We are proud of our commitment to offer every child in our care the support that they need to become a positive contributor to their community.
Our personal development offer encourages, enables and inspires our pupils to be happy, healthy, safe and confident young people. Through their engagement with our programme, our pupils will contribute to the world we live in now and in the future as employable, active and responsible citizens.
Woldgate School Personal Development: Core intentions:
Goal 1: To know how to be safe and stay safe. To know how to be healthy, and to have the knowledge needed to manage their lives in a positive way. To understand the
increasingly complex world, and the positive and exciting opportunities it offers, but also the challenges and the risks
Goal 2: To be confident, resilient, independent, and to develop great character
Goal 3: To support and accept others and bring great value to their community. To be respectful and active citizens, advocating diversity and inclusion, whilst
upholding British Values
Rationale for approaches in School: Personal Development curriculum
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced and delivered with the following principles in mind:
- Developmental Appropriateness: Different age groups have varying levels of cognitive and emotional maturity. Clear sequencing ensures that topics are introduced when pupils are ready to understand and engage with them
- Building Foundations: Starting with foundational topics and concepts (like respect, consent, and communication) establishes a solid base. This knowledge is essential before tackling more complex issues related to relationships and sexual
- Gradual Complexity: As pupils and students progress, they can understand more complex concepts. Our sequenced programme allows for a gradual build- up of knowledge, helping pupils connect earlier lessons to more advanced topics, such as healthy relationships and sexual decision-making.
- Reinforcement of Concepts: Repeated exposure to key concepts at different levels helps reinforce learning. Each stage revisits and deepens understanding, helping to consolidate knowledge over time.
- Promoting Healthy Attitudes: The Sequencing of our programme helps to promote positive attitudes toward relationships and sexuality by addressing values, diversity, and respect before discussing more sensitive topics.
- Encouraging Critical Thinking: The structured approach that we have developed encourages pupils and Pupils to think critically about their own beliefs and This can lead to more informed and responsible choices in their relationships (and wider life).
- Safety and Well-Being: The effective sequencing of our programme prioritises safety, emphasising consent and healthy boundaries. This will help pupils navigate relationships more safely and confidently.
Our Personal Development curriculum is taught once per week. Pupils are taught in their form group, and by their form tutors. Form tutors are trained in the delivery of sensitive content such as Relationships and Sex Education. The curriculum is a spiral with four key strands/ which are:
- Living in the Outside World
- Relationship and Sex Education,
- Health and Wellbeing
- Careers/IAG.
Our lessons, planned centrally, equip pupils with the skills and knowledge to explore political and social issues critically, to weigh evidence, debate and make reasoned arguments. The curriculum also prepares pupils to take their place in society as responsible citizens and help them be better equipped to make decisions about their health and well-being. All resources are accessible to pupils and parents through the pupil sharepoint page.
Personal Development Days
Personal Development days cover a range of core information that is appropriate for your child at their stage of development. These themes and content during are designed to secure, re-enforce and re-emphasise content from their Personal Development lessons. We use a range of experienced external providers to deliver talks to our pupils (such as the police, the NHS and Fire Service), including well established and recognisable charitable organizations such as HEY MIND. All of these organisations have a successful track record of delivering talks in schools.
Personal Development Assemblies
Designated assemblies are aligned with the Personal Development curriculum. These assemblies are used to remind year groups of what they have been learning throughout the curriculum. In addition to this, we have also organised assemblies on topics such as: the environment, careers and pupil leadership.
Wider Pupil Experiences – Trips and Visits
We make available a fantastic range of trips and visits, and we will continue to keep our offer broad and diverse and open to as many pupils as possible. This includes a planned re-introduction of year-group trips, to ensure every child has an experience that they can remember each year. Trips are an excellent way for pupils to spend time with their peers, make friends, and to be inspired; to learn about new cultures, outlooks on life, and see new places for themselves. Last year pupils took part in a range of trips including Helmsley Castle and Rievaulx Abbey, Beamish Living History Museum, a visit to the WW1 battlefields, international trips to Paris, Iceland, Andalasia and New York, as well as a range of rewards trips. Information will always be sent to parents via classcharts.