Child Development/Health & Social Care
Curriculum statement: Child Development/Health and Social Care
The health and social care sector is facing challenging times currently in protecting the most vulnerable people in our society and at the same time build the evidence needed to understand longer term implications on the nation's health. Care workers have worked tirelessly with empathy, resilience and adaptability. As frontline health care professionals, nurses have emerged as the true heroes who risk everything to care for patients.
Here at the Saint John Henry Newman School, the Child Development/Health and Social courses prepare the students to be highly desirable employees for the journey ahead with the skills and knowledge needed to face such unprecedented times. Working in this sector is not just a job but truly a vocation!
Curriculum aims:
Our subject gives students an understanding of the range of settings in which health and social care take place. Students study the skills and principles of care required for a wide range of rewarding careers, such as child care, nursing, midwifery, social work and paramedic science.
The courses provide students with essential knowledge, transferrable skills and tools to improve their learning in other subjects. This is aimed at enhancing their employability when they leave education, thus contributing to both their personal development and future economic well-being. Some of these transferable, life-long skills are communication skills, caring and empathy skills, planning/organisation skills and independent research skills. We want students to become reflective practitioners, increasing their self-awareness, which is a key component of emotional intelligence. Reflective practice helps students to develop creative thinking skills, and encourages active engagement in work processes. This links to the Catholic mission as the curriculum prepares our students to be loving, caring individuals who have the knowledge and skills that can be used to benefit all in the health and social care sector.
Curriculum features:
The knowledge is discovered through a variety of routes. The students apply their theoretical knowledge through role plays and practice the skills that they learn, for example communication. A number of external speakers are invited to speak to the students about their career pathways e.g. primary school teacher, adult nurse, paramedic and midwife. The most memorable event that our HSC students experienced was working in the Lister hospital theatre for a day. This results in students being more enthused to follow careers in the Health and Social Care sector.
The core units in Health and Social Care are taught first as they underpin the learning in the other units and provide the students with an understanding of health and social care within the wider contexts of different environments and settings where care takes place. The students learn about the different individuals that they might meet and care for or support, the importance of effective communication, legislation and the principles behind person-centred approach to care and how this is applied in the workplace.
Assessment takes place at the end of each learning objective or assessment criteria for coursework and this is used to inform subsequent teaching. It helps engage students with their learning, develop a dialogue between teacher and student and provides a measure of their progress.
Health and Social Care is not part of the National Curriculum but it is linked to RE, Science and PSHCE. Students in Science and HSC are taught to see the relationship between health and disease. In PSHCE and HSC, students learn about the diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom and the need for mutual respect and understanding. In RE and HSC, students debate and discuss ethical, social and moral questions regarding the rapid pace of development in scientific and medical technologies.
Co-curricular experiences:
The students are encouraged to apply for work placements at the local hospital and many students work part time in care homes. The Child Development pupils have the opportunity to visit one of the local children’s nurseries and spend a morning there. In this way, both the courses not only encompass knowledge and new concepts but the pupils/students are able to use, practice and apply their knowledge and understanding. The students are provided with cultural opportunities e.g. attending a Health and Social Care Expo once a year to develop their interests in the various careers in the sector. This is further explored in Unit 11, Career planning.
The units in Child Development/Health and Social Care are cross-curricular to various subjects e.g. Biology, Psychology, Nutrition, Ethics, Religious Education and Sociology. In this way, students are able to retrieve information from the various subjects that they study and employ it to enhance their learning in Health and Social Care. An example is Unit 4 which is linked to GSCE and A level Biology. Students learn about the anatomy and physiology of the human body and the malfunctions that can occur. The students also discuss and debate ethical and moral issues like euthanasia and palliative sedation.
What follows is a current summary of the intended subject curriculum content in each year of the key stage. It highlights the key knowledge and skills intended for learning, and some of the ways progress in the curriculum is to be assessed. It clarifies the key questions students should be addressing and gives links to help students and families to develop this learning further.
