Lilium

PSHCE

The name ‘Lilium’ has been taken from our school motto ‘Sicut Lilium’ – ‘Like the lily’ and is the name for what is widely referred to as PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic Education). We have a weekly Lilium lesson in the curriculum for all pupils in the Second Form through to the Fifth Form.

Pupils in the Second Form to Fifth Form rotate through four modules throughout the year.  All years, including Sixth Form, additionally have an external visiting speaker programme on key issues relevant to their age group.

All strands within the programme resonate with our framework of Dispositions. The five core Dispositions are Independence, Collaboration, Motivation, Perseverance, and Reflection. These embody the skills, attributes and values, which as a community we believe it is important for pupils to develop, in all aspects of their endeavour, both inside and outside the classroom.

Our aim, through Lilium and the Dispositions, is to encourage pupils to understand more deeply the skills that will support their broad development, to articulate more clearly their skills and areas of weakness, and to develop the skills of self-reflection and self-analysis. The importance of dispositions for success in learning and in the development of character has a long history, and it supports the approach taken by all our teachers.

Social and Personal

The ‘Social and Personal’ strand within Lilium covers topics including Bullying; Friendship; Relationships and Sex Education; Pornography; Adolescence; Prejudice; LGBTQ Awareness; Gender issues; Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing. We hope to equip students with the coping mechanisms they need to deal with common stressors in life such as exams; the awareness to recognise the signs of a more serious problem in themselves or friends; and the confidence to seek help.

Health and Safety

‘Health and Safety’ encompasses all aspects of a ‘Healthy Lifestyle’: generating a good work-life balance; screen time; gaming addiction; drugs; alcohol; and healthy diet.  Older students explore how to deal with the party scene; festivals and foreign travel.

Citizenship and Finance

The third strand encompasses Citizenship and Finance.  Through the Citizenship strand, pupils explore cultural identity; diversity; social injustice; global issues; the local community; and gain an overview of the UK political system and democracy. We aim to encourage engagement and assist pupils in developing an understanding not only of the political system, but also how they can contribute to their local community and society at large.  The Finance curriculum content aims to equip students with basic financial knowledge and skills concerning mortgages; renting property; budgeting; tax; consumer rights; ethical issues in finance and sensible versus dangerous borrowing.  The L4th also undertake an Enterprise Project during the year in which they have the opportunity to write and present a business plan.

Thinking and Learning

The final strand of our Lilium programme, ‘Thinking and Learning’ deviates from traditional PSHCE programmes and is very uniquely ‘MCS’.  In the Second and Third form students are equipped with basic study skills required for academic success.  In L4th, students have an extended course introducing them to data; computational thinking; research skills and public speaking: skills that will stand them in good stead not only in their school lives but also at university and in the wider world of employment.  The U4th course allows students to explore philosophy and the nature of reasoning.  Inevitably, the 5^th form course focuses on preparation for GCSEs, and is complemented by several sessions from external experts. This element of Lilium prepares students for their L6th study and the Waynflete Studies Programme.