We are proud of our very strong personal development and enrichment offering at New Marston Primary School - one that extends beyond the academic but is also embedded within the curriculum, and provided frequent and varied opportunities for pupils to develop character and enrich their lives.
Intent
Personal Development (PD) is seen as a crucial part of the journey of preparing our pupils for their adult, independent life. PD helps create safe school communities where pupils can grow, learn, and develop positive, healthy behaviour and character traits for life. It can have a positive impact on pupils’ health and wellbeing and their ability to achieve.
Personal development at New Marston centres on our school values of kindness, growth, grit, community and integrity. We believe that a pupils’ character and understanding of the world can be developed through consistent reference to, modelling and teaching of these.
We aim for pupils to be active citizens in a diverse world and to be respectful, inquisitive and understanding about difference. We want pupils to be confident to participate and keen to learn skills, knowledge and/or talents in the next stage of their education. We offer a vast range of additional enrichment opportunities to help facilitate this.
Implementation is through:
Our school values - these are discussed daily when teaching, supporting behaviour and in assemblies. Our school values are deeply embedded in our school’s daily life in our interactions with pupils, parents and each other. School Values
RSHE (Relationships, sex and health education) - This has been mapped and sequenced. Each year group has a series of objectives that are covered through lessons, assemblies and/or whole school work. You can find our policy here and see on each year group’s page what is being covered each term. RSHE Policy
PSHE - This includes wider safety, such as road safety, water safety and teaching children about finance. Our long term map and PD lessons include PSHE and we also have assemblies or workshops/visitors to teach this.
British values - These are taught through assemblies. They are revisited throughout the year when linking to our school values. For example, when we teach about community, we discuss tolerance. We regularly vote (school councillors, talent shows) and remind the children of democracy at this points. Individual classes reinforce British values at teachable moments.
Inclusion, equality and diversity - please see the document on this page, which explains how this is taught and embedded.
Citizenship - we aim to prepare children for their role in society through assemblies, PD lessons, our bespoke curriculum and our enrichment programme. Our focus on the value of community discusses how we can help to shape our school, our local community and the wider world with eco councillors, school councillors and charity work. We discuss integrity as standing up for what we believe is right and take part in our own demontrsations or learn about activitists. We encourage children to think about citizenship through our texts and writing, for example, using The Promise, the Y3 children prepared and delivered speeches to the local mayor to persuade him to develop Northway. We have a forest school and an eco council, and actively encourage food waste/ recycling. Our vists and trips, including links with secondary schools, also support children in the next stages of their education.
SMSC - At New Marston, spiritual development enables pupils to look within themselves, at their human relationships and at the wider world. We are committed to celebrating the cultures and values that all families bring to New Marston and to build an awareness and respect of these. We aim to help pupils come to an understand of themselves as individuals. We do this through our RE curriculum, RSHE curriculum, our value of community. These are covered in stand alone lessons, assemblies, celebration events (such as international evening), visits to places of worship and visitors into school. At New Marston, moral development enables pupils to know what it right and wrong, and act on it accordingly. We teach this through our values of integrity and kindness. We reject all forms of bullying and use a restorative approach to behaviour management. At New Marston, social development enables our pupils to understands the rights and responsibilities of living in a community and their rights/responsibilties. We develop this through our PD taught lessons, values based assemblies, including a focus on our value of community, our electives programme and peer mentors. At New Marston, cultural development enables our pupils to acquire an understanding of a range of cultures. We celebrate the richness of diversity in our school through our values based assemblies (community), events (international evening or festivals), providing opportunities for pupils to engage in a range of sporting, artistic and cultural opportunities both within and outside of school, visitors.
