Character Development
At St Aidan’s Academy we are proud of the Personal Development programme that we have in place for all of our pupils.
The aim of our Personal Development programme is to ensure that our pupils have the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to make good choices and to lead confident, healthy, independent lives and to become informed, active, responsible citizens.
Personal development is interwoven through the pastoral, academic and enrichment opportunities that we have in school and is underpinned by our character education principles of CLIMB.
Intent
- Developing responsible, respectful and active citizens who are able to play their part and become actively involved in public life as adults. We give pupils opportunities to find out more about and discuss the fundamental British values. We ensure our pupils know where to find help and support with their physical and mental health.
- Enabling our pupils to recognise online and offline risks to their wellbeing and recognise the dangers of inappropriate use of technology.
- Promoting equality of opportunity by learning about protected characteristics and an inclusive environment for our pupils in all aspects of school life, including all of our enrichment opportunities.
- Providing an effective careers programme from year 7 to year 13 so our pupils are ready for the next phase of their future.
- Supporting our pupils for their next steps, whether that be after year 11, year 13, or moving into the world of work.
Implementation
Pupils are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities and experiences across and beyond the curriculum, contributing fully to the life of their school and the local community. In doing so they learn to recognise their own worth, work well with others and become increasingly responsible for their own learning. They reflect on their experiences and understand how they are developing personally and socially, tackling many of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. Pupils also find out about the main political and social institutions that affect their lives and about their responsibilities, rights and duties as individuals and members of communities. They learn to understand and respect our common humanity; diversity and differences so that they can go on to form the effective, fulfilling relationships that are an essential part of life and learning.
The aims of the Personal Development programme work alongside the 101 things to do, Mental Health and Wellbeing, RSHE, SMSC development and Safeguarding.
Framework for the Personal Development Programme
The programme is delivered under four main areas:
Health, Wellbeing and Relationships
Living in the Wider World
Citizenship
CLIMB
Delivery of the Personal Development Programme
Opportunities for promoting pupils’ personal, social and emotional development exist throughout their entire curriculum journey and are also delivered in the following ways:
- PDE Curriculum
- Wellbeing weeks
- Cross-Curricular Links
- Enrichment opportunities – both co-curricular and extra curricular (link to enrichment timetable) Co-curricular – activities that support/enhance the academic learning e.g. in school trips and speakers. Extra-curricular – activities that extend the learning of a subject, e.g. afterschool clubs, breakfast club
- School Assemblies
- School Trips
- Guest Speakers
- Whole school and subject events/ activities e.g. Maths Challenge, Spelling Bee
Character Education at St Aidan’s is based on the 5 key principles of CLIMB that we feel encapsulates the skills needed for our pupils to succeed both in and out of school.
A person’s ‘character’ develops over time and in a range of contexts, and is shaped by unknown and unpredictable events. However, a planned approach to providing opportunities to develop character-based skills and attributes can make a difference to outcomes for children and young people. Our aim, in partnership with respective parents and carers, is to support pupils in their formation: spiritual and social; intellectual and emotional; aesthetic and physical through the provision of a broad, balanced, aspirational, rigorous and vibrant curriculum which responds to needs, and at its heart recognises justice, liberty, peace and human freedom, whilst fostering intellectual curiosity and academic achievement:
