Head of Department: Mrs Ellie Llewellyn

Learning for Life (RSHE) 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 Sixth (Year 13). It involves one 35-minute lesson per week and is facilitated by dedicated teaching staff and augmented with both internal and external specialists. The programme is continually reviewed to ensure it is age appropriate, relevant and topical.

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.

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 management, risk management and coping with changes (including grief and loss), the CEM Wellbeing Check.
– Relationships: identity, friends and family, power, conflict resolution, consent, diversity, equality and sexual health.
– Living in the Wider World: enterprise, employability and economic wellbeing (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. The ‘classroom’ is deliberately designed without desks or chairs in order to facilitate open discussion around a host of topics. The walls and doors in the room are all whiteboards allowing the pupils to draw, design and discuss the content in a less formal and structured way. The students sit on large cushions spread throughout the room, affectionately known as ‘blueberries’, which helps them to feel more physically relaxed and open to discussion and collaboration. We do occasionally use the Microsoft Surface devices in lessons and to complete their weekly reflective journals but largely try to keep the space device free to encourage the pupils to be present and thinking independently.

Find out more about The Helix.

Wellbeing

Wellbeing is a huge focus at Downe House both through LfL lessons and 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. In lessons, pupils are encouraged to think regularly about self-care and how to look after their mental health. Practical LfL lessons help to expose the pupils to new ways of managing their emotions, encouraging them to create their own personal mental health toolkit and adopt a regular practice of self-care.

There is a thriving Wellbeing Committee made up of wellbeing champions from all of the boarding houses and led by Sixth Form Wellbeing Ambassadors. The committee meets weekly to discuss wellbeing initiatives and events and provide feedback from the wider student population. The committee aims to raise awareness of positive mental health activities and acts as a reminder for all to keep wellbeing as a focus in their daily lives. A recent project for the committee was the establishment of a Wellbeing Garden which sits next to the Helix classroom. The student driven project has created a beautiful, calming outdoor space for pupils and staff to spend time in nature, relax and enjoy the garden and the breathtaking views over the valley beyond.