Personal Development
Name of Department: Personal Development
Head of Department: Mr J Beckett
Our approach to the Personal Development curriculum
Personal Development is a school subject which helps students develop the knowledge, skills and attributes to stay healthy and safe now and prepare for their futures. It includes Personal, Social, Health, Economic, Relationships and Sex education (PSHE and RSE) as well as Citizenship, to prepare our young people for life and work in modern Britain. At St Augustine’s we believe that high quality Personal Development education also helps students to achieve their academic potential, and contributes significantly to maximising potential for our most vulnerable and disadvantaged learners.
Our intent is to provide an academic Personal Development curriculum that provides opportunities for students to reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes and explore complex and sometimes conflicting range of values and attitudes they encounter now and in the future. We offer a broad and ambitious curriculum across years 7-11. Through our timetabled Personal Development lessons from Years 7-11, we ensure fundamental British values are at the heart of school life and that students develop into well-rounded young people who are able to listen to the views of others displaying respect and tolerance towards those whose opinions are different from their own.
We understand the importance of educating pupils about sex, relationships and their health and the need for them to be able to make responsible and well-informed decisions and choices in their lives. We will provide pupils with high-quality, evidence and age-appropriate teaching of these subjects.
Student development is nurtured and will build year on year; capitalising on what students should already have studied at Key Stages 1 and 2. It is our goal to promote and progress life skills in all our students, which will cultivate our school values, so that our students are thoroughly prepared for life in modern Britain. We aim to educate students who will be responsible, respectful and active citizens who are able to play their part and become actively involved in public life as adults. We want our students to be alert to current affairs and be diligent in their appetite for challenge and who value their Personal Development curriculum. Personal Development will broaden our students' understanding of fundamental British values; democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and mutual respect and tolerance. We will teach our students to identify and manage risk, make informed choices and understand what influences their decisions.
Curriculum content
Key Stage 3 & 4
Our Personal Development curriculum is designed around five core themes (Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Sex, Careers, Citizenship, and Living in the Wider World) that are revisited each year to ensure students' learning is developed over time. Topics are taught to ensure age appropriate content is covered at each stage of a student's time at school. Through revisiting key topics and then developing ideas further each year, students' understanding of these key themes is embedded over time. The following strategies are also used:
• Spiral curriculum- revisiting units as we go through year groups
• A focus on disciplinary literacy and development of new vocabulary
• Use of effective questioning from teachers
• Lots of reflection and discussion built into sessions
We also help to develop a set of overarching concepts that run throughout the programme
We will constantly review and adapt our Personal Development curriculum to meet the changing needs of our students and our school community. Jigsaw PSHE perfectly connects the pieces of Personal, Social, Health and Well-Being Education.
The programme teaches children and young people emotional literacy, social- and lifelong skills, RSE/RSHE and resilience in an age-appropriate manner. Jigsaw gives children and young people the tools to have the best possible life.
The programme equips them for happier and healthier lives, giving them agency to make their way through the world. This is based upon using the JIGSAW PSHE programme of study 11-16 years online resources with key components based on a thematic approach.
Namely:
- Being me in my world – Includes lessons on Self-Identity, Consent, Radicalization, Peer Pressure, Equality, Social Media and Culture.
- Celebrating differences - Includes lessons on Celebrating Individuality, Bullying, Social Injustice, Discrimination, LGBT+, Hate Crimes, Sexism and Stereotyping.
- Dreams and goals - Includes lessons on Aspiration, Ambition, Overcoming Challenges, Qualifications & Careers, Finances, and Long-Term Goals.
- Healthy me - Includes lessons on Maintaining Mental Health, Healthy Lifestyle & Managing Risk First Aid, Stress and Anxiety.
- Relationships - Includes lessons on Relationship with Self, Understanding & Managing Relationships, Consent, Gender Identity and Sexuality – taught using the programme 10:10 which is based on the teachings of the Catholic Church
- Changing me -Includes lessons on Coping Positively with Change, including Puberty, Self-Image, Risk Relationships and Resilience.
How you can find out more about the Personal Development curriculum:
Faculty Leader contact: jbeckett@sasyorks.org