The Personal Development/SMSC Curriculum at Whitcliffe Mount covers the following areas:

• Fundamental British Values and Citizenship education
• Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural education
• Personal, Social, Health and Economic and Sex and Relationship Education
• Careers and Living in the Wider World education
• Mental health and wellbeing

'Together, we are proud to be our best' runs through everything we do. We focus on developing a strong sense of community though helping everyone to be PROUD and to BELONG. Students develop personal characteristics, values and traits that help make them good, active citizens and develop skills and knowledge to raise their aspirations as a team and as individuals.

All our students are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities and experiences across and beyond the curriculum, contributing fully to the life of the school and the wider community. In doing so, students learn to recognise their own worth, develop a sense of their own identity and the ability to take their place in the community as well as respect for, and working with, others. Thus, the Personal Development curriculum is delivered in a number of ways.

The Personal Development curriculum encourages students to learn more about themselves as growing and changing individuals. Students have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to enable them to make informed decisions about all aspects of their lives, as they develop from children into young adults. Students will also learn to respect the views, needs and rights of others, including people of different genders, ages and cultures to themselves.

Students have the opportunity to broaden, extend and challenge their knowledge, values and skills to prepare them for life in modern Britain, with the aim of making students productive citizens.

Fundamental British Values & Student Character Development

Within the Fundamental British Values aspects of the curriculum students are able to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England as well as accepting responsibility for their behaviour, showing initiative, and understanding how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely.

Through this we embrace the following 4 strands integral to Fundamental British Values:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Student Character Development is delivered through Form Time. Students cover the following issues;

• Demonstrating kindness
• Showing respect
• Living without harm. Not just to those people who are like them but to people who are not like them
• How we relate to people who don't think the same way as us, or believe the same things
• Oracy skills in life
• Aspirations
• Our futures

Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural

We recognise and firmly believe that the development of students, spiritually, morally, socially and culturally plays a significant part not only in their ability to learn and achieve but in their ability to relate fully to, and have the ability to, access the world they live. We aim to provide an education that provides children with opportunities to explore and develop their own values, whilst recognising that those of others may differ. High standards of personal behaviour including a positive caring attitude towards other people, an understanding of their social and cultural traditions and an appreciation of the diversity and richness of other cultures are all critical skills and dispositions that we nurture, encourage and develop through this subject and the wider curriculum.

Learning for Life and Relationship Sex Education (RSE)

The three main strands of this aspect are:

• Health and Wellbeing
• Relationships
• Living in the Wider World

The Personal Development programme includes work to improve students’ health and emotional wellbeing. Learning for Life and RSE develop students’ skills to manage relationships and be economically active and intend to give students the skills necessary to keep them safe, including keeping them safe in an ever changing virtual word. The main strands of this area of the programme are to promote students’ health and wellbeing. This includes personal health, looking after their mental health and healthy living, including diet and drugs and alcohol abuse education. These aspects of this programme are arranged to ensure that age appropriate delivery is achieved to prepare students for each phase of their life and education.

Careers and Living in the Wider World

One of the key principles of the Personal Development Curriculum is that it enables students to acquire learning that will allow them to make their own choices in the real world.

At the forefront of the careers aspect of Personal Development is the implementation of the eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance:

1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the need of each pupil
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experience of workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance

Our aim at Whitcliffe Mount is to inspire confident learners who will thrive in a changing world. We want all students to aim high in their expectations, to raise their aspirations, promote equality of opportunity, celebrate diversity, challenge stereotypes and prepare for their future careers.

Personal Development education plays a critical role in preparing all young people for the next stage of their education or training and beyond. Expectations are high, including for our most vulnerable and those with special educational needs and disabilities. Students are challenged appropriately and acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes for lifelong learning so that they become more adaptable and resilient, make decisions and transitions, be more enterprising and be able to present themselves well with applications and interviews. This will help every young person to realise their potential and enhance their employability.

Personal Development Education equips students with the knowledge, skills and attributes that they need to make informed decisions about their learning and work through a cohesive programme of careers education. They are supported in their journey with access to personalised information, advice and guidance which will enable them to build up the confidence to take charge of their career development and effectively manage their own progression through learning and work. They also have opportunities to consider and prepare for a variety of employment options, for example, through work based learning, mock interviews and a range of Enrichment Day activities.