The Purpose of the Dual Curriculum is to ensure aswell as our Academic Curriculum that we a also provide a curriculum that enables Penketh High to equip pupils with essential knowledge, skills and character competencies they need to positively contribute to society and lead a flourishing life.

 

The Personal Development curriculum ensures this by delivering wider and holistic skills and knowledge.

 

  • The development of new skills – often not associated with curriculum based lessons or a pupil’s programme of study
  • Enrichment Sessions
  • Understanding of access to career information and experiences
  • Career Clusters
  • Opportunities to go out of school on trips for the day or longer periods
  • Wider opportunities in conjunction with external agencies e.g. Humanutopia, Higher Horizons
  • Contributing to school life e.g. pupil leadership team
  • The recognition culture at school
  • The personal development curriculum delivered through both form and timetabled PD lessons
  • Opportunities within curriculum area lessons eg> presenting

 

Personal Development, traditionally, been more difficult to define, map or measure.  Lots of the experiences and development delivered in this strand is done so informally and is often covertly delivered as a result of the sum of all of the experiences pupils encounter in school and during their life outside of school.  In order to fully prepare pupils for their life beyond school, in a modern world, we need to not only to develop these skills but to also develop a pupil’s self-awareness relating to their wider holistic development; understanding the value of these wider skills and how wider experiences contribute to this development.  This is not to say that any experience or activity can be measured individually but that the sum of a pupil’s experiences can be measured in relation to the progress they are making towards their personal development.

The strategic aim of the Dual Curriculum is to overtly teach fundamental and foundation skills that support a pupil’s wider development, their preparedness for the modern world and their academic development within the knowledge based curriculum and opportunities beyond a traditional classroom setting.  The skills can be mapped through a pupil’s school life with a view to them securing a high level of understanding in each area from beginner through to mastery across their school life; ideally by the end of Year 10 so that they are well placed to combine these skills in order to support success at the end of Year 11 and beyond.  The skills include;

 

Listening, Speaking, Problem Solving, Creativity, Staying Positive, Aiming High, Leadership, Teamwork, Emotional Intelligence and Community Connectedness

 

The pupils can advance through 4 areas to achieve mastery;

 

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Mastery

 

The progress towards mastery in each skill will be assessed by pupils in conjunction with the common assessment framework that defines each stage for each area of legacy learning skills.  This framework can then be employed across all areas, including the delivery of the knowledge curriculum through lessons; so work pupils are completing in class relating to each skill area can support the wider development of pupils in conjunction with their academic development in that area.  This uniformity will also help pupils identify where they are progressing towards targets within the common assessment across all of their subjects; that is to say that presentation skill requirements in science, for example, would be the same in history, maths or even in form periods.  Use of these skills in the knowledge curriculum area of school life can be highlighted in curriculum planning and in books where these are employed to facilitate learning.

 

We need to not only to develop these skills but to also develop a pupil’s self-awareness relating to their wider holistic development; understanding the value of these wider skills and how wider experiences contribute to this development and this why we have introduced the role of the Personal Development Coaches.

 

 

Personal Development Coaches

 

We have introduced this role to enhance the wider support for each individual pupil & to focus on aspects of school life that are linked to the Dual Curriculum. Each pupil will have a one to one conversation with their PD Coach each term. The focus of these conversations will be around the following elements of their holistic development:

 

-Aspirations

-Career Cluster

-Enrichment

-Dual Curriculum Skills Framework

 

It also provides an opportunity for pupils to discuss any other issues on a personal one to one basis. We need to not only to develop these skills but to also develop a pupil’s self-awareness relating to their wider holistic development; understanding the value of these wider skills and how wider experiences contribute to this development.  Discussing these skills with their PD Coach and pupils articulating these to reflect on their own personal progress is a vital step to ensuring pupils build self-belief within themselves. The PD Coach is there to support all pupils in their holistic wider development and to help ensure they have the best possible life chances in the wider community once they leave Penketh.

Enrichment Information