PSHE scheme of work: broadening horizons and embedding values

Lyfta storyworlds

Like all educators, we want to help young people to become the best version of themselves and to pursue their dreams. Although a lot of formal education is about ensuring young people attain strong academic outcomes, some education policy also advocates providing a broad range of experiences for all young people so that they can broaden their horizons and aspire to live full and happy lives. For example, the DfE's 2022 White Paper focuses on providing opportunities for all so that students can have 'good jobs, happy families and contribute to their communities'. Ultimately, we want to ensure that students set their sights high and that they work hard to live full and happy lives - in other words, working towards human flourishing in an academic, social and emotional sense.

Our PSHE scheme of work: broadening horizons and embedding values

PSHE scheme of work

We know that teachers' time is limited and we want to ensure that they have resources at their fingertips to make the most of their Lyfta subscription. That's why we've created a scheme of work with a suggested sequence of Lyfta lesson plans focused on broadening horizons and embedding values. We are focussing on these topics for the following reasons:

We know that by exposing young people to as many new experiences as possible, they will see and learn about a wide variety of opportunities available to them.
We know that by focusing on embedding values, not only are we helping to nurture their character but we're also supporting the development of key competencies crucial to successful academic achievement. In this twelve week scheme of work students will encounter people from seven different countries, learning about their lives, accomplishments and resilience in overcoming barriers.
We understand the importance of consolidating understanding and building knowledge. That's why our scheme of work has suggestions for further activities and questions that teachers may want to use to extend students' understanding from Lyfta.

Download the scheme of work

Whilst we cannot promise content that supports every single KS1-5 PSHE statutory requirement, we know that Lyfta helps schools meet a good percentage of each of the core themes as outlined in the Programme of Study. We also know that teachers have found Lyfta offers a very unique approach to PSHE teaching, that supports schools' pre-existing approaches and schemes of work and provides an innovative and real-world framework.

How can we support students through a real-world framework?

Simply put, students cannot know what they have had no experience of. It is only through exposing them to varied experiences, perspectives and places that we can possibly broaden their understanding of the world around them. If we can do this successfully, students will gain a greater understanding of the opportunities available to them including career options, interests or hobbies they might want to pursue or even places they might want to visit or learn more about.

Lyfta provides teachers and students with the opportunity to experience an array of new places and settings in an accessible way. Our content and lesson plans are mapped against a wide range of competencies and values that aim to nurture self-esteem, metacognitive thinking and a love of learning.

Of course, every school provides lots of opportunities to broaden students' horizons and build confidence through educational visits, visiting speakers and extra curricular activities. However, ultimately, there is a limit to the number of ways in which a school can bring outside world opportunities and knowledge into the classroom.

Lyfta's storyworlds can transport students all over the world to experience 75+ immersive spaces and soundscapes, exposing them to different places, people and cultures. The documentary films within the interactive storyworlds allow them to engage with a wide variety of people, enabling them to explore a variety of different ideas and perspectives and witness a range of life experiences. In addition to this, all of Lyfta's lesson plans are mapped against skills and values including (but not limited to) courage and self-confidence, entrepreneurship and growth mindset.The impact of the content and resources is evident in what students who use Lyfta say.

"Lyfta shows you stories so you can find that thing in the world that you love."

"It kind of gives you a dream. You might see other people doing something that you fancy trying."

A secondary student we spoke to perhaps articulated the opportunity to access cultural capital and broaden horizons best of all:

"When I was younger I grew up in a very rural area of this country and didn't really see the world outside of it. I didn't see a motorway until I was 10 and so I've come a long way since then. If I was younger and had been shown those things it would have been a lot more impactful for me because I would've seen the world in a whole different way a whole lot sooner."

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