For students to thrive in an increasingly complex and diverse world, they require the confidence, knowledge and skills to make effective decisions about their lives independently. An effective personal development curriculum will allow our students to develop the attributes they need to stay healthy, be safe, prepare them for life and work as citizens in modern day Britain and help them to develop questioning minds and to challenge injustice.
The aims of the personal development curriculum are to educate our students in:
- Wellbeing through positive mental health and becoming happier
- Wellbeing through keeping safe, recognising and avoiding exploitation
- Wellbeing through respect, acceptance and equality
- Wellbeing through families, growing up positively and respectful sexual relationships
- Wellbeing through political understanding and empowerment and economic well being
- Wellbeing and positive mental health supported by physical health
We believe that through the personal development curriculum we can support our students in learning how to live happier lives.
Throughout the whole curriculum students will learn how to be a responsible twenty first century good digital citizen, conducting all of their online activity with respect shown to others and ensuring they keep themselves safe.
Click here to view the Personal Development Curriculum Plan
Each student will receive five 50 minutes tutor periods of personal development time per six week unit. The sessions will be delivered by tutors and, when necessary, by working with external organisations to enhance the delivery of these subjects by bringing in specialist knowledge.
We make sure that our high quality teaching is differentiated and personalised which will be the starting point to ensure accessibility. We are mindful that some students are more vulnerable to exploitation, bullying and other issues and as a result many curriculum objectives can be particularly important subjects for some students; for example those with social, emotional and mental health needs.
In our delivery, we ensure that we comply with the relevant provisions of the Equality Act 2010. Under the Equality Act, there are nine protected characteristics that we take into consideration when planning and delivering our curriculum so that the topics and content that are appropriately handled and accessed.
The nine protected characteristics are:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race, religion or belief
- sex and sexual orientation
Provisions within the Equality Act allow us to take positive action, where it can be shown that it is proportionate, to deal with particular disadvantages affecting one group because of a protected characteristic. We will, where appropriate or necessary, put in place additional support for students with particular protected characteristics to ensure accessibility of the curriculum.
ADDITIONAL READING
Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Policy
All students also attend an assembly in their house groupings which compliments and extends the personal development programme.
Please view this document for details: Personal Development Assembly Expectations