities and the changing experiences of young people, including online harms, misinformation, AI-generated content and contextual safeguarding concerns.
Wider Personal Development Opportunities
Students also benefit from:
- assemblies and themed awareness events
- external agencies and visiting speakers
- Safety Days and drop-down activities
- student leadership opportunities
- enrichment and wider academy initiatives
These opportunities help students develop confidence, resilience, leadership and respect for others both within and beyond the academy.
Safeguarding and Student Support
Lessons are delivered in a safe and inclusive environment which encourages respectful discussion, critical thinking and confidence in accessing support when needed.
All lessons include opportunities for reflection, discussion and signposting to further support both within and beyond the academy.
Parent and Carer Information
Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) forms a statutory part of the curriculum.
Parents/carers have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all non-statutory sex education delivered as part of RSHE.
There is no right to withdraw from:
- Relationships Education
- Health Education
- content covered through the statutory Science curriculum
Further information can be found in the academy’s RSHE policy and withdrawal request form below.
Further Information
Documents
For further information regarding Personal Development and Relationships Education, please contact:
Programme Leader of PSHE: Josie Waithe
Associate Assistant Principal: Jo Fisher
Email: pshe@bma.clf.uk
