External Providers
Working in partnership
The Department for Education statutory guidance states: “Working with external organisations can enhance delivery of these subjects, bringing in specialist knowledge and different ways of engaging with young people.”
When used well, external speakers can add interest and expertise to enhance embedded PSHE education delivery. The PSHE Association states that:
- Visitors can bring a level of expertise in a particular issue or topic that a teacher may not have, nor should be expected to have.
- Outside agencies often have resources and personnel capacity which schools may otherwise lack.
- They can act as an expert witness, recounting events in their lives from a personal or professional perspective (for example a mother with a new baby, or a doctor explaining their career pathway).
- They can establish a ‘first contact’ to a helping agency — it can be really hard for a young person to approach any source of support ‘cold’. Establishing a relationship in a classroom session can help to overcome this. (For example, this may help establish a relationship with a school nurse, a police officer or a representative of a local drop-in centre.)
- They bring ‘novelty’ — we know the brain recalls novelty. Well planned sessions can therefore add emphasis to important learning elements.
It is also recognised that PSHE Education occurs outside of formal education and that youth providers working across Stoke and Staffordshire also play a role and may invite external providers in to deliver session to their children and young people.
We invite any external providers who offer schools input which enhances PSHE to complete a short provider form which allows us to gain an accurate picture of the offer across the city and county and to work with them to ensure they meet the local quality standards and support our PSHE education pledge:
