Watton-at-Stone Primary and Nursery School

Rectory Lane, Watton-At-Stone, Hertfordshire, SG14 3SG

01920 830233

admin@wattonatstone.herts.sch.uk

Personal DevelopmenT

Personal Development (P.D.) is at the heart of our school learning journey.  It encourages, promotes, adopts and embeds a range of skills that allow children to be life-long learners.
 
The intent of our Personal Development curriculum is for it to be accessible to all and for it to maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more. We want our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of a global community who understand how they are developing personally and socially and have the confidence to tackle many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. We provide our children with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society.  Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.

 

We support children to acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. As part of a whole-school approach, PD education develops the qualities and attributes children need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. The benefits to pupils of such an approach are numerous as PD prepares them to manage many of the most critical opportunities, challenges and responsibilities they will face growing up in such rapidly changing and challenging times. It also helps them to connect and apply the knowledge and understanding they learn in all subjects to practical, real-life situations while helping them to feel safe and secure enough to fulfill their academic potential.

 

Our whole school approach  promotes effective relationships between all members of the school community. The promotion of pupils’ personal and social development underpins other learning. PD education contributes to assists children and young people to build their personal identities, confidence and self-esteem and understand what influences their decisions. Developing self-understanding, empathy and the ability to work with others helps our pupils to enjoy healthy and productive relationships in all aspects of their lives.

 

Skills Children Learn:


Always in an age appropriate way, we help the children manage their lives, now and in the future, and help them to learn everyday, essential, life skills, including:


• The Development of self-understanding, empathy and healthy, productive relationships
• Relationships Education
• Eating healthily
• Keeping safe on the road
• How to stay safe on the internet
• The promotion of good mental and physical health

 In keeping with our School ethos, the children are encouraged, and frequently reminded, to speak to a trusted adult when they have any concerns or worries.

 

Visits

Throughout the year, we organise different visits off site to further enhance our PD curriculum.

  • Harvest Festival visit to Church
  • 4 Residential trip to Hudnell Park 
  • 6 Residential trip to PGL 
  • Choir singing to local residents at Christmas
  • Puppet Theatre trip for children in Rec and KS1 
  • Year 3 Development afternoon at Wodson. The children took part in cross curricular orienteering, skipping challenge, Games skills and ABC (ability, balance and coordination) 
  • Year 6 Tag Rugby Festival

Visitors
Throughout the school year, we are fortunate to have various visitors to help bring our PD curriculum to life, including visits from:

  • Saltmine theatre company (RE focus)
  • Visits from  Inspirational speakers
  • The Fire Service
  • Theatre company visits
  • Visiting Farm .
  • Assemblies led by local Church leaders

 

Anti- Bullying

Watton at Stone Primary School promotes an environment free from threat, harassment and any type of bullying behaviour.

Our aims include:
• Ensuring all members of the school community has an understanding of what constitutes bullying.
• Creating an atmosphere and environment where children, parents and staff feel able to tell the school about bullying if it arises and are confident it will be taken seriously and dealt with.
• To put in place clear procedures for dealing with incidents of bullying.

 

Mental Health

We promote a mentally healthy environment through:- 

  • Promoting our school learning behaviours and encouraging a sense of belonging
  • Promoting pupil voice and opportunities to participate in decision-making
  • Celebrating academic and non-academic achievements 
  • Providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth through taking responsibility for themselves and others
  • Providing opportunities to reflect
  • Access to appropriate support that meets their needs. 
  • Half termly Feel Good Friday's
  • Focus days and weeks in the school year (Anti bullying and Feel Good week, Mental health week, Citizenship week)
  • Half termly 'No Pens' Day'

Useful Links

Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)

RSE teaching at Watton at Stone teaches children to develop values, attitudes, personal and social skills, and increase their knowledge and understanding to make informed decisions and choices when they are adults. Each year group will be taught appropriate to their age and developmental stage.

 

Why do we teach Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)?

There are four main aims of teaching RSE:

• To empower children to be safe and safeguarded.

• To enable children to understand and respect their bodies

• To help children develop positive and healthy relationships appropriate to their age and  development

• To support children to have positive self-esteem and body image

 

Watton at Stone Primary School chooses to teach Sex Education and Section 405 of the Education Act 1996 provides the right of parental withdrawal from the RSE provided at school except for those parts included in the National Curriculum. The Science curriculum in all maintained schools also includes content on human development, including reproduction, which there is no right to withdraw from.