Learn how Lizzie Colvin — a PSHE Lead working in a secondary setting for boys with SEMH — has developed and raised the profile of PSHE in her school.
Lizzie is a PSHE lead working in a secondary SEMH setting for boys in Hampshire. She's been in post for a year, beginning as an LSA before beginning to teach PSHE. This year, Lizzie and her school have implemented a new curriculum using our gathering pupils' views lesson plan, Programme Builders and a range of other materials from our extensive library of PSHE guidance and resources.
Karen’s teaching experience lies across both primary and secondary settings within different local authorities. She has held a number of deputy headships and has been a Head teacher, as well as working as a Healthy Schools adviser and a county advisor for PSHE education.
Note: This interview transcript has been edited for readability with permission from both speakers.
This interview explores one approach to delivering PSHE education in a Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) setting. All settings will vary significantly and this example describes what has worked for one PSHE lead in a particular SEMH boys school. You will know your own setting, and the needs of your pupils, best; and therefore, the suggestions shared here may not all be applicable to all settings, particularly for those working in mainstream schools.
Section 1: challenges and opportunities
It's definitely tricky trying to cater for every single type of student. Even in one class, you can have five or six different needs on any given day.
Karen
Welcome to our session Lizzie — it's so kind of you, and we really appreciate you joining us this afternoon. We know that you have done a lot of work in terms of developing and raising the profile of PSHE education in your school.
In terms of the needs of your students — because obviously our focus is around special educational needs and the bespoke needs of our pupils (in terms of PSHE learning and understanding) — could you give us a little bit of background about the needs of your students; and maybe a bit about the challenges, but more importantly the opportunities as well. And how all of this is really informing your PSHE curriculum?
Lizzie
Yeah, so we're a secondary setting for boys with SEMH needs. We have got a wide range of needs in the school — from autism and ADHD to students who have got a traumatic background — so all students in the school have got an EHC plan. But as I say, it's a really wide variety, so it's definitely tricky trying to cater for every single type of student. Even in one class, you can have five or six different needs on any given day.
Karen
There's a lot to consider isn't there! And in terms of the students themselves, what kinds of challenges do you think they face in their daily lives and what they might face in the future as well?
Lizzie
We have got a number of students who are from a poorer socioeconomic background. So, especially with the cost of living crisis at the moment, they are struggling to buy things like uniform, food, all of those sorts of things. And I think everybody across the school — not just those who are from a poor background — is struggling in general at the moment. Even petrol for getting to and from school: parents are less able to bring [the kids] to school and take them home from school because some of them will live half an hour or 40 minutes away. And that's a long way to drive each day, so they're missing out on days purely just because they can't afford petrol. So there are gaps there… things that are no fault of their own, but they do really struggle for it.
Karen
And thinking about social interaction, what are the challenges in terms of their aspirations and how others relate to them?
Lizzie
Again, there's a wide range. So we've got students who are less likely to go and interact with their peers socially, and would much prefer to chat with a teacher or a member of the pastoral team. And we've also got boys who are at risk in the local community of county lines… all those sorts of things. So it's really ‘night and day’ in terms of the way the boys interact with each other. And those being all together in the same setting can definitely present its challenges, because all of our students are vulnerable. And it's the way that they interact with each other we have to be really watchful of… all it takes is a couple of minutes for it to all kick off.
Yeah, and being prepared to be flexible with what you're asking them to do... Because if they come in, and they've just been sent off at football, there is no way they're going to sit down and let you teach them for 45 minutes. You need to be ready to give them that time to get their head around what's just happened before you start asking them to do something else.
And as you can imagine, there are many challenges there in terms of behaviour and engagement. The boys have lots of different views, and — on the whole — they're really good at sharing those with each other… not necessarily in the way you might anticipate, but it is really useful to get a conversation going.
And in terms of opportunities, last year, we actually used the PSHE Association resource on gathering pupils' views to inform us on what the students wanted from PSHE. We also used it to help them understand what the point of PSHE is, because, you know they'd kind of come in… “but I don't really know what the point of this is… I can't really be bothered…”. So we used the resource on gathering pupils’ views in conjunction with the lesson that I had done to show them why we're doing it. And that has then informed our curriculum for this year. So everything they’ve chosen is now in our curriculum at one point or another.
Karen
And that's brilliant you know, because we often think about enabling our students to access particular topics and get that underpinning knowledge and understanding about it. But you've gone right to the heart of things, you know, ‘what's the point of this in the first place if we're going to engage them…’. That's such a useful step to take!
Karen
What kinds of things did your class raise during the gathering pupils' views lesson plan?
Lizzie
So the biggest one that we had actually was money, and learning about budgeting: learning about credit cards, financing, mortgages — because they're all really concerned with how they're going to be able to manage their own money when they leave school.
Karen
And that's the current climate… it's understandable, isn't it… that it would be a prime concern for them in particular.
Lizzie
Yeah, definitely… that and they all want a Ferrari each, so they need to work out how to afford that…
Karen
[laughter] But it’s intertwining that with their aspiration as well isn't it. So it's — as you do so well — connecting with where they want to be, what they want to do, what their aspirations may be, and what they want for their future lives. And that's all linked with the purpose of PSHE as well. So I think that's a wonderful way in for your learners, and I'm sure other PSHE leads in special school settings, will find that really useful...
You bring so much enthusiasm and inspiration to your role, I was just wondering about the sorts of approaches that you've used to improve the quality — as you perceive it — of PSHE education in your school. What's worked well and what maybe hasn't been as successful?
Lizzie
So I've basically made extensive use of the student feedback. And the real thing for me is being able to say: ‘you decided when you did the survey that this is what you wanted to look at’. And they've really, really responded to that. And again, as I say, I've made a real effort in discussing what the point of PSHE is. So every year group at the end of last term had a kind of ‘what's the point of PSHE’ lesson, because as far as they were concerned — which I didn't realise until we had this discussion — PSHE was CPR, and it was sex education… and that’s all they learned about in PSHE...
Karen
There is a connection in there somewhere, but we won't go there!
Lizzie
So, yeah, we really discussed it, and then — as they all come back for their lessons this week — every year group will have an intro lesson on why we're studying PSHE this year showing them: the focus for this half term, the different sub headings that they're going to be looking at, and explaining to them how those lessons are going to work.
I've also implemented [for all year groups] booklets, so they can see what they've got coming up. And they can also see what they've had… so they can continue making those links. And they quite like that as well — flicking through and looking at all the things they're going to be doing and getting quite excited about that which I wasn't necessarily anticipating… But yeah, the biggest thing is that they've got the input in what they're going to be learning — they've told me what they want to learn, and I've put that in place for them. And they can now link it to how it's going to help them and why it matters for them… not just because I want to stand in front of a room and talk at them for 45 minutes, but because it's going to help them once they leave school as they're growing up. And that's been the biggest thing for me — that they can see how it relates to themselves.
Karen
So they've made that personal connection with the subject... Could you tell us a little bit more about what's in the booklet?
Lizzie
So the way our school works is that we have kind of a 'set menu' for lessons. So [students] will have what's called a 'do now' task for when they come in. So they can have their booklet, open it up, find the do now task and they get straight on and do that. Today it was what do you think PSHE stands for? So they had five minutes to do that while everyone was coming in and sitting down. And then we went through that together. Or it'll be things like list five ways that you can help yourself have a balanced lifestyle or just something like that. So something quick and easy to get them going.
And then we break it down into activities — so students will have like two or three activities depending on the session. And then obviously, we'll have a plenary at the end. So each booklet has got their ‘do now’ with their title and everything by it. And then it has got the activities in the booklet. They can read it, so if they don't necessarily want to put their hand up and say, Lizzie, what's going on, it's all there for them in the booklet. And if they want to crack on, while one of the others is trying to you know, distract or do something else, they can just get on and do it.
Yeah, [the booklets] seem to be working — we used them last term and obviously we're going into this year now using them. And lots of [our students] have expressed to me that they like being able to see what's coming up… and also being able to flip back and see so they can link things together… especially as we are now having two lessons on PSHE a week — we've gone up from one to two. And so each kind of sub-topic that we're doing.. they're going to have two lessons on. We're doing ‘the zones of regulation’ next week and they’re going to have one lesson on ‘what are the zones of regulation’ and then the next lesson will be on how to build their own sort of toolkit… how they can help themselves using the zones. They like to be able to flip backwards and forwards between them as well…
Karen
And it's very practical as well, seeing that sort of before and after timeline — it's really empowering. What made you hit upon taking that approach?
Lizzie
Well to begin with, when I first started at this school, they weren't necessarily using workbooks… they were just being given the worksheets each week. And it was a bit of an organisational nightmare — because things would just get lost. So I liked the idea of the booklet because — in my case — if I give them an exercise book, they're like 'ah there's gonna be loads of writing in this… I don't want to do this'. Whereas if I give them the booklet, there is writing but it's in short sections, and split up with the subheading of the next activity etc.. So they don't necessarily realise how much they're writing. And they're writing the same amount as they would if they were doing it in an exercise book, but because it looks like it's in a booklet, an activity booklet, it doesn't necessarily have the same "Oh, my goodness, I'm not writing, you can't make me" impact that it was having beforehand.
Karen
Wonderful! And that sense of progress as well… just thinking about how we can capture progress in PSHE, which isn't always particularly easy… It really lends itself to that that format, doesn't it. And the students themselves being able to see what progress they made as time goes on — they can flick back. And, whether it's: ‘I used to think that… I used to believe that… or now I've changed my mind’… that's really underpinning all their personal development as well.
Just thinking about the sorts of resources... you mentioned the gathering pupil voice resource, but is there anything else in terms of PSHE Association resources that you've dipped into… or maybe just, you know, adapted to suit your students… or you maybe intend to?
Lizzie
Yeah, I mean, I've used quite a few of the PowerPoints on [the PSHE Association website] that I've adapted for my setting. I had that one to one session with you with about assessment, which was really useful… because I was able to take that then to SLT and explain why more formal assessment wasn't really the route that I wanted to go with PSHE. And as I say, that was really useful. And the PSHE Association Conference, gave me loads and loads of ideas that I’m still working my way through now. But yeah, I've dipped in and out of most things that [the PSHE Association] have got to be honest… the scheme of work builder… everything. I love it!
Karen
And we didn't pay to say that either did we Lizzie! [laughter] Thank you.
You touched upon assessment... I know you've spent a lot of time thinking about a way of assessing your students’ progress in a way that really is impactful for them, but also for your staff teaching PSHE and for parents to see. Do you mind just elaborating a little bit on that please?
Lizzie
Yeah, so with assessment what we're kind of trying to do is to make it assessment without [students] realizing as much…. because I don't believe that that’s what PSHE is for — it's for help developing them as a person and developing them in the wider world. So it's quite informal… I'm doing a lot of baseline assessments at the beginning of a topic and then kind of revisiting that at the end of a topic. We've got confidence rating scales: "what do you think this means" and then going back and revisiting, "okay, do you still think that this means that? Or would you actually say No, I don't, I don't believe that anymore"… so that is our main way of doing it at the moment... because yeah, I just don't think that a more formal way would work in the setting that we're in.
Karen
Yes, and with everything else that you've done on getting [students] engaged and helping them to see the relevance and meaning [of PSHE] for them for their own lives — for it to be embedded in what you're doing, rather than a sort of 'bolt on' framework that would feel, potentially, like jumping through hoops — I can really see your point in taking that approach... wow.
So you've told us a lot about your students… how you've approached and designed things to get that engagement with your pupils. On a personal level, what would you say that you particularly enjoy about your role… what really gets you out of bed?
Lizzie
I love the discussions I have with students, because they are just brilliant! You know… I cover a wide range of subjects with them within PSHE and the discussions that come from that are great. They've got a lot of insight into what it is they want to talk about. And I enjoy modelling the way that a discussion should be held… rather than shouting it across the room at somebody... I like getting the chance to sit with them one on one or in small groups and kind of have a chat: ‘Okay, what do you think about this?...’. They were talking about Brexit the other day, and all the implications of Brexit. And all five of them had different views. But getting them to express those views in a way that was respectful, and wasn't going to cause any upset for anybody was... it's just one of those lightbulb moments... where they were all just really chilled and having a chat, and it was just lovely.
Karen
Yeah, and that's so wonderful to witness as well — that development of their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, which is really going to help them, you know, as they progress throughout the school and for their future lives, which lies at the heart of what we want PSHE to be. In terms of what your hopes are for your learners’ futures, could you put that into words? You know, the difference you feel you are making to them and their lives and their attitudes and so on…
Lizzie
I think really, it's just giving them the tools to be able to achieve whatever it is that they want to achieve. I want to make sure that they know how to do things like do their own banking, you know… know how to book a doctor's appointment and look after their own mental health… because that's not necessarily a priority for a lot of them at the moment. And yeah, my main goal for them is just that they are able to live the life that they want to live, and they know how to do it and that they don't get stuck at the first hurdle.
Karen
That's amazing…amazing things you have shared with us today... Thinking about your setting — and you know, you've been on quite a journey to get to where you want to with your students and what you want to achieve for them — what three key pieces of advice do you think you'll probably give to a new PSHE lead in a setting like yours [an SEMH setting]?
Lizzie
So I think my first one would be to make use of the Programme Builder — it just helps me get my head around what is necessary for me to do, but also how to do it in a way that my students can access. My second one is to involve [students] in the planning process... be like: ‘what do you want to learn about… what's important to you?’ because then, when you're in a lesson and they're going: ‘well, why am I doing this?’... ‘Because you asked me to’ is actually the reason that you can give — because they have said to you ‘this is what I would like to learn today’
... And I think, the biggest [third] one is to be prepared to completely rearrange your lesson if a topic comes up, or they want to have ‘that’ discussion... because while they're having these discussions about different topics, like for example the Brexit thing, you are still modelling the tools that they need to be able to go out into the wider world and have those discussions, whether it be with friends, or colleagues or whatever… and not everything needs to be written down. Just because you're not writing it down doesn't mean that the lesson was a waste of time — because you've given them the tools to go away and you know, do something really good.
Karen
Thank you Lizzie! That's been a wonderful description about the sorts of work you've undertaken in your school. And all you've done to enable your students to become really interested and engaged in their PSHE learning. And we really appreciate you taking the time today to tell us so much about all the different things you have undertaken. Your school is very lucky to have you at the helm. Thank you so much.
Lizzie
Thank you.