Personal Development Curriculum
Personal development, as with much of education, has certain criteria that must be met in order to fulfil our statutory duties. At Pilgrim, within the context of mental health, trauma and attachment, we recognise that our offer should deliver far more than this.
We therefore strive to provide our pupils with hope, resilience and growth alongside the more concrete knowledge and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future.
These pages of the website aim to give an overview of the wide-ranging personal development curriculum at The Pilgrim School.
Goal/Intent
Taking into account the research base, we know that using the theories and implementation of hope can work alongside a background of trauma and adversity. Hope is malleable and has plasticity and is therefore able to be developed in or lent to the young people we support.
In order to support this, the school has developed its own personal development curriculum schema which identify the ambitious intent we have for pupils in relation to their holistic personal development.
There are nine key areas, many of which interlink and are co-dependent. Pupil characteristics such as hope, resilience, independence, reflection and being future focussed transcend all areas.
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Aspirations and Goals
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Self-concept
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Safe, secure base
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Emotional regulation
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Understanding of relationships
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Balanced lifestyles
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Independence and Lifeskills
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Experiences that Challenge
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Community Engagement
Pathways
Some content is explicitly taught within tutorials, PSHE/Careers and academic subjects. However, pupils at Pilgrim will often retreat at the thought of talking about themselves or learning about emotional regulation or self-esteem and as such there is also a focus on targeted implicit learning via the use of Wednesday afternoons and a series of planned trips and events in school.
Agency
Where possible, pupils self-assess their personal development and Hope progress against the schema framework using bespoke tools.
We also track general wellbeing/safety and positive experiences so that we can constantly review and adapt our offer to meet the needs of the cohort.
Using this rich information, pupils are able to identify and work towards their own personal goals in relation to the schema, creating self-motivation and a future focus.
Support
The pastoral staff at The Pilgrim School are highly skilled and support pupils extensively with their personal development alongside the wider team of teachers, classroom support and external professionals.