Personal Development
Intent
At Shortbrook Primary School, we fully recognise the link between pupil health, well-being and attainment within our curriculum and place huge emphasis on developing and supporting the whole child not simply academic achievement. Our personal development curriculum is driven by our school values and aims to empower every child to observe, regulate and make conscious decisions about their own learning, behaviours and life choices both now and in the future. We aim to give the children the vocabulary, confidence and skills to express themselves clearly alongside the ability to question and challenge themselves confidently both in school and within the wider community, alongside their understanding of British Values.
Core Values We take care of ourselves – mind and body We are respectful and look after each other We aim high and like a challenge We are resilient and never stop trying We can work independently and as part of a team |
Implementation
Personal Development is delivered within the National Curriculum framework with a focus on the development and consolidation of knowledge and skills, through a spiral model of a planned, well sequenced and structured curriculum building on what has been taught and experienced before then aiming for defined end points. Our curriculum extends beyond the academic, providing pupils' broader development. The curriculum and wider work of the school supports pupils to be confident, resilient and independent.
Please see below the extensive offer we implement to support our pupil development.
Life skills are enhanced through our ‘Healthy Minds’ CAMHS programme which aims to support the emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people. It puts emotional resilience at the heart of children’s health and wellbeing and recognises its impact on their learning, attainment, behaviour and future employability. By providing stable, nurturing and protective environments, we can help children learn how to regulate their emotions and develop healthy relationships with other children and school staff. Healthy Minds provides staff with the latest neurodevelopmental and mental health research to help them develop a whole-school approach to supporting and developing children’s social, emotional, developmental and health needs.
Our Covid 19 recovery curriculum placed positive mental health and emotional well-being at the centre of our community recovery. Our children experience a range of activities including mindfulness, yoga, the daily mile, exercise, gardening, team building activities, daily check in's, pupil voice, school council, ELSA activities both indoors and outdoors. We also have strong links to external agencies to support children and families through Social Care, MAST, educational psychologists, CAMHS and Councillor support.
We value the cultures and experiences of our children and families including traditions, beliefs, cultural and family heritage, interests, travel and work opportunities and experiences by getting to know our families and building positive and trusting relationships where children feel safe, secure and happy. We do this through a planned transition programme; recognising and celebrating the diversity of children’s home experiences, incorporating a range of resources in our setting that represent the different cultures and languages in our wider community and plan meaningful experiences to celebrate our different cultures. The planned curriculum is ambitious and aspirational for all to enhance the cultural capital of every child and family alongside trips, visits or outings to deepen and enrich learning.