Personal development is at the heart of our schools. It encourages, promotes, adopts and embeds a range of skills that allow children to be life-long learners, achieve a sense of belonging and ultimately flourish. There are five broad areas; mental wellbeing; physical development; cultural capital; spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and British values; relationships, sex education.
For all our children we want our core offer to:
• Provide rich and varied experiences.
• Develop their ‘cultural capital’.
• Prioritise physical and mental well-being as much as academic achievements.
• Involve our families, wherever possible, to support all areas of their child’s personal development.
We support all children to acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. Our School Trust approach to personal development education develops the qualities and attributes children need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. The benefits to children of such an approach are numerous as personal development prepares them to manage many of the most critical opportunities, challenges and responsibilities they will face growing up in such rapidly changing and challenging times. It also helps them to connect and apply the knowledge and understanding they learn in all subjects to practical, real-life situations while helping them to feel safe and secure enough to fulfill their academic potential (realise the possible).
In our School Trust we also see broadening horizons and raising aspirations as part of our personal development offer. We want to give our children a wide range of experiences, including experience of the world of work. We believe that our curriculum offer must open doors and show children the vast range of possibilities open to them, therefore opening their eyes and helping them to keep their options open for as long as possible.
Always in an age-appropriate way, we help the children manage their lives, now and in the future, and help them to learn every day, essential, life skills, including:
• The development of self-understanding, empathy and healthy, productive relationships.
• Relationships education.
• Eating healthily.
• Keeping safe on the road.
• How to stay safe on the internet.
• The promotion of good mental health.
Since September 2020, relationships education has been compulsory in Primary education and since September 2021, a response to Harmful Sexual Behaviour. We have a School Trust wide offer for each of these curriculum areas. In keeping with our School Trust ethos, the children are encouraged, and frequently reminded, to speak to a trusted adult when they have any concerns or worries.
Throughout the school year, we are fortunate to have various visitors to help bring our personal development curriculum core offer to life, including visits from:
• The Police.
• The Fire Service.
• A dental health advisor.
• Road safety experts.
Our School Trust promotes an environment free from threat, harassment and any type of bullying behaviour.
Our aims include:
• Ensuring all members of the school community understands what constitutes bullying.
• Creating an atmosphere and environment where children, parents and staff feel able to tell the school about bullying if it arises and are confident it will be taken seriously and dealt with.
• To put in place clear procedures for dealing with incidents of bullying.
RSE teaching in our School Trust teaches children to develop values, attitudes, personal and social skills, and increases their knowledge and understanding to make informed decisions and choices when they are adults. Each year group is taught appropriate to their age and developmental stage.
There are four main aims of teaching RSE:
• To empower children to be safe and safeguarded.
• To enable children to understand and respect their bodies.
• To help children develop positive and healthy relationships appropriate to their age and development.
• To support children to have positive self-esteem and body image.
Our School Trust chooses to teach Sex Education and Section 405 of the Education Act 1996 provides the right of parental withdrawal from the RSE provided at school except for those parts included in the National Curriculum.
The Science curriculum also includes content on human development, including reproduction, which there is no right to withdraw from.
View our School Trust Offer