The Edge: Identity & Influence 7-Week Tutor Programme

The Edge: Identity & Influence is a seven-week tutor programme designed to challenge students to think deeply about who they are becoming, the influences around them, and the choices they make.

Rather than relying on traditional PSHE-style activities, the programme uses thought-provoking questions, discussion, creative challenges, real-world examples, short films and independent reflection to develop students’ critical thinking, self-awareness, decision-making, character and sense of responsibility.

Across seven carefully structured sessions, students explore:

Identity – Who are you becoming?
Improvement – What does it mean to deliberately become better?
Decisions – How do the choices we make shape who we become?
Attention – Who controls your attention, and where are you choosing to spend it?
Character Under Pressure – Who are you when things become difficult?
Decision Makers – Who should have the power to make decisions that affect everyone else?
Contribution – What difference can you make to the people and world around you?
Leave It Better – What should be better because you were here?

Each session follows a consistent Think & Talk → Create → Step Up structure. Students are encouraged to question assumptions, consider different perspectives, develop their own ideas and then translate their thinking into meaningful action.

The programme includes Big Questions, Video of the Week, Person of the Week, Quote of the Week and Edge Intelligence Challenges, providing variety while maintaining a clear sense of identity across the programme.

The resources are designed to be easy for tutors to deliver, with clear instructions and substantial independent student tasks. They are particularly suited to high-achieving Year 9 students who respond well to challenge, debate and open-ended thinking. This could be easily adapted to other year groups. Each week there are three planned sessions for you to use. Each session will take 20-30 minutes.

The programme develops:
Critical thinking and reasoning
Self-awareness and reflection
Decision-making
Resilience and character
Media and digital awareness
Leadership and responsibility
Communication and discussion skills
Empathy and perspective-taking
Independent thinking
Contribution and positive action

The Edge is designed to leave students with more questions than answers encouraging them to think carefully about the person they are becoming and the world they are helping to shape.