Personal Development

In the Personal Development (PDev) curriculum students are given the opportunity to learn about the different features of their self-identity and wellbeing as well as their awareness of the wider world around them. Students are taught topics in line with the statutory guidance and national curriculum and planned in accordance with our international, national, and local context allowing students to develop a greater awareness of their own community and the wider global community. The main themes all students will be taught about are:

Health and Wellbeing
Relationships and Sex Education
Citizenship and Politics
Careers, Finance and Future aspirations.

Lead by a dedicated team of teachers, PDev has become a staple subject in the student’s time at Goffs with all students studying PDev from year 7 all the way to year 11. This ensure sthat all students are given equal opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of the above themes with age-appropriate content. PDev lessons are designed to allow students to draw their own judgements on the wider world and the develop their own independent thoughts on what it means to be a responsible citizen in the society. We encourage students to also evaluate different ways in which they can become healthy and what it means to be a healthy person in a healthy society. Throughout their time in PDev we also allow students the ability to create their own ideas about what careers and professions they would like to pursue as well as giving them the support and guidance on how to achieve that.

Throughout all their learning of these themes, students are constantly reflecting on how their lessons can be linked to the fundamental British Values and the Equality Act’s protected characteristics.

British Values

Protected Characteristics

Key Stage 3 PDev – 2 Hours a Fortnight

Year 7
Students are led through their learning which focuses on an introduction to the main four themes of the wider curriculum. Students are taught about the differences between healthy and unhealthy diets and lifestyles, unhealthy relationships, what are the differences between harmful and harmless things, living in the wider world, the use and abuse of money, and healthy attitudes to other people. These themes have all been designed to allow the students to explore their own ideas and to reach their own conclusions on the taught theme, which in turn allows them to broaden their knowledge of the society and their own wellbeing.

For more information, please refer to the year 7 learning journey

Year 8
Students are led through their learning which focused on the development of their introduction in year 7 and now deals with more mature themes and content. The aim of the curriculum for this year is to develop a deeper awareness to more mature relationships, health and wellbeing and citizenship. Year 8 students are taught about hazards to their health, understanding the nature of consent, different types of families, how the UK uses money, what makes a good citizen, and the changes the UK has gone through. This curriculum has been designed to allow the students the ability to explore these ideas and to dive deeper into their own judgements and understanding how people can differ from their opinions.

For more information, please refer to the year 8 learning journey

Year 9
Students are continuing to develop on their learning in PDev and the four key themes. For this year, students are being led through a Scheme of Work which is developing in materiality as well as skill. As we begin to develop the maturity of topics in year 9, students are also given the opportunity to become more accustomed to discussing these topics in a safe and controlled environment. Students are taught about dangers to our health, the different ways in which people achieve, how healthy relationships compliment the society, preparations for life, rights and responsibilities of civilians, and the running of the UK. These topics allow students to be able to develop their own views on the given topics as well as leading them to learn about creating synoptic links between key themes and lessons.

For more information, please refer to the year 9 learning journey

Key Stage 4 PDev – 1 Hour a Fortnight

Year 10
Students are encouraged now to begin to develop their own viewpoints and justifications on topics featuring the key themes of the overall curriculum. Throughout year 10, students are being taught about the variety of ways in which the world around them can be linked into different themes as well and now building on those synoptic links between themes. As students, in year 10, only have 1 hour a fortnight, the students are led through content following these three main topics. Mental Health and wellbeing and what affects it, employability and applying for jobs, and politics in the UK and beyond. In this year, we are allowing students to now broaden their awareness to focus more on the global community and its comparisons with the UK, this helps the students to be able to understand the context of the own national community and what makes it function.

For more information, please see the year 10 Learning Journey.

Year 11
Students are now building even more on our use of synoptic links in the curriculum as well a building on the maturity of the topics presented to the students. We encourage the students to discuss these topics in the classroom as it ensures that the information given is valid and presented in a controlled environment. Year 11 students are taught on the topics of health and wellbeing and the dangers which can damage us, harmful sexual behaviours, and relationships, and understanding what the life in modern Britain looks like. These topics have been designed to encourage students to explore these themes and understanding how they interlink into the society and our relationships with other people and our own health and wellbeing.

For more information, please see the year 11 learning journey.

For any more detailed information of the Personal Development Curriculum, please do not hesitate
to contact myself.

Mr James Lewis

Head of Personal Development

Personal Development

Students

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