PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT LESSON OVERVIEW 2024-25
- Personal Development is delivered once every two weeks in Years 7-11 in a bespoke lesson.
- Below is an outline of the strands and lessons for each term and each year group.
- There is a spiral curriculum of three themes which encompasses the subjects of PSHE, Relationships and Sex Education and Health and Wellbeing.
- The themes are: Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World.
- All lessons have been audited to ensure the Relationships and Sex Education statutory guidance is being met.
Plymstock School Character Curriculum
Character Education:
It is our ambition to empower young people, through education, to have the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in life and make a positive difference. Our vision of achieving excellence through curriculum and culture enables students to flourish in all areas of their lives, by supporting their development into well-rounded, empathetic young people who can contribute and shape society and the wider world, whilst respecting and supporting those who live in it, though the teaching and modelling of good character.
How do we develop character?
Our character wheel is focused around our CORE principles of Conduct, Organisation, Respect and Effort and underpinned further by the nine ways of achieving them. Character education is part of school life. It underpins our school vision of ‘Be Kind, Work Hard, Aim High’ and dictates our values. The eight character traits are covered throughout the student’s time at Plymstock School.
Character is picked up through the experiences one has. Therefore, we ensure we create an ethos and environment that nurtures our CORE principles. For example, our Behaviour, Culture and Expectations policy is based on developing students’ empathy, self-control, and sense of responsibility. We believe that every interaction is an opportunity to develop the good character of our students to help them be better and empathetic young people in our learning community.
Our character is curriculum is taught through assemblies, tutor time and through our curriculum. Our assembly programme is created to include all aspects of our CORE principles. Our weekly focus on Culture and Values and the Personal Development curriculum enables further the exploration and embedding of the CORE values.
It is important that one’s environment provides opportunities for character to be ‘sought’ for example, being at Plymstock School offers students opportunities for the development of personal habits and character commitments e.g. good time-keeping, good manners, friendly relations and leadership opportunities throughout the school.
Learning Journey:
The 6 Strands:
The Character Education at Plymstock School for our students is supported by six strands:
The Six Strands:
- CORE
- Personal Development Curriculum
- Period 6
- Careers.
- Trips & Experiences.
- Student Leadership.
CORE
The CORE helps develop a way of life that is characterised by the CORE of Conduct, Organisation, Respect and Effort and underpinned by nine pathways in achieving them. This does not happen by chance – it has to be practiced and internalised. We believe by continually developing our character, we become the best version of ourselves which is vitally important for everyone.
Personal Development Curriculum
The intent of our Personal Development and Pastoral Curriculum, is to deliver a holistic ethos which pervades through everyday life and features on the ‘Whole Child’. The programme endeavors to maximise the outcomes for every learner so that they know more, remember more and understand more. Personal Development Curriculum has been envisaged to be wholly inclusive which enables all our learners to become healthy, independent and responsible members of their communities. Additionally, 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 our wider society. We provide all our learners with opportunities for them to learn about British Values and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our school’s values of ‘Be Kind, Work Hard, Aim High’ are encouraged to develop further our learners sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.
Overall, we seek to use Personal Development education to build, where appropriate, on the basic school curriculum and in statutory guidance on: drug education, financial education, sex and relationship education (RSHE) and the importance of physical activity and diet for a healthy lifestyle. Our curriculum also incorporates religious beliefs, values and identity allowing our students to develop into well-rounded members of our community.
Period 6
Enrichment takes many forms and there are many clubs that students can take part in throughout the year which allow them to develop teamwork, creativity and leadership skills as well as igniting their own passions. There is a comprehensive programme of sport activities which students can participate in as well as other after school activities such as subject clubs and activities such as chess club. In Year 11 there is a Period 6 which aims to assist students in revising and consolidating their learning in preparation for their GCSE examinations. The flourishing Plymstock School library also has many opportunities for students to participate in developing their literacy skills such as the Carnegie Award and World Book day and authors are invited into to speak to students about their latest books.
Careers
Careers is of central importance to our character curriculum. There is a weekly careers focus as part of our tutor programme which aims to encourage students to consider their future career options and post 16 routes. There is also a yearly careers fayre where students get to meet future employers and training providers. There is also a careers lessons as part of our Personal Development lessons. All students in Year 10 and Year 12 complete a week’s work experience.
Trips and Experiences
Opportunities for students to learn outside of the classroom is an integral part of the Character Curriculum and for student personal development. Participating in trips and other experiences is a great way to enjoy a unique learning experience outside the classroom. Trips and experiences are not only fun, but they also allow students to absorb, interact and immerse themselves into a world beyond the classroom. Learning outside the classroom contributes significantly to the academic, personal, social and emotional development of all our students.
What are the key benefits of trips?
- Students are more likely to retain information and being involved in visual and practical experiences which will help students to remember, learn and understand subject content.
- They will help to reinforce classroom materials, bringing lessons to life. School trips give students the opportunity to visualise, experience and discuss information on a subject.
- They offer students a unique cultural learning experience. It allows students to be involved in new environments; key to encouraging curiosity about a given subject. It is also valuable as an exercise in broadening their understanding of the world and their place within it.
- Educational trips encourage the development of social, personal and study skills. Research shows that students become more confident, creative and are displaying leadership qualities during out of class experiences.
What sort of trips and experiences are there?
As part of our character curriculum there are many trips and experiences provided. In Year 7, there is the opportunity for students to visit Normandy. All students participate in our community cohesion week in Year 7 which includes a whole host of outside speakers and usually includes an offsite trip (this has included trips to Plymouth Hoe and Dartmoor in recent years). Students have also had the opportunity to participate in a Christmas Markets trip to Aachen in Germany. Students in Years 8 and 9 participate in Challenge Week where they have a whole host of different offsite trips and experiences to participate in as well as foreign trips, for example, to Paris and Germany. A ski trip has also been organized for many years in the Easter holidays. All key stage 3 students participate in Geography fieldwork which includes off site visits. There is also a flourishing Duke of Edinburgh programme which many students choose to participate in as part of the character curriculum. History trips to the World War One battlefields and the Auschwitz are also planned for the coming academic years.
Student Leadership Opportunities
Student leadership is integral to our students developing their resilience and confidence to stand as first amongst equals. Students have the opportunity to a tutor school councilor representative and represent their peers on the school council and help shape the future direction of the school. Students also have the opportunity to participate in student voice and play a central role in helping choose future employees of the school. In Year 8, students complete a desk duty day where they assist the school administration staff in the day to day running of the school. Students also have the opportunity to be peer mentors to new members of the school as they transition to secondary school. Students also have the opportunity to be reading mentors to younger students at the school.