Personal Development

‘‘Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviour. Keep your behaviour positive because your behaviour becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.’’ – Mahatma Gandhi

Personal Development at Washingborough Academy

Including Values, PSHE, and RSHE Education

Intent

At Washingborough Academy, Personal Development encompasses our Values based curriculum; Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum; Relationships and Sex education curriculum, Food Education curriculum and Wellbeing provision. We believe that all children should have an innovative education that shapes them as a person holistically, enabling them to become healthy, independent, and responsible members of society. This should include the values that they hold, as well as how they take care of themselves and stay safe. Throughout our school curriculum, we promote children’s physical and mental wellbeing as this underpins all their learning and allows them to realise their potential.

Our PSHE and Values curriculums are carefully planned to be relevant and reflect the needs of, and be accessible to, all our pupils. They aim to:

  • build children’s resilience to enable them to thrive when faced with the highs and lows of life
  • develop children’s understanding of how to stay physically healthy, giving them the opportunity to explore fruits and vegetables through sensory education, and learn key cooking skills to create recipes and meals
  • help our children understand how they are developing personally and socially, and challenge many of the moral, social, and cultural issues that are part of growing up
  • encourage our children to develop their personal values, beliefs and sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to our school and the wider community
  • provide our children with opportunities for them to learn about their rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society
  • equip pupils with a sound understanding of risks and with the knowledge and skills necessary to make safe and informed decisions in life including the online world

Implementation

Our PSHE curriculum has been carefully planned and structured to reflect the needs of our children in line with the National Curriculum. The curriculum is broken into three strands, health and wellbeing, relationships and living in the wider world. Our Values curriculum is split into 22 core values which are taught over a two-year cycle.

The schemes of work also include opportunities to link to British Values and SMSC (spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development). The curriculum starts in EYFS and follows the children through to Year 6.  It revisits themes, gradually extending thinking, expanding knowledge, and developing skills. The long-term plans are also supported by the work of the School Parliament, Guardians of the Earth, the assembly themes, charity events, visitors, and awareness days. We recognise the need to address PSHE topics because of world affairs or issues that have arisen in class, the school, community, or world.

Through our wellbeing provision, the children have a daily opportunity to explore different strategies that they can draw upon to better understand their mental health and how to support it. These include creative, active, meditation and breathing activities, amongst many others.

Impact

The impact of the Personal Development related curriculums are measured in a variety of ways:

  • Discussions with children in lessons
  • Targeted questions during lessons
  • Pupil’s voice
  • Learning walks
  • Book studies
  • Termly assessment
  • Parent feedback
  • Wellbeing assessment trackers

By the time children leave Washingborough Academy they will:

  • Be developing their emotionally literacy
  • Build and maintain healthy relationships with their peers and all members of society
  • Stay safe physically, mentally, and online
  • Understand how to be healthy, both mentally and physically
  • Build self-esteem, resilience, and problem-solving strategies
  • Have respect for themselves and others
  • Understand their role in an ever-changing world

We believe that we prepare our children for the next stage in their education as well as preparing them to be happy, positively contributing members of society.

‘‘I truly believe the only way we can create global peace is through not only educating our minds, but our hearts and our souls.’’ – Malala Yousafzai