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SPACE

 

Name of the department

 

We are the SPACE department:

 

S     - Social

P     - Personal

A     - And

C     - Citizenship/Careers

E     - Education

 

Aims of the department

 

Through SPACE we aim to underpin Beverley Grammar’s vision of being a “friendly, open, caring and successful school”. We do this by:

 

a) Promoting the personal development of all our young people.

 

Enabling our young people to:

 

  • develop self-esteem, self-awareness and understanding, confidence, self-reliance, self-discipline and to make the most of their own abilities
  • develop the ability to reflect on and become responsible for their own learning, future choice of courses and career.

 

b) Encouraging active citizenship and the involvement of our young people in their communities.

 

Enabling our young people to:

 

  • play an active role as members of a democratic society, and become involved in the life and concerns of their neighbourhood and communities
  • develop a sense of social and moral responsibility and fairness
  • have the ability to develop and communicate their own values and beliefs whilst respecting those of different cultural traditions, and make informed decisions
  • develop a knowledge and understanding of currents issues and the main political and social institutions that affect their lives and of their responsibilities, rights and duties as individuals, and members of communities.

 

c) Developing our young people’s understanding of health and safety issues.

 

Enabling our young people to:

 

  • develop a healthy lifestyle so that they can stay as healthy as possible and keep themselves and others safe
  • reduce the chance of their education being interrupted or impaired eg: through unintended pregnancy, drug misuse, fear of bullying.

 

d) Developing our young people’s ability to form positive relationships.

 

Enabling our young people to:

 

  • understand and manage responsibly a wider range of relationships as they mature and show respect for the diversity of and differences between people so that they can go on to form effective, fulfilling relationships
  • appreciate the need for co-operation and concern for others and enable them to cope with difficult situations.

 

How do you bring this subject to life at BGS?

 

At Beverley Grammar School we believe that children and young people’s personal, social, moral, cultural, spiritual and emotional development are of paramount importance. As a subject, SPACE fits perfectly in to the school’s ethos. We aim to ensure that:

 

§  All children and young people are valued and encouraged.

§  Positive relationships are promoted throughout the school.

§  There is a safe and secure school environment that is conducive to learning.

§  Potential is recognised and developed and all forms of achievement are celebrated.

 

We invite lots of outside agencies in to really bring your learning to life. Some of our speakers include: PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers) to Fire fighters, Drugs Workers, Sexual Health Workers, Charity workers, MPs, the School Nurse, SMART   Risk Road show and Viking FM. In addition to this variety of speaker, as teachers we are all totally committed to our students’ learning experience and spend time resourcing quality and interactive lessons which appeal to all styles of learning.

 

What facilities do you have?

 

All staff teach in rooms which are ‘SPACE-friendly’. By this we mean not science labs/ICT rooms (unless they are booked for a specific lesson). This is due to the ‘hands-on’ nature of the subject- we often move the tables and chairs into a circle and move around the room to express ourselves.

 

The SPACE teachers 2010/11

 

v  Mrs Taylor, SPACE co-ordinator: Years 10 & 11 (also RE teacher)

v  Mrs Good: Years 9 & 10(also RE, ICT & Business Studies teacher)

v  Mr Goodwin: Year 11 (also Head teacher and SPACE guru)

v  Mr Jones: (Careers Education)Years 10 & 11(also Assistant Head)

v  Mrs Caddell: Year 9, but has also delivered Year 7 & 8 (also Assistant Head of Maths)

v  Mr Caddell: Year 9, but has also delivered Year 7 (also PE teacher)

v  Mrs Thompson: Years 7 & 8, but has also delivered Year  9 (also Maths teacher)

v  Mr Coull: Year 7, but has also delivered Year 8  (also Head of Business Studies)

v  Miss Buchan: Year 8, but has also delivered Year 7 (also Biology teacher)

v  Mr Scott: Year 8, but has also delivered Year 7 & 9 (also Physics teacher)

v  Mr Desborough: Year 8, but has also delivered Year 7 (also ICT guru!)

v  Miss Drew: Year 7 (also Biology teacher)

v  Miss D: Year 7 (also our new Languages teacher)

 

 

Do staff have specialist areas of interest?

 

All SPACE teachers have been trained to teach the subject. This is because some of the sensitive topics the subject deals with. We are very proud of this as a department, as in many schools it is delivered by form tutors who are not passionately committed to the subject as we are.

 

What is the coolest thing about the department?

 

“I love SPACE ‘cos it’s totally different to other lessons. You get chance to discuss things and it’s all about real life situations.”

Ashley Westerman, 11B

 

“The outside speakers who came in are ace. Neil from Conifer House speaks to us on our level and helps us to know about all the services available to young people.”

Ryan Cook, Year 11M

 

“SPACE is ace ‘cos I can express my feelings and get advice about anything.”

Mason Jones, 10S

 

“Being able to share our feelings and show our emotions. You always feel safe to ask questions.”

Alex Richards, 10B

 

“The teachers respect us and care about us. They want to hear our views and they make every lesson fun.”

Pete Starling, 8M

 

What do pupils enjoy most about learning in this department?

 

“The variety of things we learn about, means no lesson is ever the same which makes it interesting, fun and exciting.”

Ben Adkin, 10S

 

“It’s all about stuff relevant to our lives like sex and drugs, which means we look forward to every lesson.”

Tom Monk, 10C

 

“It’s not like sitting and copying off the board. We get up and do stuff. It’s fun and interesting.”

Matthew Minshall, 7M

 

“It really prepares you for adult life.”

Chevan Ilangaratne, 10F What teaching styles do you use in the department?

 

We aim to use as many as we possibly can! We are totally committed to making the learning experience as fun, interactive and stimulating as possible. We want all our students to love coming to our lessons and our aim is that everyone feels safe, valued and successful. We want your teaching and learning environment to be an exciting experience from the moment that you enter the lesson.

 

Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9:

 

You are taught in your form group about the following topics:

 

Ø  Sex and Relationships Education

Ø  Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco Education

Ø  Bullying/Friendships

Ø  Careers

Ø  Decision Making

Ø  Personal Financial Education

Ø  Citizenship

Ø  Rights and Responsibilities

 

Each year, the programme is designed so that you build on prior knowledge and develop your understanding of the topic. Each lesson is SKILLS as well as KNOWLEDGE based, which makes it fun, relevant and exciting. Not only that, this approach means you will be totally ready for an interview and the world of work; something which is vitally important.

 

Year 10 and Year 11:

 

You are taught in small mixed ability classes on a rotation basis spending 3 weeks with each teacher who specialises in the specific subject area:

 

v  Mrs Taylor- Sex and Relationships Education, Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco, Citizenship

v  Mr Jones- Careers Education

v  Mrs Good/Mr Goodwin- Personal Financial Education/ Health Education, Citizenship

 

Year 12 and Year 13:

 

These lessons are organised by Mrs Walters, Head of Sixth Form and delivered by the Sixth form tutors.

 

Extra Curricular Clubs, support etc

 

As a subject we believe in supporting our young people throughout their educational journey and are happy to go the extra mile in helping students. We have a strong partnership with the Tuesday lunchtime ‘Pop-In’ clinic run by Mrs Chisholm and encourage students to go along. This is a fantastic facility which outside agencies also attend, such as the School Nurse, Connexions, Drug and Alcohol support workers and the PCSOs. (12.30pm Careers library, every Tuesday)

 

Links to other useful websites

 

 

Any other information that would “sell” the department?

 

SPACE were so proud to receive a glowing report from the Ofsted inspector in September 2008:

 

“Programmes, known throughout the school as SPACE, make a significant contribution to students’ well-being and support their personal, social, health and emotional development. Students say that lessons are ‘Interesting and exciting’ and comment that ‘Other subjects do not cover these things.’ Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding; they are enthusiastic in learning about other cultures and religious practices in response to a rich and stimulating programme of visits and cross-curricular work. Students value the opportunities the SPACE programme provides to promote their independence and confidence, understand their social responsibility, and learn about good citizenship. They are encouraged to think for themselves and explain their ideas to others. They say, ‘We are treated as individuals, whatever view you have is OK, our views are respected.’”

 

The SPACE department at Beverley Grammar were delighted to receive national recognition of the SPACE programme. It is featured on the PSHEe Association website. Well done SPACE team!