We currently teach Relational Development to all Year 7 students with the aim of supporting young people in our school community to reflect on and develop how they understand and relate to others. Students explore their social and personal identities and discuss how these identities can hold privilege and power, as well as be made vulnerable. Students identify and assess their emotions with the aim of labelling and communicating them with others in a way that is safe for everyone.

The curriculum supports students to understand the difference between 'wants' and 'needs' and then develop an understanding of how unmet needs can lead to unhelpful behaviours, as well as the impact they may have on both ourselves and others. Our curriculum aims to support students to advocate for their needs and navigate conflict. Central to the curriculum is the explicit teaching of restorative practice and the skills to reconnect, repair and restore relationships when conflict occurs.

Our Relational Development curriculum aims to support the evolving social, emotional and communication needs of our growing community of young people with SEND. It also seeks to support our whole community in understanding that disadvantage is not a characteristic we have, it is something that is systemically and institutionally created and upheld. Below is a list of the topics we explore across the Y7 curriculum:

Autumn - Make

Spring - Maintain

Summer - Mend

What does learning look like: shared values and expectations

Conflict - Why conflict occurs?

Conflict Cycle and De-escalation

Social Graces: other perspectives and what makes us unique

Conflict - Responding to conflict & conflict styles

Flipping the Lip

Zones or Regulation: identifying emotions

Responding to Needs

Non-verbal cues

Needs: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Power of Words: iMessages

Repair and Restore- Restorative v Punitive

Social awareness: understanding other perspectives and intention v impact

Fact vs. Opinion - What else is true?

Repair and Restore- Restorative v Punitive and scenarios