Building a Community (PSHE Yr7)

Living in a Community (Year 7 PSHE)
Interactive | Team‑Building | Fully Resourced | Mapped to 2025 Statutory

Engage your new Year 7s with a high‑energy, collaborative PSHE lesson that lays the foundations for a positive, supportive school community.
This complete lesson introduces the concept of community through a practical team‑building challenge, structured reflection, and a guided pre‑module assessment, ideal for the start of a PSHE unit.

✔ Team‑Building Starter: The Tallest Card Tower Challenge
A high‑impact, hands‑on group activity where students must build a tower while each having a different limiting rule (e.g., “no red cards”, “left hand only”, “no even numbers”).
Students first struggle independently, then realise collaboration is essential, perfectly setting up the lesson’s theme. (Slides 1–4)

✔ Guided Reflection on Teamwork & Community
Students unpick what helped/hindered teamwork and connect this to the meaning of community.
(Slides 4–5)

✔ Pre‑Module Baseline Self‑Assessment
Students complete a structured reflective baseline on their knowledge, using a colour‑coded before-and-after sheet. (Slides 7–9) This includes a 10‑question quiz assessing prior understanding of core concepts including British Values, democracy, liberty, laws, multiculturalism, and news/media.
(Slides 8–9)

✔ Strong Teamwork Example: The Lionesses
A relatable, modern example of high‑performing teamwork with a clear link to community.
(Slides 11–12)

About This Free Lesson

This first lesson, “Building a Community,” is completely FREE as part of the full Living as a Community KS3 PSHE unit. It’s ideal for Year 7, especially at the start of the school year, but works well with any KS3 group.
The lesson follows the 2025 statutory PSHE guidance by developing essential skills in teamwork, belonging, cooperation, and understanding community, introduced through an engaging team‑building activity and reflective baseline assessment. These elements support the guidance’s focus on character development, respectful relationships, and becoming active members of a wider community.

Lessons in the Full Unit

1. Building a community (FREE)
2. Shared values (democracy + law)
3. Shared values (liberty + respect)
4. Is tolerance enough? (celebration)
5. British Values Summary (creative)
6. Multicultural Britain project
7. International community and the news