Personal Development
We at Bishop Stopford's School aim to prepare our students for their future by educating them to be responsible citizens, willing to contribute positively to society with a sense of responsibility, and willing to contribute positively to society with an appreciation of diversity and respect for British values and equality. This is underpinned by our values of respect, consideration, loyalty, responsibility, and success and supported by our strong Christian ethos.
Our Personal Development Programme is broken down into the following strands:-
- Character
- Wellbeing & Community (including RSE)
- Cultural Capital
- Careers & Employment
- Equality & Diversity
As part of this program, students take part in enrichment days, extra-curricular activities, workshops, drop down days, charity events, tutorial sessions, student leadership opportunities, trips, PHSE and RSE lessons.
Through a variety of rich and varied experiences and opportunities, we develop talents and wider skills.
Wellbeing
We recognise that it is important that our students know how to keep themselves safe and how to care for both their mental and physical wellbeing whilst they also develop personal traits, and virtues that will motivate and guide our students to flourish in their community and in society, with confidence and resilience.
Collective Worship, Assemblies & Tutorial
The form time and Collective Worship Programme combine pastoral themes with a theological focus which enables students to understand the relevance of faith in today’s world by encountering the teachings of Jesus and the Bible and developing an understanding of the Christian belief in the trinitarian nature of God.
The programme is designed to improve high-quality oracy education where students learn to talk through talk. They will develop and deepen their understanding of personal development and theological topics through oracy, which enables them to learn the skills needed to talk effectively, which increases confidence, improves academic outcomes and equips students to thrive in life beyond school.
Students will follow a fortnightly programme which deepens their understanding of the topic, which they will demonstrate through a speech or participating in a debate.
Careers
We ensure that our careers and employability provision is worthy of acclaim and our Leadership programme enables our students to engage, inspire and achieve.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC)
SMSC development is about developing children and young people to live full active lives as part of their community and into adulthood. Ofsted will look at the impact that the curriculum has as well as activities outside the classroom on pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
Definitions
Spiritual development: beliefs which inform perspective on life including respect for different people's feelings and values. Spiritual does not mean just religious. It is concerned with developing the non material aspects of life, focusing on personal insight, values, meaning and purpose. It is about children having creativity and imagination and a sense of fascination, awe and wonder.
Moral development: the ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and applying it to our own lives. It is about the choices people make and how they live their life.
Social development: being willing to participate in different social settings, co-operating with others and resolving conflicts effectively, being a part of the local community, relating to adults and learning the skills for successful personal relationships.
Cultural development: understand and appreciate the range of cultural influences that shape our heritage, feeling comfortable in a variety of cultures, valuing cultural diversity and challenging racism is important.
Spiritual Moral Social Cultural opportunities across the curriculum
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural opportunities across the broader curriculum
The below map shows how the development of students SMSC is taught in the broader life of the school.
