Personal Development

At New Close Primary School, we recognise that the primary years are a key time for children to develop their own identity and aspirations for the future. As well as academic development, it is essential that children are given opportunities, through the curriculum and beyond, for personal development. We understand the crucial role we can play in helping children to prepare for their adult lives so they can go on to engage positively in society. The opportunities we can offer them while at New Close will impact upon their future, helping them to develop the core values we hold at the school

Personal development is both a subject and a school ethos. It is reflected in our school values. We want to each child to leave the school with the skills of resilience, responsibility, pride, aspirations, respect and positivity.

Intent

Our intent is to teach children how to navigate through life safely, happily and healthily. Children are growing up in a world that is constantly changing and it is the duty of all the staff at school in partnership with the parents teach the children transferable life skills. We teach children about the world around them, relationships, emotions, reproduction and health, as well as transferable skills to help with life.

Our School Values

For our children to be Proud:

We believe every child has unique talents and achievements to be proud of, and we strive to nurture their self-confidence and self-worth. Through praise for effort, recognition of individual progress, and opportunities to showcase their skills, we help students develop a healthy sense of pride in their accomplishments. Whether it's completing a challenging task, helping a friend, or creating something new, we encourage children to celebrate their successes, big or small. Our teachers model positive self-talk and promote a growth mindset, teaching students to value their own efforts and take pride in who they are. By fostering a supportive environment, we help children learn that being proud of themselves is a vital step toward lifelong confidence and happiness

For our children to be Resilient:

At our school, we understand the importance of resilience as a life skill that helps children navigate challenges and grow stronger from their experiences. Through a supportive environment, engaging lessons, and activities, we encourage students to embrace setbacks as opportunities for learning. Whether through team projects, problem-solving tasks, or stories of perseverance, children develop the confidence to face difficulties with a positive mindset. Our teachers provide guidance, celebrate efforts, and model resilience to inspire students to keep trying, adapt, and thrive in the face of challenges. By fostering a "can-do" attitude, we help children build the inner strength needed for lifelong success.

For our children to show Respect:

This is where we learn to treat others as we want to be treated. How to be part of a community, manage our feelings and behaviour, and form relationships with others. "You push, I pull" - figuring it out together. Naturally, we have an ethos of inclusivity and tolerance in our setting, where views, faiths, cultures, and races are valued and where we encourage children to engage with their wider community. We ensure that we help children to appreciate and respect their own culture and the culture of others. We can help them explore similarities and differences between themselves and others; among families, faiths, communities, cultures, and traditions; and to share and discuss practices, celebrations, and experiences.

For our children to Aspire:

We believe that nurturing aspirations helps children dream big and work toward their goals with determination. By exposing students to a wide range of opportunities, careers, and role models, we inspire them to imagine exciting possibilities for their future. Through lessons, storytelling, and hands-on activities, we encourage children to set personal goals and understand the steps needed to achieve them. Our supportive environment helps students build confidence in their abilities and see that hard work, perseverance, and a positive attitude can turn dreams into reality. By fostering a culture of ambition and curiosity, we empower every child to aspire to be their best and make a meaningful difference in the world

For our children to show Positivity:

At our school, we understand that a positive outlook can transform challenges into opportunities and lead to a happier, more fulfilling life. We teach the importance of positivity by encouraging children to focus on their strengths, celebrate successes, and approach setbacks with a "can-do" attitude. Through activities like gratitude journaling, teamwork, and role-playing, we help students practice kindness, optimism, and resilience. Our teachers model positive language and behaviours, creating a supportive environment where every child feels valued and encouraged. By fostering positivity, we empower students to build strong relationships, maintain a healthy mindset, and approach life with enthusiasm and confidence.

Implementation

New Close Primary School Values and Assemblies

PSHE and RSE Curriculum

E-Safety teaching and learning

The teaching of Emotional Literacy and Mental Health

THRIVE

Opportunities for Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development

RE Curriculum

Student Leadership Opportunities

Extra-Curricular Opportunities

Community Links and Service

We teach about Protected Charateriscics

We teach our children about the British Values

Picture News

Assemblies, on a Monday, we all gather together to learn about the School Values, Protected Characteristics, British Values and areas that will enrich our Personal Development. This assembly ensure that we grow a sense of belonging within the whole school.  See the assembly overview document for more information.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays alternately KS1 and KS2 gather together to look at the Picture News Story for the week. Alternatively the children meet in their classes to work on specific class THRIVE activities, look at picture news in more detail or pick up on and discuss the focus of the Monday weekly assembly in greater depth.

On Wednesday we all gather together for our school weekly singing practise.   

On a Friday, we gather once more to celebrate!  We celebrate successes in school and children are awarded with certificates. Children are celebrated for achieving great to be green (see our school good behaviour policy) and 100% attendance for that week.

We celebrate children who are receiving the star of the week award which is given to children who have achieved something significant in class. We also celebrate the children who have achieved a going for gold award for going above and beyond in school that week.

Children work hard through the week earning house points and these are built upon.  Children then receive prestigious badges depending on the number of  house points they get. The winning house each term is rewarded with a non-uniform day. 

We sing happy birthday to the children who have celebrated their birthday that week, or will over the holiday ahead.

Finally, we share our own personal development and children bring in things like swimming badges, evidence of money they have raised for charity, taekwondo and many other wonderful things that happen outside of school.  It is a wonderful opportunity to share their own development.

It is a joyous occasion and a real sense of celebration.

We hold House Events regularly which include assemblies, PE, art, community events and other activities. See our Social, moral, spiritual and cultural mapping document for more detail on this in our curriculum.

We offer a range of enrichment opportunities and clubs at New Close Primary School. See our Club Calendar for more information.

Impact

Pupils develop a strength in character from the wide and rich experiences we offer at New Close Primary School. Our School Values, and the learning and opportunities we provide for all pupils, enables them to develop their own character and identity.

Pupils develop a positive mind-set and have high aspirations of themselves. This enables them to be courageous, showing determination and self-belief to try new things and see mistakes as opportunities to learn. Therefore, our pupils flourish in all areas: academically, emotionally and personally.

Our pupils build strong foundations during their time at New Close Primary School: they hold positive school memories and their Personal Development sets them up for their future.

The Head Teacher and Personal Development Lead consistently monitors the impact of our Personal Development offer through observations, Floor Book monitoring and the ongoing assessment of pupils through the Thrive Online profiling. We use whole-school pupil surveys, to ensure that pupils’ voice is a large part of assessing the impact of Personal Development. We also use Parent View, and responses to both parent and staff surveys, as additional evidence of the impact of our Personal Development curriculum.

For information, particularly around our Implementation, please read our Personal Development Policy.