Why the Heroism Framework Is Not PSHE or Citizenship

In recent years, schools have been placed under increasing expectation to evidence strong character and personal development outcomes. In response, PSHE and Citizenship have often been asked to carry this responsibility.

While both PSHE and Citizenship are essential parts of a broad curriculum, they were never designed to carry the full weight of moral and character formation. This is where the Heroism Framework is fundamentally different.

PSHE and Citizenship: Important, but Limited by Design

PSHE and Citizenship are typically delivered as discrete subjects. Their focus is on helping pupils understand life, society, safety, wellbeing, and civic systems. They address important themes such as relationships, health, rights, democracy, and participation.

However, because they are usually timetabled as standalone lessons, moral development within PSHE and Citizenship is often:

• Episodic rather than continuous

• Discussion-based rather than deeply embedded

• Detached from academic learning

• Difficult to evidence beyond participation or reflection

As a result, values are often discussed, but not consistently formed through pupils’ day-to-day learning.

The Heroism Framework: Not a Subject, but a Pedagogical Foundation

The Heroism Framework is not a replacement for PSHE or Citizenship. It is not an additional subject, initiative, or programme.

Instead, it is a curriculum-wide moral and pedagogical framework that shapes how pupils engage with learning across the school day.

Rather than teaching pupils about values, the Heroism Framework develops the moral reasoning, judgement, language, and identity pupils need to live those values consistently.

Crucially, the framework is embedded within existing curriculum time, particularly through English, and carried into other subjects without adding pressure to the timetable.

Why Moral Development Must Live Inside the Curriculum

Moral formation does not happen through isolated lessons alone. It develops through repetition, application, and reflection over time.

The Heroism Framework works by embedding moral concepts within:

• Reading: exploring character, choice, consequence, and perspective

• Oracy: structured dialogue, justification, and ethical reasoning

• Writing: reflection, explanation, and moral judgement

• Subject-specific thinking: historical judgement, authorial intent, ethical reasoning in texts

This means moral development is both implicit and explicit, reinforced daily through academic learning rather than addressed occasionally.

Academic Outcomes Are Strengthened, Not Compromised

One of the key distinctions between the Heroism Framework and PSHE is its direct impact on academic outcomes.

Because moral reasoning is developed through language, narrative, and disciplinary thinking, schools see improvements in:

• Writing quality and depth

• Vocabulary and comprehension

• Oracy and reasoning

• Engagement and purposeful learning

In contrast, PSHE and Citizenship typically have limited direct impact on academic attainment, as they sit alongside, rather than within, subject learning.

Inspection, Evidence, and Leadership Ownership

PSHE and Citizenship usually sit primarily within the Personal Development judgement. Evidence is often pastoral, observational, or reflective.

The Heroism Framework strengthens Personal Development while also providing clear evidence within the Quality of Education through pupils’ academic work, discussion quality, writing outcomes, and behaviour over time.

Because it is a whole-school framework, it requires leadership-level intent, curriculum coherence, and a shared moral language. It is not owned by a single subject lead, but by the school’s curriculum vision.

The most important distinction is this:

PSHE and Citizenship teach pupils about life and society.The Heroism Framework shapes how pupils think, judge, speak, and act within their academic learning.

It is not a bolt-on. It is a unifying moral lens that brings coherence, depth, and intentionality to what schools are already teaching.

In doing so, it supports behaviour, personal development, academic outcomes, and inspection readiness — without adding workload or curriculum overload.

To know more about this work, email info@beingthecure.org