PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AT PAXTON
INTENT
It is our intent at Paxton to nurture young people who are happy, healthy and resilient. Our children will leave our school with the knowledge, academic achievement and strength of character to enable them to lead safe and successful lives as ambassadors for their families, wider communities and as British citizens. Paxton seeks to develop children who are fully prepared for their next steps in education and who excel in seeking and accepting the wide range of opportunities which await them as active and conscientious, lifelong learners. We ensure that every member of our school community knows that we are committed to supporting their physical and mental health, safety, and emotional wellbeing throughout their journey with us.
At Paxton we promote personal wellbeing and development through a rigorous and expansive PSHCE curriculum which gives our children the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live safe, healthy, productive lives and meet their full potential.
Personal development is at the heart of our whole school ethos of Achieve, Respect & Care. We ensure each area of the curriculum reflects the full breadth and ambition of the National Curriculum, whilst also reflecting the experiences and context of our school community. British Values, PSHE and RSE, Emotional Health and Wellbeing, and Careers are all delivered as part of the Paxton Curriculum. This is interwoven within the wider curriculum lessons; assemblies, interventions and themed days, as well as being taught more discretely, where appropriate.
Paxton provides training for all staff to ensure that all children get the very best we have to offer.
PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic
INTENT
At Paxton, our intention is that when children leave, they will do so with the knowledge, understanding and emotions to be able to play an active, positive, and successful role in today’s diverse society. We want our children to have high aspirations, a belief in themselves and realise that great things are possible with application and opportunity. In an ever–changing world, it is important that they are aware, to an appropriate level, of varied factors which will affect both their local environment and wider world. Children are taught and encouraged to build resilience and a growth mind set as preparation for ensuring they are able to maintain good mental health and well-being. Our PSHE curriculum develops learning and results in the acquisition of knowledge and skills over time, which will enable children to access the wider curriculum and prepare them to be a global citizen now and in their future roles within a global community, whilst holding firm to British Values. We promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental, and physical development of pupils, preparing them for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences both in their time at Paxton, and in the next stages of their education.
Our Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) enables our children to learn how to be safe, and to understand and develop healthy relationships, both now and in their future lives. We are all aware of the key role the PSHE curriculum has in supporting schools to implement the 9 protected characteristics of The Equality Act 2010.
IMPLEMENTATION
From the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), PSHE and citizenship are taught as an integral part of topic work and is embedded throughout the curriculum. In EYFS, Personal, Social and Emotional Development is a prime area of ‘Development Matters in the EYFS’ and the Personal Social Emotional Development (PSED) Early Learning Goals.
At Paxton, PSED plays a crucial part in building strong relationships with children starting with our induction sessions, home visits and building partnership with parents. We are effective at adapting transition of the children depending on their targets. Our first topic of the new academic year – Know Me To Teach Me also supports with building strong relationships.
At Key Stage 1 and 2, PSHE is taught through a clear and comprehensive scheme of work in line with the National Curriculum. We ensure we cover the Health and Well-Being, Relationships and Living in the Wider World Learning Opportunities set out in the PSHE curriculum which comprehensively covers the statutory Health Education and Relationships Education guidance. Pupils are taught PSHE in line with the National Curriculum using the Cornerstones scheme of work, covering all the above and 'aims to prepare children for life, helping them to know and value who they are and understand how they relate to other people in this ever-changing world.’ There is a strong emphasis on emotional Literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health. It includes mindfulness to allow children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration, and focus.
Throughout the school a shared understanding of the importance of emotional literacy is reflected in the use of Zones of Regulation, Emotional Explorers and the interweaving of both circle-time and social stories to support children’s development.
At Paxton, in addition to Relationships Education (RSE), we also teach aspects of Sex Education that is covered in our Science Curriculum. Alongside this we teach about various kinds of relationships, including same sex relationships, and gender identity because it is important that our children should understand the fully diverse world in which we live and be prepared for life in modern Britain.
PSHE themes include:
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Autumn 1: Being Me in My World
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Autumn 2: Differences (including anti-bullying)
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Spring 1: Dreams and Goals
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Spring 2: Healthy Me
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Summer 1: Relationships
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Summer 2: Changing Me (including Sex Education) It also identifies links to British Values, and SMSC (spiritual, moral, social) and is taught in such a way as to reflect the overall aims, values, and ethos of the school.
WIDER CURRICULUM
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We believe that focusing on developing a 'Growth Mindset' in our children will help them to build resilience, independence, and confidence; embrace challenge; foster a love of learning; and increase their level of happiness. We do this through the language we use in class, praising children for their efforts, and using language to encourage children to change their way of thinking. This supports both our school and PSHE aims and values, and we focus on ‘Growth Mindsets’ in all aspects of school life.
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PSHE, including SMSC and British Values, is an integral part of the whole school curriculum, and is therefore often taught within other subject areas.
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Visitors such as emergency services and the school nurse complement our PSHE curriculum to offer additional learning.
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We encourage our pupils to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community. We challenge all our pupils to look for opportunities to show the school values of Achieve, Respect & Care.
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Assemblies are linked to PSHE, British Values and SMSC and cover any additional sessions that would benefit the whole school. The whole school calendar reflects these key assemblies, dates and themes which this term has included World Mental Health Day, Culture Day, Community and Inclusion Days. Alongside this we have our ARC assemblies which draw on local and wider contexts to celebrate,
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inform and inspire our children. Links are made throughout the curriculum including Literacy, Humanities and RE.
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PSHE, British Values and SMSC displays throughout school reinforce the PSHE curriculum enabling children to make links.
IMPACT
By the time our children leave our school they will:
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be able to approach a range of real-life situations and apply their skills and attributes to help
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navigate themselves through modern life
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be on their way to becoming healthy, open minded, respectful, socially, and morally responsible,
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active members of society
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appreciate difference and diversity
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recognise and apply the British Values of Democracy, Tolerance, Mutual respect, Rule of law and liberty
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be able to understand and manage their emotions
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be able to look after their mental health and well-being
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be able to develop positive, healthy relationships with their peers both now and in the future.
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understand the physical aspects involved in RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) at an age-appropriate level
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have respect for themselves and others.
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have a positive self esteem
PUPIL EMPOWERMENT
Personal development is becoming as important as traditional qualifications when determining how successful a child might become in later life. Working in an empowering way with children, can help prepare them for life and work in the future. An increase in artificial intelligence and robotics means that in future, young people will be entering a workplace which looks very different from our own.
Paxton seeks to empower all pupils. We believe that when children feel empowered, they are more likely to become resilient, self-reliant learners that achieve their potential. Pupil empowerment is an approach we use to teach children to be skilled learners by building their confidence, self-esteem, and soft skills (e.g. decision-making, flexibility, adaptability, creative thinking and communication).
At Paxton our children have a number of opportunities to take on formal leadership roles which develop these ‘soft=skills’. These include School Council, Play Leaders, and House Captains. Further details can be found here.
PUPIL EMPOWERMENT
At Paxton we are also committed to developing the resilience, social and cultural capital of our young people. We view educational trips and enrichment opportunities as a means of supporting our children develop a sense of their place in the world, and connecting their learning and experiences within a local and broader context. This is reflected by our commitment for children to engage in a range of trips and visits which both sit within and alongside our curriculum and wider provision.
We are committed to ensuring that the highest quality curriculum is offered, underpinned by a competitive enrichment programme. Our children regularly take part in a number of trips and experiences to help them to broaden their knowledge and develop their learning skills. Each year children will go on a range of trips which utilise the local environment, the wide range of resources and facilities London as a whole has to offer including museums, theatre, sports, landmarks and transport experiences, as well as away days, geography fieldwork and residential trips.
PUPIL EMPOWERMENT
Our curriculum is enhanced by wide range of sustained enrichment opportunities enabling students to discover and nurture their individual talents and interests, as well as explore new skills and opportunities. Alongside competitive sports and inter-school competition, we also offer opportunities for interest-based activities. Students apply a growth mind-set to both their academic and personal progress and we celebrate success at all levels. Our GHF Extended Services Team work alongside the Headteacher to ensure a wide and expansive offer of clubs, which both reflect and expand the interests of our stakeholders. These clubs are run both internally and using specialist external providers.