Through our PSHCE curriculum, students learn to interact respectfully and thoughtfully with their peers. Every week, students take part in PSHCE discussions in relational circles guided by their form tutor. Much of the PSHE is taught through scenarios and supporting students to script how they might respond when confronted with these in real life. This helps them develop the ability to listen and respond respectfully to other views.

Through the PSCHE curriculum in all year groups and during our thorough induction programme at the start of each academic year, students are explicitly taught how to maintain healthy friendships and other forms of age-appropriate relationships. This includes maintaining a safe online presence and avoiding the misuse of phones and social media. Our Home-School Contract sets out clear guidance on phone use. Mobile phones are banned in school. This means that students spend their recreation time socialising with others face-to-face. During our induction programme at the start of each academic year and periodically in ‘refresher’ sessions, students take part in lessons about socialising in a kind and respectful way.

We are proud to have an outstanding co-curricular offer at Trinity with extremely high participation from students. The experience of taking part in these clubs with other students builds confidence and resilience, as well as deepening friendships.

Use of carefully structured classroom talk is embedded at Trinity. Students are frequently invited to discuss the learning with their peers through Turn and Talks and then share with the wider class. This builds their confidence to articulate their ideas and to speak publicly.

Tailored interventions are run by our pastoral and learning support colleagues for students who show signs of needing additional support with emotional regulation and relationship building. Students who have been involved in unkind behaviour are supported through impact clinics and restorative conversations.

Students are taught about the function and importance of democracy through the PSHCE and history curricula. In history, this includes drawing attention to historical examples of countries that have rejected democracy and problems this has created. We have student representatives on the Bristol City Youth Council and students are taught about the voting process for these elections. 

Students are taught about individual liberty through PSHCE, including learning about fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as protected characteristics. The history and REP curricula also draw attention to the historical struggle for individual liberty.

Students are taught about the rule of law through PSHCE, with a particular emphasis on age-critical laws around consent, sharing of personal images and information, criminal responsibility, types of abuse and FGM. Our responses to contextual safeguarding concerns involve working closely with local Police teams to educate our students about the law.

Students are taught about the importance of mutual respect and tolerance through PSHCE, REP, History and English curricula, as well as through cultural celebration assemblies and culture days. All students sign our anti-bullying pledge at the start of their time at Trinity and the theme of being an ‘upstander’ is returned to regularly.

All students have age-appropriate access to further and higher education providers in line with the Provider Access Legislation, including visits to local universities. Local providers such as South Gloucestershire and Stroud College visit the school to speak to our students.

All students have encounters with employers across their time at Trinity, including careers fairs, work experience placements and visits from local and global businesses, such as Deloitte. 

Students are taught about post-16 pathways through the PSHCE curriculum and through one-to-one meetings with our Careers Advisor in Year 11.

Our character framework promotes and tracks the characteristics needed to thrive in wider society and the workplace. Namely: working hard and persevering (Head), being kind and polite (Heart), and participating fully (Soul). Students’ progress in these three areas is reported to families three times a year.

We are proud to have a very diverse school community, with a wide range of nationalities, races and religions represented amongst our students and families. Our culture days celebrate this diversity by encouraging students to come to school in cultural dress and with cultural food and drink.  Our House system is centred around all members of our school community feeling ‘safe and celebrated’ with students routinely exploring all that we share. 

We are upfront and explicit with our students about societal inequities. Through assemblies and PSHCE, we draw attention to the racial, gender and socio-economic imbalances in many professions (including teaching). We deliberately foreground examples of women and global majority people in positions of influence and power so that all our students see this as a possibility for themselves.

All students study REP as a discrete subject from Year 7 to 9. The curriculum has been designed to ensure that students have a strong understanding of the history, beliefs and customs of other religions. We have a large Muslim community and the teaching of Islam is prominent in our REP curriculum. We have a much smaller Jewish community and so Judaism is also prioritised as this is likely to be less well understood by most of our students. Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism are all explored as well. 

Our academic curriculum across the school is designed to reflect our community and cohort. In English, authors and texts are selected with our cohort in mind. The History and Science curricula ensure that the achievements of women and global majority people are heard and celebrated. We routinely bring in guest speakers and visitors who closely represent our community, so that students see themselves in these role models.

The protected characteristics are taught in PSHCE. If a student is found to be using discriminatory language, they take part in a scripted anti-discrimination intervention session that aims to educate them about the language they have used and the impact it can have.