"The Westgate School is a happy and vibrant community,
where pupils are encouraged to aim for excellence"
(Ofsted, September 2022)
Working in partnership with parents/carers and the wider community to enable pupils to feel safe, included, happy and prepared for life beyond school
Our philosophy for Personal Development (PD) is of a holistic approach that supports all pupils in their development through five Key Stages.
Underpinning all that we do to support pupils are our core values: be kind, be respectful, be responsible.
The elements that make up our Personal Development
Our Personal Development Curriculum:
The curriculum for Personal Development is led by our Designated Safeguarding Lead Practitioner (All-Through), Year Leaders and, nominated colleagues in our primary phase. This ensures that the content is always age appropriate. Ground rules are used in all lessons to ensure that this aspect of our curriculum is facilitated in an emotionally safe way. All teachers are supported to deliver Personal Development lessons in an appropriate way through CPD programme and individual support by the Year and Assistant Year Leaders. Specialist teachers are used to deliver some aspects of the curriculum.
Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 & Key Stage 2:
This aspect of our curriculum is delivered by class teachers with specialist input and assemblies where appropriate.
Personal Development offers explicit and implicit learning opportunities based on key themes that are considered throughout all key stages. Different teaching methods are used, such as direct teaching, discussion and debate, research, books, stories, visiting speakers and workshops. The schemes of work and lessons are planned to implement the curriculum intent and are flexible, reflecting pupils’ needs with adaptations to take on board pupils and parental feedback, ideas and topical issues in society.
In the Primary Phase, each class uses a large Personal Development journal to evidence our curriculum. The core themes of the curriculum are Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World.
Health and Wellbeing:
Pupils learn about Healthy Lifestyles: physical wellbeing, mental health, ourselves growing and changing (puberty in Years 5 & 6), keeping safe; drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping.
Relationships:
Pupils learn about: families and close positive relationships, friendships, managing hurtful behaviour and bullying, safe relationships, respecting self and others. Some of this work is led by our Anti Bullying Lead – Andy Hider.
Living in the wider world:
Pupils learn about: shared responsibilities, communities, media literacy and digital resilience; economic wellbeing (money) aspirations, work and careers.
Key Stage 3 and 4:
In the secondary phase the curriculum is delivered through an extended tutor session on a weekly basis and supplemented by external speakers, small group work in afternoon tutor sessions and, through assemblies. Additional follow up conversations take place as part of the half termly 1:1 mentoring sessions that pupils have with their tutor. If additional mentoring is required, then this might be carried out by The Year or Assistant year Leader or a member of the pupil support team. In Years 7 and 10, pupils will also have a discrete Personal Development lesson as part of their weekly timetable. Link to PD tutor time curriculum map.
Health and Wellbeing:
Pupils learn about self-concept, mental health and emotional wellbeing, healthy lifestyles and health related decisions, drugs alcohol and tobacco, managing risk and personal safety, puberty, sexual health and fertility.
Relationships:
Pupils learn about: Positive relationships, relationship values, forming and maintaining respectful relationships, consent, contraception and parenthood, bullying, abuse and discrimination and social influences.
Living in the Wider World:
Pupils learn about: Learning skills, choices and pathways, work and careers, employment rights and responsibilities, financial choices, media literacy and digital resilience.
Curriculum Impact:
Applied skills in everyday situations.
Primary Phase use whole class THRIVE assessments as additional means of assessing pupil progress.
Secondary Phase to assess each unit of work during the core PD lessons in Year 7 and 10. In tutor time ongoing assessment during TALK activities and during 1:1 mentoring sessions throughout the term, discussions, and open questioning.
Recording, tracking and analysis of incidents and extra-curricular engagement.
Improved attendance and social skills across the school.
Non-negotiables:
Everyone feels safe enough to express their own ideas.
Respect for other viewpoints and ways of life expressed both verbally and in writing.
Curriculum Implementation:
The main aim of our Personal Development curriculum is to enable pupils to make effective choices, to be mindful of British Values and to develop into positive citizens of modern-day Britain.
We work in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty (2010) and Gov UK Research commentary: ‘Teaching about sex, sexual orientation and gender reassignment’ (Research commentary: teaching about sex, sexual orientation and gender reassignment - GOV.UK ) July 2021).
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The need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act
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Advancing equality of opportunity between people who shared a protected characteristic and those who do not
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Fostering good relationships between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
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Pupils are taught and encouraged to live healthy, safe, productive, capable, responsible and balanced lives.
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Pupils are supported in making effective decisions, positive learning, career choices and in achieving economic wellbeing.
Curriculum Content for Personal Development:
The curriculum for Personal Development comprises of 4 elements (with some overlapping):
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Citizenship, Personal Social Health and Economic Education which includes our ‘Perspectives’ programme about Equalities and Diversity
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Social, Moral Spiritual and Cultural Education
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Relationships, Sex and Health Education, including teaching about biological sex, gender identity, stereotypes and sexual harassment (in an age-appropriate way).
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The Westgate Community Challenge – a programme designed to foster inclusion and community cohesion
The skills developed through the programme include: negotiation, resilience, applied health, self-awareness and self-regulation. The schemes of work and lessons are planned to implement the curriculum intent and are flexible, reflecting pupils’ needs and taking into account the impact of personal experience.
Real-time adaptations are made to curriculum planning in response to feedback from parents, pupils and, to take into account wider topical issues/events and, our learning about the issues affecting young people.
Our Personal Development Curriculum is organised under 4 strands:
Perspectives - Equalities & Diversity objectives, Policy, specific objective led planning, protected characteristics, remarkable stories and Stories worth Sharing.
RSHE - Relationships and Sex, Health Education (RSHE) within our school aims to provide opportunities for pupils to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives and become active and informed citizens. This includes age-appropriate teaching about sexual harassment, E-safety; and gender stereotypes.
CPSHEE/SMSC - Careers, money/finance, wellbeing, E-safety and literacy, Science of Learning, RE, drugs awareness. Pupils are supported in making effective decisions, positive learning, career choices and in achieving economic wellbeing. Through the Personal Development sessions, pupils will also develop inter- and intra-personal skills, allowing them to develop teamwork, self-confidence and future life skills. Pupils are also provided with opportunities to reflect on, clarify their own values and attitudes, and explore the complex and conflicting range of values and attitudes encountered now and in the future.
Pupils are provided with economic education, which includes topics such as managing your money, debt, interest and tax and student finance, so pupils are prepared for life after school.
