Personal Development

At Hilltop Academy, we are committed to providing a purposeful and empowering curriculum that fully prepares learners for the next steps in their school career and the wider world. We want our children to aspire to achieve and believe that it is essential that they understand the world in which they live. Broadening our children’s horizons and giving them the belief that they are capable of achieving great things drives our curriculum. Our Personal Development Curriculum offer gives the children the knowledge and understanding they need to make informed choices and to be a positive influence in the communities that they belong to.

Our aim is to teach children how to navigate through life safely, happily and healthily. Today’s children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also includes challenges and risks. In this environment, children and young people need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way. It is the duty of all staff within the academy, in partnership with parents/carers, to teach our children transferable life skills. Our aim is to develop skills and attributes such as resilience, motivation, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. We constantly promote the British Values and the protected characteristics.

Personal development is both a subject and our Academy ethos. It is reflected in our Trust motto of Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day. We want each child to leave the academy feeling confident, unique and proud.We want our learners to feel empowered with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage life’s challenges and make the most of life’s opportunities. We aim to give our learners the knowledge and tools they need to understand how to take care of themselves, physically and mentally, and how they can stay safe and thrive in an ever changing world.

Intent
Why do we teach this? Why do we teach it in the way we do?

At Hilltop Academy, PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) is central to all aspects of pupil learning, both in the classroom and beyond. It is taught both as timetabled weekly lessons and across the school day in every aspect of school life.

We teach PSHE following the Jigsaw whole school approach which establishes consistency. Jigsaw is a comprehensive PSHE programme underpinned by mindfulness, philosophy and practice. Jigsaw nurtures our pupils to become confident and successful, increasing their capacity to learn and preparing them for the challenges of the modern world. Our PSHE lessons also provide pupils with opportunities to develop their emotional intelligence and life skills. Our teachers are able to confidently adapt Jigsaw lessons based on their own class needs and supplement learning if issues or new concepts arise.

Teaching pupils about our Protected Characteristics is underpinned through our whole curriculum design which uses lenses to focus on specific concepts to ensure pupils leave primary school as strong, respectful and tolerant citizens in the wider world. Some concepts are also taught explicitly within our PSHE lessons or working alongside outside agencies.

We also teach pupils through our Academy Core Values (learning behaviours) and ensure that these skills are taught explicitly within lessons.

Implementation
What do we teach? What does this look like?

Through the PSHE curriculum, we aim to:

develop pupils’ understanding of the world and of personal, social, health, emotional and citizenship concepts and relevant vocabulary
provide pupils with a relevant, age appropriate and broad curriculum
understand issues relating to their own health, personal care, sexual development and relationships
enable pupils to make choices
provide pupils with strategies to maintain personal wellbeing, promote resilience and equip pupils with skills to keep themselves and others safe
promote an atmosphere celebrating equality and diversity
enable learners to form appropriate relationships and give them a sense of dignity and respect for each other
develop personal responsibility, self-confidence and assertiveness
empower learners so they have more control over their own life
enhance their self esteem

Our half term units of work include:

· Being Me in My World

Includes lessons on Self-Identity, Group Identity, Responsibilities, Consequences, Teamwork and introduces the Jigsaw Charter.

· Celebrating Difference

Includes lessons on Similarity & Difference, Bullying, Stereotyping, Racism, Discrimination and Celebrating Differences and Individuality.

· Dreams and Goals

Includes lessons on Aspirations, Goals, Challenges, Teamwork, Resilience, Jobs and Careers and Simple Budgeting.

· Healthy Me

Includes lessons on Drugs and Alcohol Education, Self-Esteem and Confidence as well as Healthy Lifestyle choices.

· Relationships

Includes lessons on Friendship, Family and other Relationships, Conflict Resolution, Communication, Loss and Bereavement.

· Changing Me

Includes lessons on Coping Positively with Change, Puberty, Environmental and Life Cycles (includes Human Reproduction).

At Hilltop Academy, we are proud to support all children to develop motivation towards learning, resilience, collaborative, creative, the ability to investigate and their ability to reflect on their own learning. British Values are at the heart of our curriculum and we support pupils in becoming well-rounded citizens throughout their time at our academy. Personal Development is not an added extra - it is woven through all we do. Through every interaction; every lesson; every event; every assembly. Our primary aim is to prepare children for the wider world so that they can have a strong sense of purpose and belonging enabling them to have the confidence to make their voices heard.

Our chosen charities:

Our children researched and voted for a local charity that they will fundraise and support across the year.

This year the children voted for Doncaster Partially Sighted Society.

The Partially Sighted Society (PSS) is a dedicated organisation working to improve the lives of people living with sight loss. We understand the challenges faced by those with partial vision, and our mission is to empower independence and well-being.

Our Exceed chosen charities:

As part of our trust school council, the children researched and voted for a local and national charity that all the children in the trust will fundraise and support across the year.

Our local charity is:

Eve Merton Dreams Trust

Fight the nightmare of cancer, with a Dream

The Eve Merton Dreams Trust was founded in early 2011. It is a non-profit organisation that donates the money it raises to help create a Dream, or grant a Wish, for both patients & families impacted by terminal & serious Cancer conditions.

Our national charity is:

Shelter

Home is a human right. It's our foundation and it's where we thrive. Yet, every day millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.

We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.