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Last updated: January 23rd, 2024

Personal Development

Personal Development

At SJB, we believe it is our moral duty to ensure our students grow into happy, confident, resilient, articulate young people who leave school equipped to lead fulfilling adult lives and make a positive contribution to society.  This means understanding and demonstrating our school values of Respect, Aspire, Integrity, Love and Service. By developing these characteristics, we believe our pupils will be able to thrive in their futures.

We have strategically planned and structured our personal development programme across our school to ensure our students achieve. All our students can experience a wide range of lessons, experiences, trips and visits – both within curriculum time and as extra-curricular opportunities. We believe the experiences our students have will allow them to develop the cultural capital to have a successful and aspirational future.

At SJB our personal development programme includes:

PSHE & RSE

At SJB, we have planned our PSHE curriculum to develop the whole child, and it is underpinned by our school values of Respect, Aspire, Integrity, Love and Service.

Our curriculum ensures that our children are responsible, respectful and active citizens. This includes being aware of the fundamental British values in a multi-ethnic and diverse society and how they can keep mentally and physically healthy. It goes beyond the statutory elements, including RSE and the Equality Act, so that our children develop an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships and are ready for the next phase of their lives.

Children will build confidence in their self-image, gain a sense of purpose in, and understanding of, the world around them so that they are healthy and ready for their future.

 

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

At SJB, we believe the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all children is essential to them becoming well-rounded citizens who actively contribute to society. SMSC is embodied within our school motto “Have faith…believe you can!; our core values and ethos; and enables young people to be responsible, resilient and ready to learn at all times. We teach spiritual, moral, social and cultural development across the curriculum and promote it thoughtfully and broadly.

 

Social, Emotional, Physical and Mental Health

Our shared ethos and values feed into a curriculum that supports learners in developing their character, including resilience, confidence and independence. From this, students learn how to keep physically and mentally healthy. As such, our SEMH curriculum supports the journey of holistically creating students who are ready to learn and grow into happy, confident, resilient and articulate young people who know how to take care of their body and mind.

 

Careers

At SJB, we ensure that all students, regardless of background, explore a range of career sectors and have high aspirations for their futures. We break down stereotypes and provide unbiased careers guidance that follows the Gatsby Benchmarks. We encourage students to pursue their passions and make good choices to have the best chance of success in the next phase of their education, training or employment. Our aim is for all students to enter employment, education or training after KS5.

 

Student Leadership

At SJB Student Leaders are active in all areas of school life including sports, subjects, peer support, mentoring and volunteering. The opportunities provided for students lie at the heart of building our ethos and our sense of community and trust. The school’s leadership programme builds the necessary skills, confidence and motivation to engage directly in the wider improvement of our school and most importantly our students learning experience.

 

E-Safety

At SJB, we provide a logical and substantive e-safety curriculum that ensures all students know how to stay safe online. Through specific lessons across the curriculum, we teach students to recognise online risks to their wellbeing and what to do if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Students are taught to become good digital citizens who recognise what is right and wrong online.

 

Clubs, Trips and Experiences

Through our wide and varied programme of clubs, trips and experiences, all students will have opportunities to challenge themselves and broaden their horizons. Our extensive provision allows students to have healthy minds and healthy bodies; and it helps develop each students’ strength of character, helping to define who they are and who they want to be. We plan, track and monitor demand for and attendance at the wide range of opportunities available. This allows us to ensure all students, especially those who are disadvantaged, can fully develop their character and widen their horizons.

 

Equality and Diversity

At SJB, we celebrate our harmonious and diverse community across and outside the curriculum. We promote equality and teach our students to respect all people. This includes understanding the importance of the Protected Characteristics as defined by the 2010 Equality Act. Our students behave with integrity and cooperate well with all people regardless of their backgrounds, abilities and beliefs.

 

British Values

At SJB, promoting and teaching British Values is essential to developing active citizens who are respectful, act with integrity, aspire to be the best versions of themselves, love one another and give time to service. We are proud of our harmonious school and embrace opportunities to celebrate our diversity and come together as a community. We teach British Values throughout and across the broad curriculum that all students will learn. This helps to ensure that our students leave our school as citizens who are fully prepared for life in modern Britain.

 

Reading for Pleasure

At SJB, we wholeheartedly encourage a life-long love of reading amongst all our students as it provides opportunities to encounter characters, situations and viewpoints that mirror their own lives as well as giving them a window into the lives of others. Our KS3 reading curriculum together with regular book fairs, reward trips and other events, explicitly supports this and highlights the importance of developing a life-long love of reading.