Personal Development
What is Personal Development?
A wide range of additional opportunities to enrich learning taught in Early Years and through the National Curriculum. Through our vision of ‘Nurture and Grow Together’ we work on our core values, and we help pupils develop their character, to know that individual differences should be valued, to be resilient, be aspirational, to treat people kindly. We help pupils understand and deepen their knowledge of the British values of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law, mutual respect, and tolerance.
Through our PSHE curriculum for Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RHSE) we use SCARF which is a scheme in which we teach pupils to recognise and manage online and offline risks. We teach them about healthy relationships and keeping safe. Through this spiral curriculum we look at the topics that develops personal development and supports pupils to be ready for their next stage in education. This year we are building on our health and wellbeing programme by working with the ‘Storm breaks’ Charity who will work with an individual member of staff before rolling it our to the whole school in September. We are also working with ‘Future Savers’ to enhance our curriculum to deliver more education around money and saving.
Residential visits
Residential visits in year 3, 4, 5 and 6 build children’s independence and provide opportunities for learning within different contexts and settings. We use this an opportunity to work on our core themes of Resilience and Aspiration. We alternate our residentials for Year 5 and 6 so one year we focus purely on adventure activities and in the second year we do a mix of activities which includes visits to museums such as the Weald and Downland Living Museum and trips to places like Stonehenge and Hampton Court.
Clubs
Our curriculum extends beyond the National Curriculum and includes a wide range of experiences and opportunities within and beyond the school day. Our programme of after school clubs are run by Premier Education who also provide extended childcare after school. The programme has a lot of variety and is designed to enhance the school curriculum for all age groups from Reception to Year 6. All clubs are run by qualified coaches with first aid qualifications. They have a passion to inspire pupils and help them develop new skills. We also have clubs within the school day that can vary depending on the season. These are run by teachers and by the children themselves. Clubs can include drawing, ECO clubs, reading clubs, wellbeing clubs and game clubs.
Assembly programme
A programme of assemblies based on our values-based ethos helps to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, and provide clear guidance for pupils on how to grow up to be the best person they can possible be. As well as the values assemblies, each term pupils also take part in:
- safeguarding assemblies e.g. NSPCC
- achievers’ assembly on a Friday- celebrating our pupils of the week and sporting achievements.
- music performance assemblies
- special events in the calendar
- assemblies that focus on Modern British Values including commemorative events
PE & Sport competition and healthy lifestyles
We provide pupils with a wide range of PE & Sport opportunities beyond the school day. Through our curriculum pupils compete in a range of competitions, sports festivals and local fixtures. After school clubs such as Netball, Tag Rugby, Football, Cricket, Martial Arts, Dance, Tennis and Athletics further provide opportunities for pupils to develop sporting skills, healthy lifestyle and positive attitudes. Through our work with Premier Education then pupils have the opportunity to perform dance in local theatres to large audiences. The school also takes part in a number of health and wellbeing events throughout the year. The school successfully gained a Gold Sports Mark in 2022 and 2023.
Forest School
As a school we are very fortunate in having our own forest school area and a member of staff trained to deliver the Forest Schools programme. Forest School is designed to provide opportunities for outdoor learning in a natural environment. All pupils have access to Forest School sessions for a half-term in school with our dedicated Forest School Leader. We also share this resource with our Federation School who travel to use the site.
Pupils as Leaders
Pupils have many opportunities to become a leader in school. These include being members of the school council, sports leaders, buddies, litter pickers and bird feeders, librarians and book monitors, assembly monitors as well as supporting school in one-off events such as new parents evening when they escort parents on a tour of the school.
Trips and visits
Trips and visits take place throughout the school year, in all year groups linked to our curriculum and for enrichment. We also make the most of our location and take children out of school around the village. We access local transport links to visit Exeter and Exmouth.