Haberdashers’ Borough Academy, Secondary School
Carly Holness, Assistant Principal for Personal Development
About the school
Haberdashers’ Borough Academy is a vibrant, inclusive secondary school based in Southwark, London, part of the Haberdashers’ Academies Trust South. Guided by its core values of Community, Aspiration, Resilience and Kindness, the academy is committed to high academic standards, strong personal development and student wellbeing.
Carly Holness is the current Assistant Principal for Personal Development and recently spoke on our webinar; Making Space for RSHE; Best Practice from Life Lessons partner schools
RSHE Leadership at Haberdasher’s Borough Academy
When I joined our school as Assistant Principal for Personal Development, we didn’t have a dedicated PSHE or RSHE lead. I was responsible for Personal Development, careers, and enrichment – so, in practice, I became the person pulling all of these areas together.
From day one, I knew that if RSHE was going to make a real impact, it had to come from the top. Leadership buy-in is crucial. Whether that’s SLT, governors, or trust leads. In meetings, I made sure to champion Personal Development, making the case that our responsibility isn’t just academic outcomes – we’re preparing students for life. RSHE is where we equip them with skills, confidence and awareness for the world outside school.
Making RSHE visible and relevant
In a school with only two tutor-time lessons per week, it can feel like there isn’t enough time to cover everything. I’ve learned that it’s not about rushing through every slide, it’s about tailoring the content to the audience in front of you. What works for Year 7 will look very different from what resonates with Key Stage 5, so we shape lessons to meet their needs.
I’ve also worked closely with our enrichment lead and careers advisor to make RSHE purposeful. For example, with Year 11 students, we link PSHE lessons to post-18 choices, interviews and skills that matter in the real world. When students see relevance, engagement naturally increases.
Building staff confidence
Teacher confidence is essential for RSHE to work. We’ve tackled this in a few ways:
- Weekly team briefings, including a five-minute RSHE spotlight
- Snappy, visual updates through Microsoft Teams and “TikTok-style” clips to highlight trends and resources
- Newsletters and pastoral carousels to share key health and wellbeing themes across year groups
This means all staff, whether a head of year, pastoral lead, or subject teacher, are aware of what’s being covered, understand the rationale, and can reinforce consistent messaging across the school.
Student voice and community
We built a house system from the ground up, with student leaders actively involved in assemblies, events and RSHE delivery. Our assemblies are dynamic, bringing in live, trending topics, local community speakers and opportunities for students to lead discussions themselves.
For example, we run “Borough Life Lessons Day”, a drop-down day integrating RSHE content with data on current trends in student behaviour and wellbeing. This ensures our approach remains responsive to students’ real-life experiences, from online interactions and dating culture to mental health.
We also tackle practical wellbeing issues. Period poverty is a key concern in our community. Our students designed a logo and now lead initiatives across year groups to promote awareness and safe spaces. We make sure conversations are inclusive: boys and girls alike are engaged in discussions about healthy relationships and toxic masculinity, not just girls’ health issues.
Making RSHE a whole-school priority
RSHE is successful when it’s embedded across the school, supported at every level, and aligned to community values. At our school, that means:
- Working closely with SLT, governors, and trust leads to ensure RSHE is protected, prioritised, and visible
- Integrating RSHE into tutor time, assemblies, and enrichment activities
Using student voice, data, and real-world trends to inform curriculum and assembly topics
Supporting staff confidence through briefings, visual updates, and accessible resources
By championing RSHE at every level, we’ve moved it from being seen as “an extra” to being a central part of our school culture, helping students build the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.
Reflection
For me, personal development is about preparing students for life, not just exams. RSHE is central to that mission and making it a whole-school priority, supported by leadership, staff, students, and the community, is the only way to make a real difference.