Health & Social Care

Intent:

As one of the few countries in the world to provide free universal healthcare and welfare support, the UK can be rightfully proud of itself. The Health and Social Care department is proud to work proactively in educating and engaging young people with this precious jewel in the British crown. Our intent is to foster a critical appreciation of the welfare state, enabling students to analyse its strengths and weaknesses, and enthusing them to consider careers in this vital aspect of British life.

The Health and Social Care course is designed to contribute to the student’s cultural capital by increasing their awareness of factors that affect the health and development of different individuals, options for care and barriers that may need to be overcome. The British Values of tolerance and respect for others, care for the vulnerable and the importance of making a positive contribution to our society are important themes which permeate the entire course.

The knowledge and skills developed in the course encourage students to think outside typical teenage ego-centrism and begin to challenge the way they perceive the world we live in. Furthermore, we highlight how human relationships, physical environments and socioeconomic status may influence how they develop. Through investigation of health and well-being and how our lifestyle choices affect how healthy we are, students access different resources and external agency advice and guidance that encourages them to critically think about and debate the system and provision currently in operation.

Further information:

Curriculum:

The Health and Social Care curriculum at KS4 is designed to enable all students, regardless of ability or prior knowledge, to discover the impact of positive and negative human development and to critically analyse how these factors affect our day-to-day lives. Health and Social Care enables students to explore areas that influence how we develop throughout life stages and in turn raise expectations of how we can live successful and healthy lives now and in the future. Health and Social Care enables students to learn about different health conditions which can affect individuals as well as talk about areas and raise awareness of signs and symptoms of: abuse, addiction, illness and mental health. Students will then be encouraged to develop Health Plans to improve health and well-being along with overcoming any barriers. Understanding of the different Care Values within Health and Social Care is developed to enable students to learn how to work within any health or social care environment and why each one is important. Throughout the course, students will acquire transferable skills in research, evaluation, analytical and critical thinking. This is achieved through a variety of approaches, including undertaking research tasks, examining case studies, exploring public campaigns, liaising with local Health and Social Care establishments and visiting speakers.

Implementation: Teaching and planning

Teaching in the Health and Social Care department aims to nurture and develop individuals that are motivated and passionate about Health and Social Care. We use a planned and sequenced curriculum which has been developed, using the OCR curriculum guidance. The wider world of health and social care is dynamic and forever changing. Our teachers are mindful to keep up to date and to approach their teaching in a progressive and flexible way. It is a new course and so will need to be monitored and modified to ensure our provision remains suitable and fit for purpose and make continual relevant changes identified from a variety of sources.

As a department, we aim to employ a variety of teaching methods and resources, such as practical opportunities and real-life scenarios, which will support students in developing their applied knowledge and practical skills. We aim to utilise formative assessment and differentiation to tailor learning experiences to individual needs and SEN considerations, ensuring all students are challenged and supported. Our curriculum meets the needs of all students across the ability range through supporting and inclusive lessons and we cater for and meet the needs of SEND, PP and disadvantaged pupils through differentiated resources.

We regularly use modelling of language and presentation to demonstrate good practice as well as raise standards and expectations. Our marking and targeted feedback inform planning and address misconceptions, particularly leading into the students' independent controlled assessments, but also throughout lessons with skilful questioning, starter activities and plenaries.

Assessment:

Assessment within the Health and Social Care department is designed to take place when it can have the biggest impact on student learning and outcomes. The course is designed to contain 2 controlled assessment tasks and finish with an exam at the end of the 2-year course.
Formative assessment is carried out throughout the course in lessons through effective questioning and other verbal interactions with students. The use of silent starters and homework builds on prior learning and addresses any misconceptions. Self-assessed work and peer-assessed work when appropriate are also used to ensure that teaching and learning are responsive.

Summative assessment enables students to build the required skills that will be necessary for success in either their controlled assessments or exams. The style of the assessments includes skills-based to prepare for their assessments, knowledge recall, interpretation and independent extended writing. Feedback is a key part of the assessment process in the department so that the students can chart their progress and become resilient and responsive learners.

Impact:

Overall we aim to inspire students to want to pursue a career working in the Health and Social Care sector to continue to support a vital resource within society. We equip them with some of the practical skills needed to pursue such a career and prepare students for higher qualifications in related sectors. Health and Social Care promotes opportunities for students to draw from case studies and opportunities to undertake research to complement learning and create skills that will be used throughout their lives.

Curriculum time allocation:

KS4 (Years 10 and 11) - 5 hours per fortnight

Department Contact

Mrs C Jackson-Jones
cjackson-jones@sandhurstschool.org.uk