KS3 PSHE Lessons - "Curious About Conflict"

This series of lessons introduces students to the essential skills and valuable understanding needed to effectively de-escalate and resolve conflicts. The concepts, attributes and skills addressed by the lessons are relevant to many aspects of the PSHE curriculum, and can be returned to throughout KS3 and KS4 when learning about the 3 core themes of about health and wellbeing, relationships and living in the wider world. To access the other lessons in the series, visit this webpage: https://www.cresst.org.uk/resource/ks3-curious-about-conflict-pshe-lessons/

CRESSTs lessons have been awarded a quality mark by the PSHE Association:
“We are delighted to award our Quality Mark to CRESST’s scheme of work: Curious about Conflict? This set of lessons teaches key stage 3 students the knowledge and skills they need to manage relationships, both in school and at home”. Jenny Fox, PSHE Association

Students will learn:

• How to identify their own emotional responses, to pause, and to choose to communicate constructively so that tension does not escalate.
• Strategies for resilience: how to recognise and calm down when in fight or flight mode, and how to handle difficult conversations on and off-line.
• Practical models and examples which provide a context for understanding the theory and application of conflict resolution in a variety of situations.
• Concrete, tried and tested methods for de-escalating and resolving conflict at home, at school, in friendships and in relationships, so that less harm is caused to themselves and others.
• To negotiate ‘win-win’ outcomes; effect positive changes; and build meaningful relationships based on honest, positive communication.
• Methods for building self-esteem and self-confidence.
• The ability to listen to different perspectives by understanding the positions, interests and needs involved.
• Strategies for coping with stress and anxiety.
• Skills that help with managing strong emotional responses in difficult situations such as bereavement, bullying, and major life changes.

These are skills and concepts that are returned to at several points in a spiral PSHE curriculum, allowing teachers to build on the input delivered in the sessions.

We hope you find our lessons a useful and enjoyable way to introduce conflict resolution to your class. If you could spare us 5 minutes to fill out a short survey on the lessons, we’d be very grateful. The survey can be found at this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScsbMkHW4rNKwGIUUHUvMbsPrXnspdZT72fJ-eDq_taykRf3w/viewform?usp=sf_link

CRESST is a not-for-profit charity based in Sheffield, working with schools and young people’s organizations across the UK to empower young people (and the adults who work with them) with the skills to resolve conflict constructively. If you liked this resource, please leave a review, and to find more, visit our website at www.cresst.org.uk and follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/_CRESST