Personal Development

Definition

Personal Development is designed to help pupils gain the skills knowledge and understanding they need to lead, healthy, independent lives and to become informed, active and responsible citizens.

It focuses on safety, well-being and enriching pupils’ educational experiences so that they can fully flourish. Pupils learn about the role they play as part of a local, national and international community and about the challenges and risks they may face outside the classroom which in turn prepares them, so they know how best to deal with these. This involves thinking processes, managing emotions, values and relationships along with a range of life skills that are associated with living as a successful member of society.

Intent

At Bank View, our personal development curriculum is designed to equip pupils with the information to support them through the challenges of their formative years, as well as encourage them to be open-minded global citizens and fully prepared for life in modern-day Britain. The information provided and the nature of the delivery will allow pupils to make informed decisions about their well-being, relationships and health. Today’s children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities but also many challenges and risks. At Bank View, pupils need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives positively.

Bank View’s Personal Development programme is sequential from early years to post 16.

Implementation

Our Personal Development curriculum consisted of 6 key elements:

The curriculum is designed to create learning opportunities and experiences which encourage deep learning, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving to support pupils in becoming the decision-makers of the future. At Bank View, we want our pupils to become immersed in learning experiences which support them in making links between academic subjects and the strands of our personal development curriculum, through the sequential building of knowledge in key areas and the enhancement of their cultural understanding, linked to experiences in academic subjects which strengthen their knowledge.

PSHE/RSE

At Bank View, our PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) education enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally and socially and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. Our RSE (Relationship and Sex education) curriculum has been mapped out clearly in the progression grids for PSHE and science which ensure coverage of all the statutory elements; these are delivered at the appropriate stage for our children.

Our high expectations of behaviour, interpersonal relationships, respect and tolerance of others reflect the British Values upheld in both our community and the wider world. We provide our children with opportunities to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community and by taking responsibility for their behaviours, showing initiative and understanding how they can contribute positively to the lives of others. We believe that children should be educated about all the different issues that await them in the world. Through an understanding of what ‘drugs and alcohol’ are and the effects that they have upon a person’s body, and lifestyle, we are enabling the children to make informed and positive choices in their own life.

Character Development

This focus on Personal Development and Character Education are all promoted through our bespoke Character Values Programme with a focus on the eight key areas: 

We aim to develop learners to have a holistic set of values that prepares them for life in the modern world in a diverse and ever-changing community and workplace.

Cultural Capital

Pupils will be exposed to a rich and diverse curriculum that presents them with a wide range of internal and external opportunities to expand their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. To inspire pupils to embrace ideas, art and culture that is beyond the confines of the classroom and home. Bank View aims to construct a curriculum that is ambitious and designed to give all learners, the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life through a wealth of experiences both in and outside the taught curriculum.

British values

Intent	Implementation	Impact
We aim to nurture our children on their journey through life so they can grow into safe, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference in modern Britain.	At BVS we ensure that the fundamental British Values are introduced, discussed and lived out in school life. Discreet teaching and learning opportunities are mapped out in the curriculum where appropriate, in particular, World Views, PSHE and Assemblies provide opportunities to raise awareness and develop understanding.   We support all pupils to develop positive self-esteem, self-confidence and self-awareness alongside respect of themselves and others in our school, our local community and the wider world.	Pupils will have experience, an awareness and an understanding of British Values. Pupils will demonstrate this within the day-to-day life of the school and beyond.

SMSC

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development is the over-arching umbrella that encompasses personal development across the whole curriculum. It requires schools to think about the kind of people we aspire to be, the kind of world we aspire to create, and the kind of education we aspire to provide.

Intent	Implementation	Impact
All pupils to reach their potential: Spiritually, morally, socially, culturally and academically.  For all pupils to continually develop their: Creative and critical thinking, personal discipline, subject skills and knowledge, respect for human rights, employability, love of humanity, ethical and spiritual values and their understanding of the rights and duties of citizenship	SMSC at Bank View is taught throughout the curriculum, enrichment activities, extracurricular activities and external experiences i.e. residentials.	Pupils will develop into well-rounded, thoughtful, and respectful individuals. They will develop a sense of identity and purpose, as well as an awareness of their place in society.

Well-being

The promotion of understanding and managing children’s emotional health and well-being is threaded through our curriculum. We aim to respond to how children want to support their own social and emotional development through school. The skills, knowledge and understanding needed by our pupils to keep themselves and others physically and mentally healthy and safe are included as part of our developmental PSHE curriculum. The specific content of lessons will be determined by the specific needs of the cohort we’re teaching but there will always be an emphasis on enabling pupils to develop the skills, knowledge, understanding, language and confidence to seek help, as needed, for themselves or others.
We will follow the PSHE Association Guidance to ensure that we teach mental health and emotional well-being issues safely and sensitively which helps rather than harms.

Careers

We want our pupils to experience a careers curriculum that establishes a growing knowledge and awareness of the world of work and what they, as young people, can aim for as they prepare for adulthood and Post 16 transition.  This includes delivering a breadth of opportunities and experiences that our pupils can start to build their future pathways from the very earliest starting points.

Intent	Implementation	Impact
To give pupils the skills and knowledge to make realistic choices about their careers and future.   To allow pupils to develop their independent living skills in preparation for adulthood.   To have an understanding of the options available to them post-16.   To offer meaningful interactions with potential employers.	Embedded into these learning opportunities is a programme of career education.  One of the first stages of career education in primary sees pupils learn about the people who help us including visits from the School Nurse, Dental Team, Sports Coaches, Fire Brigade and Police. There is a planned programme of learning experiences with learning outcomes for Year 7 to Year 13, which enable young people to: Develop themselves through career and work-related education Learn about careers and the world of work and develop career management and employability skills.	Pupils will transition to an appropriate placement post-16.   Pupils will have developed the skills to take care of themselves and live with some independence where possible.   Pupils will understand their rights and responsibilities at work and will have learned how to act appropriately in the workplace.   Pupils will have developed a variety of competency skills, such as teamwork, communication, time management, money management etc. and will be able to demonstrate these skills.

Equality and Diversity

Our School is committed to anti-discriminatory practice, promoting equality of opportunity and valuing diversity for all staff, pupils and families regardless of their race, gender, age, disability, religion or sexual orientation. We aim to be a beacon of excellence, in showing how people of different faiths, convictions, abilities, gender, heritage and ethnicity can form a successful, cohesive and happy community that draws from the best in each of our traditions. Our pupils will gain an understanding that difference is a positive, not a negative and that individual characteristics make people unique.

Protected characteristics

The UNCRC identifies the rights of the child. “Every child has rights, whatever their ethnicity, gender, religion, language, abilities or any other status.” (UNICEF)
“All children must gain an understanding of the world they are growing up in, and learn how to live alongside and show respect for, a diverse range of people.” – Guidance on Inspecting teaching of the protected characteristics in schools – September 2021
The Equality Act 2010 ensures that schools cannot unlawfully discriminate against pupils because of their sex, race, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation. The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) was introduced by the Equality Act 2010 and applies to all schools. The PSED has three main elements. These are:

• Eliminating discrimination and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
• Advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
• Fostering good relations across all characteristics – between people who do share a protected characteristic and people who do not

There are 9 protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010:

• Age
• Gender
• Race
• Disability
• Religion or belief
• Sexual orientation
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy or maternity
• Marriage and civil partnership

See curriculum maps and PSHE Long Term plans for coverage of protected characteristics

Impact

The nature of a Personal Development curriculum means that it cannot be assessed in the same ways as most other subjects. From very different starting points, children are supported to make the best progress they can academically, emotionally, creatively, socially and physically. The ultimate goal is that all children will have developed the following skills:

• The young people will know and remember knowledge that will help them to stay safe and be active citizens (British Values)
• Pupil engagement in the curriculum: – including attitudes to learning, resilience, curious learners
• Participation in aspects of school life e.g. attending extra-curricular activities, school performances etc – developing skills, including inter-personal skills
• Willingness to take-up positions of responsibility and to participate in decisions about aspects of school life that affect them
• Observation of pupils around the school site – positive attitudes to each other, staff and visitors including less structured times at break and lunchtime

Curriculum impact is assessed in the following ways:

• Learning walks and observations
• Work scrutiny (including pupil’s voice)
• Pupil engagement in the curriculum (attitude to learning)
• Pupil Voice
• Stakeholder’s voice
• Meeting minutes (Department, Pastoral, PD, SLT)
• Line management meetings with subject leaders 
• Extra-curricular range of opportunities for attendance and enjoyment
• Trips and visits calendar and attendance logs
• Assembly PowerPoints and form time activities
• Development of skills