Intent
At Dovedale Primary school our intent is that our curriculum offer should develop the children's personal attributes in a safe and engaging environment.
Our REACH values are at the core of everything we do. Respect, Enjoy, Achieve, Challenge, Healthy body and mind. We use these values to support the children’s personal development journey through our school.
Our Intent is that our children will experience a range of activities that will enable them to become citizens of the future who will demonstrate British values; be engaged with learning and have an understanding and respect for the wider world. We want our children to have the skills to communicate their emotions and recognise the power of self-regulation of their behaviours and attitudes. We want our children to be happy.
Implementation
Personal development at Dovedale means that our children are exposed through their learning and curriculum to new ideas and cultures, people and places. We have carefully selected artists and musicians, countries and theme days to ensure that they are exposed to a wide range of influences.
Our PSCHE curriculum is developed to ensure that they learn the power of respect and responsibility, develop the language to discuss differences, including different families and be capable of asking questions appropriately.
Our RE curriculum presents children with the full diversity that makes our country vibrant, they are encouraged to discuss and question, compare and contrast and know that personal choice and freedom to hold our own beliefs is a fundamental British value and human right.
All the children at Dovedale are members of a hub of their choice: History, STEM, Environment, Book, Mentors and Art and Music.
These Hubs meet termly and allow the children to become experts in their chosen area and have access to visits or experiences linked to their interests. These children are ambassadors for their subjects and will hopefully take this love on to further learning as they progress though their school life.
Our consistent behaviour system encourages respect and responsibility. The children are supported to develop self-regulation and know how their behaviours impact on themselves and others. Daily lunchtime Reflection sessions are held to support children who have not made the right choices.
We have a strong belief that healthy minds make happy children and part of the process of personal development at our school is to give the children the vocabulary to talk about their feelings, regulate their emotions and understand how mental health impacts on their capacity to feel well and learn well. We run a BIO club for children who may struggle during more unregulated times like lunchtime and have 3 full time THRIVE practitioners who work with children to support emotional needs.
We run free after school clubs as well as provider clubs and carefully map attendance to make sure there is equality of opportunity. In school clubs range from cooking to wellbeing to chess and board games. These aim to widen children's access to experiences they may not otherwise encounter. External providers include football, archery and wood craft/outdoors project.
We run Forest school provision within school to engage the children with outdoor learning and adventure.
External providers support our music offer including guitar, drumming and violins.
The children have regular opportunities to showcase wider skills in assemblies and performances.
Impact
At our school we believe personal development is about giving the children experiences that they may not otherwise encounter, or building upon those they do. This will broaden their understanding of the world around them, enable them to make informed choices and widen their opportunities and aspirations. Children will feel supported to aim high and experience success.
The children at our school show respect, are well behaved and look after themselves and each other. They are engaged with the life of the school and are proud to be Dovedale pupils.