Personal development
Personal Development (PD) is at the heart of our school learning journey. It encourages, promotes and develops a range of skills and attributes that allow children to be life-long learners, in line with our trust vision of ‘Inspiring the individuals of today, for a better society tomorrow’.
We support children to acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. As part of a whole-school approach, our PD curriculum develops the qualities and attributes children need to thrive as individuals, family members and active members of their communities in modern Britain. PD prepares pupils to manage many of the most critical opportunities, challenges and responsibilities they will face growing up in such rapidly changing and challenging times. It also helps them to connect and apply the knowledge and understanding they learn in all subjects to practical, real-life situations while helping them to feel safe and secure to fulfil their academic potential.
Our whole school approach promotes effective relationships between all members of the school
community. Our PD curriculum assists children and young people in building their personal identities, confidence and self-esteem, enabling them to understand what influences their decisions. Developing self-understanding, empathy and the ability to work with others helps our pupils to enjoy healthy and productive relationships in all aspects of their lives.
Our personal development curriculum is delivered through teaching in PSHE, RSHE and RE. Online safety, science units and our wider curriculum also feeds into our PD offer. However it is also implicit and woven into everything we do from Riviera Citizens to our school values.
At Oldway, we use the Torbay Healthy Learning resource across the whole school. The Torbay PSHE units follow a spiral curriculum which enables children to revisit their understanding. At Oldway, we adapt these units to reflect our local context. These are taught through discrete lessons.
Years One, Three and Five
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
PSHE Unit of Learning | Happiness, Positivity and Feeling Special | Emotions, Feelings and Friends | Choices, Decisions and Democracy | Individuality, Independence and Assertiveness | Being Safe and Asking for Help | Growing Up, Staying Healthy and Making Ambition |
Years Two, Four and Six
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
PSHE Unit of Learning | Citizenship, Responsibility and Leadership | Following the Law, Staying Safe and Overcoming Peer Pressure | Earning, Saving and Spending | Trade, Food Growing and Fairness | Families, Friendships and Relationships | Changes, Transitions and Maintaining Positivity |
During the year we supplement the scheme with cross curricular activities and assemblies, making sure that children learn about how to keep safe:
Living in Torbay, we want to ensure our children are supported within our local context:
● Predominantly a white-British community
● Living in a coastal community
● High levels of teen pregnancy
● Mental health and suicide rates.
● Poor oral health
● Nutrition
Oldway will adapt our personal development curriculum for the emerging needs of the children in our school.