Denton Community College study alternative curriculum for the day

Students at Denton Community College were given the day off from lessons to study a less traditional curriculum last Friday [17 January].

The school invited in a wide range of experts to teach the students about a wide range of life skills including sexual health, drug and alcohol addiction and online gambling.

It’s designed to prepare the children for the real world, not just academics.

It’s not the first time the school have held such a day and Head of PSHE, Liam Spencer, says it has an almost immediate impact on the students. “I think it’s really practical” said Liam. “It has a real world impact almost immediately with some students and I think that is really relevant because as a school we’ve got a duty to educate the whole child and to make sure they’re able to engage with society when they leave school. Academic education is key to that but so is moral and spiritual education as well.”

The event was also attended by Carl Austin-Behan OBE DL, the Mayor of Greater Manchester LGBTQ+ Advisor, who said events like this are important and should be replicated across Greater Manchester. He said: “I just think its amazing how they’re managing to transform young peoples lives in a real life situation.

“Some of the conversations they’re having today around gambling, same sex relationships and breastfeeding are things that are going to make a difference when they’re out on the streets.

“these are subjects that are more of a difficult dialogue, a bit more challenging for some of the pupils - they never get a chance to have these conversations whereas this gives them a completely open forum.

“It’s crucial to do this and that’s why Id like to see more schools across Greater Manchester do this.”

The school’s Head of Community, Hayley Duffy, explained that: “Life Long Learning Drop Down Day involves usual timetabled lessons being 'dropped' and students following a tailored curriculum aimed at improving knowledge, understanding and experience within health, careers, relationships, finances and emotional and mental development. This is part of our ongoing drive to improve the PSHE provision of students across the school and provide them with a valuable 'curriculum for life'. All activities and sessions are bespoke to the individual needs of the specific year group and follow a rolling timetable over 5 years.”