Personal Development

SMSC & Cultural Capital

Year 10

  • Students experience fascination, awe and wonder through the study of the nature/nurture debate, identity, socialisation and the processes of canalisation and manipulation. Students look at childhood/age as a social construct and how youth subcultures develop as a response to low status.

  • Students explore the values & beliefs of others through the study of culture, cultural diversity, cultural relatives, cultural universals, subcultures, Anthropological case studies, Feminism, New Right ideology and religion as an agent of socialisation.

  • Students develop their understanding of human feelings and emotion through the study of labelling, stereotypes, the self-fulfilling prophecy, role conflict, moral panics, family experience and roles in the home, childhood experience, peer group influence and the impact of peer pressure.

  • Students investigate moral values and ethical issues through the study of the ethics of sociological research and expected code of conduct for researchers. Students will study different cultural family practices and the impact of stereotyping and labelling on group and individual identity.

  • Students recognise right & wrong and apply it through the study of the process of socialisation and the development of the conscience. Students will also study power in the home, domestic violence, prejudice and discrimination in schools (including sex stereotyping, unintentional racism and institutional racism etc.). The potential for anomie (normlessness) is also discussed.

  • Students develop their understanding of consequence through the study of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Students also study the positive and negative consequences of divorce and changing family patterns.

  • Students develop personal qualities & social skills through a range of discussions (often on controversial issues such as the role of religion, the role of social control, migration, multiculturalism & sexism, changing norms in relationships etc.). Debates require a sensitive and mature approach.

  • Students participate, cooperate & resolve conflict through discussions, group work and pair work. Students will be given the opportunity to work together on presentations.

  • Students develop their understanding of how societies function through the study of the process of socialisation and social control. Students will also study the various social theories on society. This includes Functionalism, The New Right, Marxism and Feminism. 

  • Students explore, understand & respect diversity through the study of anthropology and how we learn our ethnicity and gender, through the study of family diversity, cultural diversity, cultural relatives and cultural universals.

  • Students participate & respond to cultural activities through the study of British Culture – its norms, mores, values, customs etc. This activity involves creating a collage and presenting it to the class. Students are also given the opportunity to sample cultural relatives (such as different foods and dress from Pakistani culture).

  • Students develop their understanding & appreciation of personal influences through the study of various agencies of socialisation. This includes the impact of the family, peer group, education, religion, sport and the workplace. The process of re-socialisation is also studied.

  • Equality in the home and workplace is studied as well as changes in divorce law.

  • Students introduced to the concept of nurture and the various agents of socialisation that provide us with information and choice.

  • Family diversity, multiculturalism and anthropology are all studied.

  • Students study the impact of religion as an agent of socialisation and its varying impact on different social groups (such as ethnic minorities).

Year 11

  • Students experiencefascination, awe and wonder through the study of social structures including power, status, prestige and privilege in society. Students will assess how meritocratic society is. Students will look at Deviance as a social construct and how social class is constructed.

  • Students explore the values & beliefs of others through the study of Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, New Right ideology, Deviant subcultures and Social class as a subculture.

  • Students develop their understanding of human feelings and emotion through the study of various social groups and their experience of Prejudice, Discrimination and Stereotypes and Labelling. Relative Poverty, Social Exclusion & Strain Theory will also be analysed. White collar and corporate crime is also compared to street crime.

  • Students investigate moral values and ethical issues through the study of the functions of informal/formal social control, including the activities and responsibilities of the Police, the CPS and the Courts. Ethical issues in research are also discussed.

  • Students recognise right & wrong and apply it through the study of inequality and the principle of meritocracy. The experiences of various social groups (such as the disabled, LGBT, ethnic minorities etc.) and the continuing existence of prejudice and discrimination in society. The law and the importance of norms/mores in society.

  • Students develop their understanding of consequence through the study of topics such as life chances and the consequences of deviance and crime (e.g. social exclusion, reaction from agencies of formal and informal social control etc.). 

  • Students develop personal qualities & social skills through a range of discussions (often on controversial issues such as inequality, elitism, poverty, crime, prejudice and discrimination etc.). Debates require a sensitive and mature approach.

  • Students participate, cooperate & resolve conflict through discussions, group work and pair work. Conflicting theoretical approaches on inequality are studied and conclusions drawn (e.g. the functionalist view that inequality is good for society). Students will be given the opportunity to work together on presentations.

  • Students develop their understanding of how societies function through the study of the various social theories on society. This includes Functionalism, The New Right, Marxism, Feminism and Postmodernism. All theories are applied to the topics of Inequality and Crime & Deviance.  

  • Students explore, understand & respect diversity through the study of social differentiation (social class, gender, ethnicity, age, disability and sexuality) and their relative life chances and lifestyles.

  • Students participate & respond to cultural activities through the comparative study of crime and deviance in the UK compared to other societies.

  • Students develop their understanding & appreciation of personal influences through the study of social class background, the role that labelling and stereotyping plays in the formation of a self-concept, the importance of agencies of informal social control (such as family life, sport and mass media) and agencies of formal social control (such as the role of Parliament, the Police and  courts). The role of positive and negative sanctions in shaping and determining our behaviour.

  • Students study Parliament’s role in formal social control.

  • The importance of formal social control is examined: The role of the Judiciary and the Police in society. Prejudice, Discrimination and the Equality Act are also looked at in depth.

  • Liberty and responsibility is discussed through debates on inequality and rational choice explanations of crime and deviance. Barriers to liberty are also examined (e.g. poverty).

  • Life chances of various social groups (including social class, ethnicity, gender, disability and sexuality) all studied as well as the impact of criminal and anti-social behaviour.

  • Students study the Caste System and its link to the Hindu religion as well as the negative impact discrimination has on minority faith groups.

Year 12

  • Students experiencefascination, awe and wonder through the study of sociological theory (e.g. Marx, Durkheim, Oakley etc.) and reflection on their own experiences in childhood (primary socialisation) and in the classroom (e.g. the impact of pupil subcultures and labelling). Students will also study the impact policy has on the family and education.

  • Students explore the values & beliefs of others through the study of the family as a universal experience, the impact of culture on the family, changing trends in relationships and the impact habitus has in terms of gender, ethnicity and class.

  • Students develop their understanding of human feelings and emotion through the study of power and control in the home, domestic violence. Ethical issues in social research are also analysed.

  • Students investigate moral values and ethical issues through the study of different cultural family practices, the debate about deep and shallow integration in multicultural societies, the treatment of different social groups within the education system (e.g. educational triage).

  • Students recognise right & wrong and apply it through the study of power in the home, domestic violence, prejudice and discrimination in schools (including sex stereotyping and unintentional/institutional racism) and unethical research practices.

  • Students develop their understanding of consequence through the study of controlling behaviour in the home, stereotyping and labelling in school, the impact of educational failure, the impact of social policy and educational policy (intentions and side effects).

  • Students develop personal qualities & social skills through a range of discussions (often on controversial issues such as migration, in-school interactions, sexism and racism etc.). Debates require a sensitive and mature approach.

  • Students participate, cooperate & resolve conflict through discussions, group work and pair work. Conflicting theoretical approaches are studied and conclusions drawn. Students will be given the opportunity to work together on presentations.

  • Students develop their understanding of how societies function through the study of the various social theories on society. This includes Functionalism, The New Right, Marxism, Feminism (Liberal, Marxist and Radical branches), Social Action theory and Postmodernism. All theories are applied to the topics of the Family and Education.  

  • Students explore, understand & respect diversity through the study of family diversity, cultural diversity, migration and multiculturalism, the impact gender, class and ethnicity has on habitus, the experiences of different minority groups in the education system, Postmodern theory.

  • Students participate & respond to cultural activities through comparative studies (particularly in the demography topic).

  • Students develop their understanding & appreciation of personal influences through the study of socialisation. Also, through analysis of habitus & the impact of cultural capital. The role of the hidden curriculum will be studied from different perspectives (Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism etc.) as will the impact of pupil subcultures on achievement.

  • Students look at the formation of social policy and educational policy. Political beliefs and ideology (e.g. Functionalism and Marxist perspectives on power) are also studied.

  • Domestic violence and control is studied. Social policy and its impact on family life is examined and Institutional racism in education looked at. Educational policy and equality of opportunity, equal opportunities legislation and the glass ceiling are all considered.

  • Students study Social Action theory and Symbolic Interactionism, including the importance of human agency in shaping behaviour.

  • Family diversity, cultural diversity, migration and migrant identities, unintentional and institutional racism all studied.

  • Students study the impact of religion on family life and gender roles.

Year 13

  • Students experiencefascination, awe and wonder through the study of symbolic interactionism and self-concept, the study of traditional monotheism, NRMs and the New Age. Postmodernism and religious belief, Existentialism, crime as a social construct.

  • Students explore the values & beliefs of others through the study of various religious movements – Churches, Denominations, Sects, Cults. The process of secularisation and evangelical atheism. The role of beliefs in society according to Functionalists, Marxists etc. The growth of Fundamentalism. Various sociological theories on causes of crime. Positivist/Anti-Positivist methods.

  • Students develop their understanding of human feelings and emotion through the study of spirituality, (cults/new age). Religiosity and social groups (e.g. religion as cultural defence/transition). Suicide.

  • Students investigate moral values and ethical issues through the study of the functions of religious belief (for both the individual and society), the role of the criminal justice system and ethical issues encountered when studying crime and deviance (including suicide).

  • Students recognise right & wrong and apply it through the study of crime and deviance (especially in terms of its impact on victims - Positivist and Critical victimology). The functions of law and order and the importance of maintaining it.

  • Students develop their understanding of consequence through the study of crime and punishment, types of punishment and the impact master labels can have on an individual’s identity (secondary deviance) and opportunities (lack of employment/ deviant career etc.).

  • Students develop personal qualities & social skills through a range of discussions (often on controversial issues such as poverty and crime, race and crime, secularisation, suicide etc.). Debates require a sensitive and mature approach.

  • Students participate, cooperate & resolve conflict through discussions, group work and pair work. Conflicting theoretical approaches are studied and conclusions drawn. Students will be given the opportunity to work together on presentations.

  • Students develop their understanding of how societies function through the study of the various social theories on society. This includes Functionalism, The New Right, Marxism, Feminism (Liberal, Marxist and Radical branches), Social Action theory and Postmodernism. All theories are applied to the topics of Beliefs and Crime & Deviance.  

  • Students explore, understand & respect diversity through the study of the various types of religious organisation, religiosity and different social groups (e.g. ethnic minorities), the development of evangelical atheism etc.

  • Students participate & respond to cultural activities through an investigation and presentation into a New Age movement or religious group.Students develop their understanding & appreciation of personal influences through the study of religion as an agent of socialisation and social control, religion as a force for social change, the role of science and ideology (such as New Right, Marxist or Feminist beliefs) in society. The role of locality and economic influences in our deviant and criminal behaviours (even as apparently personal as suicide). 

  • Parliament’s role in formal social control is examined as well as political beliefs and ideology. Feminism and the extent of female representation in Parliament is assessed. Democracy is examined as part of Parson’s political subsystem.

  • The role of the criminal justice system in preventing and punishing crime is looked at. The function of the law according to different theoretical perspectives is assessed.

  • State crime is studied, which provides historic and contemporary examples of circumstances when individual liberty has been threatened.

  • Various religious movements, churches, cults, sects and denominations studied as well as atheism and secularisation. Different sociological theories such as Marxism and feminism are also covered.

  • Various religious movements, churches, cults, sects and denominations studied as well as variations in religiosity levels among different groups in society. Fundamentalism and its link to globalisation is also studied.

Linking Curriculum to Careers

Students in the sixth form have high rates of attendance.
Ofsted 2020