Personal development - an overview

At Dickens Heath Community Primary School, personal development is central to our vision of enabling every child to be the best version of themselves. We view personal development as both a taught curriculum and a rich set of experiences that shape character, wellbeing and readiness for life in modern Britain. Our offer ensures pupils feel a strong sense of belonging, develop positive attitudes and values, and are supported to flourish academically, socially and emotionally.

Our school motto – Turn up, work hard, choose kind – underpins all aspects of our personal development work.

Personal Development principles

Our approach to personal development is underpinned by the following principles:

1. Strong values and social-emotional skills are essential for developing character, confidence and the ability to engage positively with society.
2. Whole-school nurture principles shape our culture and relationships, enabling pupils, staff and families to feel safe, valued and able to thrive.
3. Learning is holistic, recognising that emotional wellbeing and positive relationships are central to success.
4. PSHE and Relationships and Sex Education are a core part of our curriculum for life, equipping pupils with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for wellbeing, safety and future readiness.
5. Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development is embedded across the curriculum and wider school life, supporting both individual growth and active citizenship.
6. Personal development extends beyond the academic, with a commitment to the whole child through rich experiences, enrichment and equality of opportunity.
7. Positive emotional health and wellbeing are promoted through self-awareness, strong relationships and effective emotional regulation.
8. Safe, trusting environments and positive relationships enable pupils to develop confidence, resilience, motivation and personal success.
9. Partnership with parents and carers is vital, supported by clear, honest and empathetic communication.
10. Consistency in practice is achieved through strong leadership, shared understanding and ongoing professional development for all staff.

Our Personal Development policy outlines our strategy and approach and should be read alongside our PSHE and RSE policy found in the policies section of the website.

Caught, Taught, Sought Framework

We have ensured that pupils at Dickens Heath Community Primary School are exposed to a rigorous and research led model for Personal Development which is guided by Nurture UK, The Solihull Approach Model - Togetherness, the social and emotional learning framework, Jigsaw PSHE and RSHE and the University of Birmingham Jubilee Centre of Research – Character Education.

This framework demonstrates how personal development is embedded across the school, ensuring pupils leave as resilient, responsible, respectful, and emotionally literate young people.

At Dickens Heath Primary School, personal development is embedded through what pupils are “Caught” seeing, explicitly “Taught,” and independently “Sought.” This holistic approach combines character development, SEL, mental health support, PSHE/RSHE, online safety, enrichment, and the Dickens Heath Dozen experiences, all rooted in our school values, DH Drivers, and nurture principles. We aim for all pupils to leave the school confident, resilient, responsible, and prepared for secondary school and beyond.

This Caught-Taught-Sought overview shows the alignment of curriculum, enrichment, school culture, SEL, mental health, and character education: