Personal Development
The personal development of our pupils involves all areas of school life including academic, personal and spiritual.
Alongside academic development, personal development helps to develop the whole child and ensure that all the children in our care will be ready to face the world of today.
Our curriculum extends beyond the academic and aims to support children to develop ‘as a whole child’ in many diverse aspects of life. Personal Development includes a range of areas, from Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC), British Values, PSHE, Relationships and Health education (RHE) and the broad range of positive personal traits and dispositions so that children reflect wisely, learn eagerly and build the confidence they need to flourish.
We recognise the importance of helping our children build their own personal values, have positive relationships and become responsible young citizens. It is imperative that for our wider community, we support our pupils to develop into kind, thoughtful and reflective young people who can live and learn alongside others with different beliefs, cultures and lifestyles. We also provide many opportunities for pupils to develop their self-confidence and a positive self-esteem. As such, Personal Development is a fundamental aspect of school life and is promoted in several key ways throughout the school.
What are we aiming to achieve?
The Four Columns of Personal Development create a firm foundation for children to grow and thrive:
Own Personal Values – We support our pupils in developing into kind, thoughtful and reflective young people who are able to live and learn alongside others with different personalities, beliefs, cultures and lifestyles.
Broaden Horizons – We offer new and exciting experiences to ignite new passions, create lifelong memories and prepare our pupils for a world full of opportunity.
Seen as an Individual – We want all our pupils to be given the room to be successful, pursue their interests with confidence and grow into well-rounded young people.
Happy and Protect Themselves – We provide pupils with the knowledge, environment and experience they need to ensure they are able to keep safe and resilient.
The 8 Strands within Personal Development
We have identified 8 main strands for Personal Development. Each strand focuses on a specific element of Personal Development which we as a Trust believe are vital to develop ‘the whole child’:
Communication and Collaboration: children will learn to be able to communicate with their peers and adults. This will include basic interaction to being able to work effectively within a team, articulate feelings and have the skill to debate and reason.
Emotional intelligence: children will be able to reflect on their relationships and feelings. They will be able to show empathy and understanding of complex social situations. The children will also be able to appreciate their importance as humans, build esteem and recognise their influence upon others.
Curiosity and Confidence: children will have the confidence to be curious and the resilience to deal with setbacks along the way. They will be comfortable in being independent and see the importance and enjoyment in the journey of learning as well as the outcome.
Community minded: children will understand the importance of making a positive contribution to society: from their local community to national and global events and causes. Children will be polite, thoughtful, and trustworthy and in turn be a reliable citizen. They will celebrate the fact we form part of a diverse world and understand and appreciate other religions.
Academic focus, internal drive and high aspirations: children are motivated and want to learn. They are excited about spotting misconceptions and want to solve problems. They want to make outstanding progress and participate fully in opportunities to improve their knowledge of the world. Children have high aspirations and have access to a wide set of experiences such as careers events and work with professionals and subject experts.
Cultural Capital: children will be able to articulate why they like pieces of art, music and be able to make comparisons between them. They will be able to discuss different literature and the images and feelings they evoke. Demographic and financial barriers will be removed to ensure all children have rich experiences and level playing field.
Financial understanding: Children will have knowledge of budgeting, saving and financial management to lay a firm foundation for the future. Children will make the link between Mathematics and focused events to make learning ‘real’ and will begin to learn about the world or work.
Self-care: Children will be mentally and physically healthy and make decisions that are positive within their life. They will be knowledgeable of different strategies to promote positive mental health. The children will be familiar with RSE as well as be able to safeguard themselves from difficult situations such as the dangers of weapons, drugs and internet safety.
Progress within Personal Development will be ensured through a ‘Spiral Curriculum’ approach, where children revisit similar topics or themes periodically, focusing on a deeper level of understanding as they move through school.
The learning journey, in its entirety, is organised in a way that ensures each stage is progressive and built upon so that all children make progress towards building the four columns, irrespective of individual starting points.
We aim to provide a range of trust-wide, school-specific and individual opportunities, working in partnership with families, to ensure that our pupils can develop in each of these areas and grow into confident, well-rounded young people. These opportunities are included within our assemblies, our E3L and wider curriculum and the ethos of our school.
British Values
We are committed to serving our community and embrace the belief that at the heart of a modern, ever-changing community is the acceptance of key British Values. As a school, it is our responsibility to ensure that our children understand and follow the British Values, so that they are prepared for life in modern Britain.
The promotion of British Values is one element of our personal development provision, so that our children will be able to grow as individuals in the community and country in which we live. We believe that this is something not only achieved through the curriculum, but also through the school’s ethos as well as its provision for pupils beyond formal lessons.
We are committed to ensuring that pupils behave in a way that is at all times accepting and open. Through our diverse and innovative E3L curriculum, explicit teachings through personal, social, health and emotional (PSHE) and religious education (RE) and our assemblies programme, we address the core ideals of modern Britain, whilst challenging those that contradict them. We also offer focused opportunities for pupils to reflect on the importance of British Values and their significance to us in Britain, for example through ‘Democracy Day’.
We promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. It is essential that we ensure all of these are promoted and respected to enable our children to grow and develop their own personal values.
Religious Education
Our Religious Education curriculum teaches pupils about the beliefs and practices of all major religious groups, including Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism and Humanism. This is a key part of supporting our pupils to embrace and appreciate the beauty and diversity of their community and life in modern Britain.
Pupils learn about major religious festivals and celebrations, as well as religious practices, places of worship, rituals and beliefs.
