RIC

The Gold Standard for Personal Development at Clayton is to support students to develop traits that they will need through school, in the next phase of their lives and to college and beyond.  

To develop a coherent strategy, we considered which character traits to focus on supporting students to develop. We decided to have Resilience, Independence and Confidence as the lead traits to form the focus of the PD strategy. We call this strategy RIC. 

Working with the PSHE association we have developed a timetabled PD programme structured to support students’ character development alongside other curriculum content. To create a consistent structure for students to develop these traits we use form time as a launchpad for the school day, we deploy resources delivered by form tutors to develop students character traits. We also have timetabled lessons where students engage in a range of activities that are delivered by tutors and mapped against the National Curriculum. The PD structure is differentiated by year group and forms a spiral curriculum to develop students understanding of all aspects of their character development.  

We work with trusted partners to deliver particular aspects of the curriculum, for example we have registered with the charity YoungMinds as a 360° school and this supports wellbeing and resilience through resources and by communicating a whole school mindset that we promote developing resilience, independence and confidence as a priority. A Resilience audit has been conducted in school using the YoungMinds audit tool and actions developed from the audit. 
 
We encourage students to develop their understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle through both Curriculum and enrichment activities that include working with trusted organisations to deliver targeted information to students, we ensure that healthy menu selections made by our catering team are available to students and the fitness suite is available to students during lessons and after school. We pride ourselves in the range of opportunities available to students both as part of our curriculum and through extra-curricular enrichment opportunities. We have a strong engagement base with a number of students opting to take part in DofE and other activities. Students have taken part in “take-over” days in the canteen to developing their cooking talents and to highlight career opportunities for post 16. We have conducted an audit to map what students are engaged in doing in and out of school and the range of activities is impressive, including sports such as badminton and football, horse riding and climbing to activities such as cooking, computer games and music, art, dance and gymnastics. In the audit almost every student listed two or more extra-curricular activities that they engaged in. We have developed a positive relationship with Stoke Sixth form where students have the opportunity to engage with Russell University group workshops for high achieving students.  
 
The Gatsby Benchmarks are our guiding principles in developing the careers programme for students. We are proactive in working with Post 16 providers from across the county and actively encourage them to come to school and work with students in a range of contexts such as assemblies, activities and taster visits. This also includes Post 16 networking events attended by the majority of Y11 students. Visitors from Port Vale, KMF engineering and Nuffield Health are invited to deliver careers talks to interested students. We have been actively engaged with the Careers and Enterprise Company for several years to create opportunities for our students. We have an Enterprise Advisor that works with our House Leaders to develop and engage students.  

Students are encouraged to actively think about their impact on others through the assembly and tutor programme covering a range of subjects which support and encourage the development and promotion of Fundamental British Values and Citizenship. We actively support students in developing opportunities to experience democratic processes by making links with the Youth Parliament and offering Student Voice surveys for a range of aspects to mirror life as an adult in this country. Student leadership is promoted through democratic processes to elect form captains, House Captains and we have a thriving and effective Prefect cadre.  
 
Personal Development is the direct responsibility of a member of the Senior Leadership Team and the strategy and delivery is scrutinised through the SLT, student voice and the Parent’s Forum to ensure that the strategy delivers what students need to be resilient, independent and confident citizens of the UK, able to play their part and become actively involved in public life as adults.