Personal Growth Skills

Overview

This 6-week micro-lesson programme (each lesson lasting 6 minutes) is designed specifically for Year 7 SEN students, aiming to develop essential personal and social skills. It fully aligns with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education framework within the National Curriculum for England at Key Stage 3. The lessons use The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Rauf as a unifying narrative to personalise themes, enhance engagement and contextualise learning.

The small class size of 10 enables tailored support and encourages peer interaction, facilitating greater social development. Each week explores a discrete theme with immersive activities and reflection, culminating in a creative enterprise project where students practically apply their skills.

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Curriculum Links

• National Curriculum KS3 PSHE Education framework (2021)

  • Core Theme 1 — Health and Wellbeing: Develop the knowledge, skills and attributes to keep physically and mentally healthy.
  • Core Theme 2 — Relationships: Explore respectful relationships, including friendships, peer influence and managing conflict.
  • Core Theme 3 — Living in the Wider World: Understanding rights, rules, responsibilities, and economic wellbeing.

• Learning Objectives derived from statutory guidance

  • Recognise and respond to a range of emotions (HWB 1-3a)
  • Develop strategies for managing peer pressure and making independent decisions (R 2-5a)
  • Demonstrate problem-solving and resilience in practical contexts (HWB 1-6a)
  • Understand safe behaviour online and offline (HWB 2-8a)
  • Collaborate effectively on tasks to build enterprise skills (LWW 3-3a)

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Weekly Breakdown

Week 1: Emotional Awareness

Objective: Identify and name a wide range of emotions felt by characters in the story to build emotional literacy (HWB 1-3a).
Activity: Read a selected passage from The Boy at the Back of the Class that depicts a strong emotion. Students each pick an emotion word card and share a time they have felt something similar, supported by visual aids. Interactive emotion charades help reinforce recognition.
Assessment: Listen to students articulating emotions and provide immediate praise or supportive guidance. Short exit question: “Name one emotion you learned today.”

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Week 2: Building Friendships

Objective: Explore the qualities of positive friendships through scenarios inspired by the book (R 2-5a).
Activity: Small group role-play in pairs: one student plays a newcomer like Ahmet, the other offers friendship support. Use simple sentence frames for SEN accessibility (“I like you because...” / “Can we be friends?”).
Assessment: Use a visual checklist to track participation and understanding. Quick thumbs-up/down on comfort level making friends.

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Week 3: Resisting Peer Pressure

Objective: Recognise peer pressure and practise assertive refusal skills (R 2-5a).
Activity: Students watch a brief scripted puppet show depicting peer pressure situations similar to those in the novel’s school setting. Students pause to suggest what the character should say or do.
Assessment: Provide sentence stems; assess students’ ability to verbalise refusal statements.

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Week 4: Problem-Solving Together

Objective: Apply problem-solving steps to challenges faced in the story and personal experiences (HWB 1-6a).
Activity: Present a story problem (e.g., Ahmet loses something important). Students use a problem-solving worksheet: Identify problem → Think of solutions → Choose best solution → Explain why. Use pictorial prompts.
Assessment: Verbal check-in asking students to explain their chosen solution.

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Week 5: Online Safety

Objective: Understand key online safety principles relevant to their age and abilities (HWB 2-8a).
Activity: Interactive game identifying safe and unsafe online scenarios, linked to story themes (e.g., sharing photos, contacting strangers). Use tablets or printed cards. Reinforce following trusted adults’ advice.
Assessment: Spot unsafe behaviours in scenarios; immediate corrective discussion.

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Week 6: Enterprise Project - Friendship Cards

Objective: Create and distribute personalised friendship cards incorporating all prior learning, fostering empathy, resilience, and social connection (LWW 3-3a).
Activity: Students design cards using simple templates and positive messages inspired by the novel’s themes. They then role-play giving these cards to classmates or staff with appropriate communication (practising assertiveness and kindness).
Assessment: Observation of participation, message relevance, and communication skills. Peer and teacher verbal feedback.

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Resources Needed

• The Boy at the Back of the Class excerpts printed or read aloud
• Emotion word and scenario cards with pictorial support
• Puppet theatre materials or video clips
• Problem-solving worksheets with visuals
• Tablets or printed online safety scenario cards
• Friendship card templates, coloured pens, stickers

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Differentiation and SEN Considerations

• Use of visuals, symbols and sentences starters enhances comprehension and expression.
• Multi-sensory activities (role-play, puppets, drawing) cater to diverse learning styles and attention spans.
• Small group and 1:1 adult support for scaffolding when needed.
• Frequent summarisation and repetition embedded into each session.
• Flexibility to extend or reduce content paced to individual needs.

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Assessment and Evaluation

• Informal ongoing assessment through observation, discussions and checklists.
• Use of simple exit tasks and reflections in each micro-session to consolidate learning.
• Final enterprise project provides practical demonstration of skills developed.
• Teacher reflection notes after each session to adjust pacing or methods.

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WOW Factor Ideas for Implementation

• Incorporate story-related props or “character boxes” to bring The Boy at the Back of the Class alive.
• Use digital photo booths to take friendship photos paired with the cards for display (celebrating achievements).
• Create a ‘Friendship Wall’ in the classroom where cards and positive messages can be displayed, boosting community spirit.
• Reward participation with certificates highlighting specific skill growth (e.g., “Kindness Champion”, “Problem Solver”).

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This highly targeted, engaging and achievable micro-lesson series empowers Year 7 SEN learners to build confidence, resilience and social understanding in ways that matter personally and socially, fully aligned and referenced to the National Curriculum PSHE framework.