Health & Wellbeing

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 3

At Key Stage 3, students are timetabled to have one lesson of PSE each fortnight. During these lessons, young people participate in a range of carefully structured learning opportunities to ensure that topics are covered safely, and with the space for a range of differing opinions and experiences. Flexibility is also given within schemes of work to allow time to respond to topical news or health issues as they arise. Additional lessons during the academic year have included coverage of the refugee crisis, the Paris attacks and New Psychoactive Substances. 

Key Stage 4

Key Stage 4

The Key Stage 4 curriculum is delivered through the framework of the Welsh Baccalaureate Individual Project. Each year, students participate in a nine week PSE project as part of a carousel of learning experiences. During year 10, the young people follow two parallel courses, based on gender-based violence and how to carry out a research project. At the end of the course, students are required to submit an essay of 1000 on the research area of their choice. At the end of year 11, the essay is 2000 words, and the result goes towards their overall Welsh Baccalaureate Award.

Partnership and Mult-Agency Contributions

The PSE Department has strong links with a range of multi and creative agencies, to broaden the learning experiences. Projects in recent years have included:

• Fluellen Theatre – No Known Grave. A theatre in education performance to support the understanding of Year 9 students on Armistice Day
• Solomon Theatre Company – Last Orders. A theatre in education performance for year 9 pupils, followed by an interactive workshop on the subject of alcohol misuse and sexual activity
• Taking Flight Theatre – Real Human Being. A theatre in education project for year 9 pupils, followed by an interactive workshop on the subject of disability hate crime.
• Valley and Vale Community Arts - No Blurred Lines. A theatre in education performance and interactive workshop to support the understanding of rape culture and sexual consent for year 12 students
• Valley and Vale Community Arts – Up for It. A theatre in education performance and interactive workshop to support understanding of a discrete group of Year 10 students’ understanding of risk-taking behaviour and substance misuse.
• Valley and Vale Community Arts /Barnados – What’s Happening Frankie. A theatre in education performance to support the understanding of year 8 pupils with regards to child sexual exploitation

Bryntirion Comprehensive School participates in the All Wales School Core Programme, during which lessons on a range of risk-taking activities are delivered by PC Stewart, Police Liasion Officer, and The Healthy Schools Programme. Guest speakers are also welcomed to the school on an annual basis to deliver assemblies, lessons and bespoke workshops, to include: Paul Hannaford (Drugs Misuse); The Samaritans (Mental and Emotional Health); Teenage Cancer Trust; Simon Green (Disability Hate Crime), and Calan DVS (formally Bridgend Women’s Aid).

The PSE seeks out opportunities for the voices of students to be heard by people who make decisions regarding young people, such as the Police and Crime Commission, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Ministers and Assembly Members, and academics carrying out research into young people’s contexts. The opinions of students at Bryntirion Comprehensive School have been shared at the Leader’s Summit into Child Sexual Exploitation and the launch of the Advocacy Service for Young People, where VIth form student Eleri Harry was guest speaker. Bryntirion also participated in a national survey of the health of young people and Cardiff University’s DECIPHer project, which investigates public health improvement.