Head of Department: Mrs Ellie Llewellyn

Learning for Life (PSHE) is a compulsory element in all secondary schools which aims to equip young people with the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills required to lead confident, healthy and independent lives.

The planned curriculum of Learning for Life at Downe House helps our girls understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up.

Learning for Life is delivered to all girls at Downe House from Remove (Year 7) to Upper Fifth (Year 11). It involves one 40-minute lesson per week and is facilitated by dedicated teaching staff and augmented with both internal and external specialists.

Fundamental to Learning for Life is the need to discuss sensitive, controversial and challenging social and moral issues, and to make sense of them in the context of the girls’ own life experiences now and in the future. We aim to provide an environment that creates a climate of trust, cooperation and support where the girls can share their feelings, explore their values and attitudes, express their opinions safely and consider those of others without attracting negative feedback.

The three main strands to the programme are:

– Health and Wellbeing: settling into boarding, friends and friendships, body image, self-esteem, online safety, nutrition, mental health issues, risk management and coping with changes (including grief and loss).
– Relationships: identity, friends and family, power, conflict resolution, consent, diversity, equality and sexual health.
– Living in the Wider World: enterprise, employability and economic welllbeing (including financial literacy and eco-sustainability).

Learning for Life is a non-graded subject and often involves interactive resource material, group tasks as well as debate and discussion. The girls respond positively to the relaxed, discursive nature of the lessons and generally participate with enthusiasm and thoughtful comment.

Further information about Learning for Life may be obtained by contacting Head of Department, Mrs Ellie Llewellyn.

The Helix

The Helix is the home of the Learning for Life programme. It has a couple of spaces including a more informal classroom and a quiet device-free snug. The ‘classroom’ is deliberately designed without desks or whiteboards in order to facilitate open discussion around a host of sensitive topics. Find out more about The Helix.

Finding Balance

Wellbeing has a huge focus at Downe House beyond the curriculum: knowing how to eat healthily, sleep well, exercise, relax and manage stress are every bit as important as other aspects of school life. We are keen to give your daughter the toolkit to find balance in her life and the self-awareness to ask for help when she needs it.

Read about how we encourage our pupils to find balance and discover self-care.