The Edinburgh Academy

Geits

The year begins with several lessons devoted to induction to the school, discussing the daily routine, homework, the care of property, school rules and why they are needed. 

Relationships are then considered including assertiveness and bullying.  Finally we look at aspects of personal safety beginning with general safety at home, at school, and away from home.  This is followed by a specific look at road safety and dangerous substances (medicines, tobacco, alcohol and drugs.)

At regular stages classroom progress is reviewed and targets set in the light of half-term reports.

Seconds and Thirds

PSD in the Second and Third years is an integrated programme delivered by the classteacher over two years, broadly following the SED's 5-14 guidelines.  Building on the previous year's programme, the course develops both depth of study and content, and whilst aiming to cover the syllabus, teachers respond to current affairs and pupils' concerns.

New areas of study include citizenship and courtesy; the wider world and charities; money matters; the law and careers.  Dangerous substances, sex education and study skills continue to form an important part of the syllabus and pupils are encouraged to explore these topics so that concerns and anxieties can be fully discussed and clarified.

In Thirds, time is also given over to the Careers department who look at Education
for Work, and course choice options for GCSE. The PSD lesson is also a time when the Year Head can address particular issues with a whole year group.

Fouth Year

All pupils in the 4ths and 5ths meet once a week with their Classteacher for a period of PSD.  The programme specifically aims to instil knowledge and understanding in key areas, whilst attempting to develop the skills needed to use that grounding effectively.  It is to be viewed as an evolving course, open to review and criticism.  A broad framework exists for each year, with supporting materials available to Classteachers, but there is the flexibility for the course to react to any specific needs that may exist within each class.

This year is the first of the GCSE course.  Early sessions concentrate on developing the sense of belonging to the class group, and concepts such as cooperation and competition are addressed, as is the idea of 'rules' within the class. This is followed by a short block on Study Skills. Many of the boys find that it is quite a step up from the Thirds course to GCSE and have difficulties in organisation and time management. It is important to address this early in the year.

In the latter part of the Autumn term the theme of Drug Use and Abuse is introduced starting with the topic of alcohol (the most relevant to this age group). Each class has the opportunity to speak with a police officer at this time following a presentation on alcohol and the law.

In the Spring term the main theme is that of Relationships and Sexual Health. From analysing different types of relationships (friends, families, partners) the course goes on to explore the subjects of love, morality and responsibility.

The course then progresses in the Summer term to look at many common drugs, from caffeine and tobacco, through to illegal drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamine and cocaine. It is important for pupils to have access to accurate information on the effects and risks of drug-taking and the legal issues surrounding this. The programme also explores the skills of decision-making, and the social pressures and myths that surround the culture of drugs.

The Summer term is also the time when the Fourths have the school's Careers structure explained to them. They do some work on self-awareness before an interview with a member of the school's Careers staff.

Fifth Year

In the 5th Year, the academic programme is geared around the prelims in January and the GCSE exams in May/June. In addition, course choices have to be made for Higher/A-Level options in the 6th Form. The 5ths PSD programme must acknowledge this, but must also respond to other needs of the pupils. A number of periods are used for general presentations on the Careers service, briefings about Futurewise profiling (formerly called Morrisby testing) and discussions on careers action plans and work experience. Individual de-briefing of Futurewise profile results is done by the Careers Department outwith the PSD slot.

During the Autumn term, we investigate the themes of Assertiveness, Self-awareness and Self-esteem. This dovetails well with the work on Careers that we cover this term.

In the Spring term, immediately following the prelim exams, the theme of Stress is introduced, looking at its causes, signs and effects. Some techniques of stress management and prevention are discussed, including healthy lifestyle and good time management. Following on from this we look again at decision-making and values. In order to set this within a context, we build on the work done in the Fourths on relationships and drugs. The Spring term closes with a number of sessions on Exam and Revision Techniques.

The GCSE exams dominate the Summer term for the 5th Year. The PSD course fits around this, though it is inevitable that the course is somewhat fragmented. Following early input from the examinations co-ordinator and the Careers department, the theme of Interpersonal Communications fills the term. The concepts of effective two-way communication, body language and other non-verbal communication are introduced and individual strengths and weaknesses are identified.