Learning for Life
Ambition for All
The new Learning for Life programme for key stage 3 aims to prepare students for life outside of school by working towards 5 key goals:
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1. Understand personal safety and well-being, and how external factors may affect this e.g. social media.
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2. Evaluate life decisions and contribute towards society through responsible actions e.g. managing money.
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3. Appreciate the value of relationships with others and the diversity these may take e.g. what makes a healthy relationship? -
4. Develop personal values and a sense of autonomy whilst respecting the cultural and religious beliefs of others e.g. by learning about different religions and their beliefs.
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5. Understand our democratic process and evaluate the effectiveness e.g. through learning about the main political parties.
Year 7 programme of study
Term 1:
Back to our roots – For the first term at Astor college for our new Y7s will attempt to connect the students the world around them. They will get out of the classroom and in to the wild as often as possible for nature walks, orienteering, mapping and drawing. This will develop their understanding of the physical geography and the biodiversity around them as well as promoting good health and outdoor literacy.
Term 2:
Well-Being – In this term students will be using resources mainly supplied by the ‘Time to Change’ charity. The focus of the resources is to promote positive mental health and well-being and to equip students with the resources and connections for help and guidance, if needed. Students will be able to try different ways of coping with everyday stress through stress bucket activities and the practice of mindfulness.
Term 3:
Religion – Students are introduced to five religions/ways of life: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. The content is explored under the heading of ‘Sacred Places and Spaces’ which allows the students to see where a person worships and understand what the main parts of the religion are. Students will practise different forms of meditation; write their own dedications to a person they love or admire and will create pieces of artwork from different religions.
Term 4:
Religion – Students are introduced to five religions/ways of life: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. The content is explored under the heading of ‘Sacred Places and Spaces’ which allows the students to see where a person worships and understand what the main parts of the religion are. Students will practise different forms of meditation; write their own dedications to a person they love or admire and will create pieces of artwork from different religions.
Term 5:
Technology – This term gives the students hands-on tech experience using the Micro:bit hardware provided by the BBC. The course will lead them through the engineering processes, coding and real-world applications needed to thrive in a rapidly developing environment.
Term 6:
Technology – See above
Year 8 programme of study
Term 1:
Media Literacy – students are given access to a range of resources which encourage them to engage critically with the media. This course of study is diverse in supporting students safe use of the media, it incorporates activities that require students to identify fake news, identify the political stance behind a media resource and know where to find help if content is not appropriate.
Term 2:
Environmental activism – In this term pupils explore climate change and the impact it is having on our planet. Students are made aware of carbon footprints, food prints, ecological handprints and are introduced to the concept of you are what you wear. Students are inspired to make responsible decisions and identify how they can change future consumption.
Term 3:
Religion – Students are introduced to five religions/ways of life: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. The content is explored under the heading of ‘Sacred Places and Spaces’ which allows the students to see where a person worships and understand what the main parts of the religion are. Students will practise different forms of meditation; write their own dedications to a person they love or admire and will create pieces of artwork from different religions.
Term 4:
Religion – Please see content above.
Term 5:
Current affairs – In this term students will explore what is happening NOW. They will explore debate topics focused on all that is important at the time. They will be able to use previous topics, such as Religion, Environmental activism and Media literacy to understand the hot topics of the time. This is subject to change; however, students can expect to discuss and explore climate change, Brexit, secularisation, poverty and gender to name but a few.
Term 6:
Field to table – In this term students will learn about food production and where the food we eat comes from. They will be able to reflect upon their Environmental activism topic to understand the impact of some of the food we source. Students should have the opportunity to contribute toward the school vegetable patch (TBC) and at the least grow some herbs to incorporate in their cooking at home. Students will engage with some thought-provoking documentaries to think about the food choices they make on a daily basis.
Year 9 programme of study
Term 1:
Money Matters – In this term the students will use a variety of resources to prepare them for managing their money independently in their lives out of school. Throughout the unit they will learn how to save money, budget effectively and use their savings wisely.
Term 2:
Unifrog Careers – In this term we focus on Unifrog, an in-depth careers platform, to guide the students through the wide range of careers available to them. They will learn how to use the tool to investigate what careers could might suit them, potential salaries and suggests appropriate GCSE/A-Levels to take.
Term 3:
Skills for the Workplace - In this term the students are given access to a range of resources from the Barclays Life Skills program that will help students gain vital skills to help them in applying for jobs and for starting and thriving in a new job.
Term 4:
Religion – Students are introduced to five religions/ways of life: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. The content is explored under the heading of ‘Sacred Places and Spaces’ which allows the students to see where a person worships and understand what the main parts of the religion are. Students will practise different forms of meditation; write their own dedications to a person they love or admire and will create pieces of artwork from different religions.
Term 5:
Citizenship – This term aims to build the students’ understanding of the society they are part of in the UK with a focus on laws, parliament and government. They will explore what it means to be British, building on the British values acquired and developed from across the Astor Curriculum.
Term 6:
Charity – This term the students will explore the wealth of charity work going on around the world, nationally and within their own communities. They will learn how humanitarian aid works on large and small scales and will look in to how they can support charitable organisations in a number of different ways.
https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/teaching-resources
It is important for our students to be aware of, and exhibit in their every day interactions, the British Values:
