Personal Development Curriculum
Personal development at Harris Academy Purley is built upon the foundations of our academy values – To learn, To think, To act.
These values underpin Academy culture and every student's daily school life.
We also actively promote and develop students' understanding for the five core British values (tolerance, rule of law, democracy, individual liberty and mutual respect).
The Academy believes in the holistic development of its pupils by ensuring students can make positive choices which will in turn create a healthy, productive and positive future.
Our personal development curriculum goes beyond the national curriculum. It offers unique learning experiences which provide students with enriched cultural capital. By offering a varied and diverse set of experiences, we help to prepare students for the culturally diverse nature of the society in which we live.
The Academy ensures students are resilient, self-assured and challenging learners, both to themselves and within any other cultural context. The Academy intends to ensure through a broad enrichment curriculum that students develop the key skills to feel motivated in the face of adversity and confident to take on any challenge.
In order for the Academy to meet its personal development intention, it implements a curriculum for students to have significant chances to learn and actively engage in four key areas:
- SMSC development
- Character development
- PSHE and Sex and Relationships Education
- Careers
The Student Experience
Students at Harris Academy Purley experience the Personal Development Curriculum through a variety of channels:
- Daily Tutor Time
- Weekly Assemblies
- Thematic Days
- Enrichment
- Educational Visits
At Harris Academy Purley we aim to have aspects of personal development within all subjects on the curriculum.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development
Spiritual: explore beliefs and experience; respect values; discover oneself and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.
Moral: recognise right and wrong; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.
Social: use social skills in different contexts; work well with others; resolve conflicts; understand how communities work.
Cultural: appreciate cultural influences; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.
Students embed the core values of the Academy and are mindful of one another’s views, demonstrating acceptance to differences in opinions. We encourage students to be reflective learners, showing curiosity and a thirst for knowledge in order to improve as individuals. This enables them to develop holistically and become active participants in modern British life. This is a real strength in the Academy and is embedded in the curriculum through drop down ‘thematic days’, tutor time activities, educational visits, student leadership, enrichment and the assembly programme.
To promote spiritual development, all students study Religion, Philosophy & Politics at Key Stage 3. This encourages students to reflect on their own beliefs and those of others. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism are studied and other belief systems are examined through modules on ethics and metaphysics. The diversity of faiths represented in the Academy is rich, with students demonstrating respect for others' faiths, feelings and values. All students study a full range of creative subjects at Key Stage 3 including Art, Music, Drama, Dance and Technology, allowing them to engage their imaginations and be creative in their learning.
The moral development of pupils is also promoted through tutor time and our Assembly programme. The Academy’s core values provide a shared language for talking about moral issues which is well integrated into Academy life. Students reflect on the difference between right and wrong, and they are equipped to apply reasoning and critical thinking skills to their own lives, based on a moral compass. All students study ethics, including different points of view, and learn about how to make ethical decisions as part of Religion, Philosophy & Politics at Key Stage 3. Students reflect on their own moral decision-making through a focus on restorative justice integrated into our culture for learning.
Thematic Days: Cultural Celebrations
The Academy organises three thematic days each year. Every department within the school plans unique activities in their specialism, based on a common theme. The themes typically cover areas of personal development, such as careers or health, but one thematic day is always dedicated to cultural diversity. The focus is to develop student's cultural awareness and increase cultural capital within the Academy.
The activities on Culture Day range from learning community languages in MFL, to cooking national dishes in Food Technology. Staff and students are also invited to attend school in traditional cultural dress.
LGBTQ+
Pride Club is a safe space for pupils who identify as LGBTQ+ or who have questions, and where each week a different topic related to LGBTQ+ issues, such as 'coming out', identity and queer history. The club is also for LGBTQ+ allys (people who identify as heterosexual but are supporters of the LGBTQ+ community). Pride Club has regular visitors to give talks such as The Bridge, Croydon and the young adult author Simon James Green.
All classrooms feature 'safe space' signage, letting pupils know that the member of staff is there to address pupil’s questions and concerns regarding anything LGBTQ+ related.
HAPU celebrates LGBT History Month through a wide range of activities including theatre screenings ("Everybody's Talking About Jamie"), workshops and lessons that focus on inspiring figures.
