Purpose of Study

Personal Development Learning (PDL) is the subject title for all aspects of personal development learning, including relationships, health and sex education and citizenship education.  PDL education is a planned, developmental programme of learning through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future. As part of a whole-school approach, PDL education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. PDL education helps our school to reduce or remove many of the barriers to learning experienced by pupils, significantly improving their capacity to learn and achieve. The PDL programme makes a significant contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development, their behaviour and safety and the school’s statutory responsibility to promote pupils’ wellbeing. In addition, the learning provided through a comprehensive PDL education provision is an essential to safeguarding pupils. PDL education is designed to equip pupils with the knowledge, understanding, skills and strategies required to live healthy, safe, productive, capable, responsible and balanced lives. It encourages them to be enterprising and supports them in making effective transitions, positive learning and career choices and in achieving economic wellbeing. A critical component of PDL is providing opportunities for children and young people to reflect on, clarify their own values and attitudes, and explore the complex and sometimes conflicting range of values and attitudes they encounter now and in the future. PDL contributes to personal development by helping pupils to build their confidence, resilience and self-esteem, and to identify and manage risk, make informed choices and understand what influences their decisions. It enables them to recognise, accept and shape their identities, to understand and accommodate difference and change, to manage emotions and to communicate constructively in a variety of settings. Developing an understanding of themselves, empathy and the ability to work with others will help pupils to form and maintain good relationships, develop the essential skills for being active citizens and better enjoy and manage their lives.

Aims:

The overarching aim for PDL education is to provide pupils with:

• Accurate and relevant knowledge updated to ensure clarity;
• Opportunities to turn that knowledge into personal understanding;
• Opportunities to explore, clarify and if necessary, challenge, their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities;
• The skills, language and strategies they need in order to live healthy, safe, fulfilling, responsible and balanced lives.

Intent:

The intent of PDL at Grange Junior School is to provide all children, especially disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND, those who are known (or previously known) to children’s social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being (though carefully planned support and scaffolding), with the knowledge, understanding and skills that they need for their lives now and in the future. By developing a PDL curriculum with carefully scaffolded and supported learning opportunities we intend to provide the best of these skills for all. Our school programme is based on National Curriculum for PSHE, SMSC, Citizenship and the inclusion of British Values, and the school provides progressive bodies of knowledge and development in skills in order to support the personal learning and development of children attending Grange Junior School ensuring that it is accessible to every young learner.

PDL is taught as a discrete subject following six strands over each half term with an additional focus on Anti-bullying during the Autumn term and is also interwoven into all other learning through the school’s behaviour policy and delivery of lessons in a variety of different ways including discussion, debate, group and paired learning and individual reflection opportunities. British Values and SMSC are also included under the PDL heading. Circle times provide opportunities for children to problem solve and share their advice and concerns. Through specific work on resilience and learning readiness, we aim to support those children who also have additional needs in the areas of social, emotional and mental health. This work on brain-best readiness supports the children in reaching for greater challenge, respecting themselves, others and their environment and showing the value of nurture with their peers. The PDL curriculum also provides children with the opportunities to consider ways in which they can keep themselves safe in an ever-changing world.

Implementation:

The PDL long term plan covers all 6 half terms in a theme-based series of learning. Each half term begins with a launch assembly by the subject leader to encourage all learners to take some ownership of the theme.  There are six half-termly themes: Bright Beginnings, Resilient Relationships, Friends and Family, Community Counts and Choices and Change. Each half term has a focus on one or more of the British values, elements of SMSC and either Living in the Wider World, Relationships or Health and Well-being. The learning intentions and activities encompass British Values, SMSC, Living in the wider world, which includes financial capability, Relationships and Sex Education, Health and Well-being and Citizenship. This carefully planned and reviewed curriculum is designed to support all learners especially disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND, those who are known (or previously known) to children’s social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being (though carefully planned young people who are disadvantaged or have SEND and ensures that they have access to all and can thrive in their own personal learning.

There are elements of SMSC naturally covered by the RE curriculum which also forms part of PDL but which has its own three I’s.

There are also three themed weeks: Anti Bullying, Healthy Bodies and Healthy Minds and Great Grange Citizens which provide enhanced opportunities to further develop the personal learning and well-being of all children.

Impact:

The PSHE subject manager carries out monitoring in the forms of work scrutiny, pupil conferencing and discussion with class teachers. This is then analysed, and the information used to inform any changes required in planning or delivery of the curriculum. Children are given feedback and have the opportunity to have their say in circle times and debates to ensure the curriculum meets their needs. During themed weeks, the subject leader ensures that the additional planning is suitable for each year group and further monitors the learning though book scrutiny and discussion. Children are assessed using the school assessment model using objectives from the medium-term plans. There are one or two assessment focuses for each half term in order to track year on year. PDL is reported to parents during parents’ meetings and through the final, end of year report.