Our Personal Development Curriculum
Aims
The school follows the Cambridgeshire Scheme of Work for PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education) adapted for our school as part of our academic curriculum. Like other foundation subjects, this is taught discretely in domain blocks. The programme ensures that pupils acquire age-appropriate knowledge about aspects of personal development including: healthy lifestyles, healthy relationships, drugs and medicines and anti-bullying.
However, due to our unique demographic context, we recognise the need to supplement our pupils’ knowledge acquisition about personal development with a range of other planned opportunities to ensure that our children are supported over time to develop the resilience, self-awareness and self-belief to aim high, work hard and be the best person they can be.
Unique Challenges
At Wyton on the Hill, our pupils face two particular challenges which could, if unaddressed, undermine both their academic and their personal development.
1. Our pupils experience above average levels of mobility and instability. As well as experiencing long periods of separation from one or both parents, many of our pupils have attended several schools before they come to join us and know that they will have to move on again before the end of their key stage; whilst others have experienced the loss of the many friends who come and go during their time here.
It is therefore crucial that our personal development curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to understand and withstand the impact of change and instability.
2. Like most communities in the 21st century, ours is diverse in economic terms, with high levels of short-term job prospects and unemployment as well as economic prosperity. In addition, our community is uniquely diverse, as it is home to members of the three military forces as well as a large number of civilian families from a wide range of backgrounds.
It is therefore essential for community cohesion that our school curriculum champions respect and diversity and promotes tolerance and common values amongst our pupils.
Despite these significant contextual factors, we need our pupils to be resilient, responsible, independent learners, who are absolutely invested in both their learning and in their school community - and who are not afraid to face a challenge.
Content and Structure
Our personal development curriculum includes planned activities which are specifically designed in order to:
develop emotional awareness, mindfulness and resilience
promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC), including British Values
understand and apply effective characteristics of learning
support children’s development as rights respecting citizens
encourage community cohesion
foster personal creativity and leadership
These activities are organised under these broad headings:
