Personal development is at the heart of our educational philosophy. The curriculum has been developed to incorporate key requirements linked to SMSC, British Values, Citizenship, RSE and the Protected Characteristics. Our broad and balanced curriculum offer also provides opportunities to develop our school ethos, which is directly linked to our pupil values, explicitly supporting the development of the key learning and life skills. The pupils have a strong understanding of our values and are aware that they underpin all aspects of school life: ‘Together we believe we will flourish and achieve’
We are thrilled to offer a wide range of personal development opportunities to our students, allowing them to explore new talents and interests. Our goal is to provide a diverse and enriching experience that fosters growth and helps students become well-rounded individuals.
Extra-Curricular Clubs
We believe that participation in extra-curricular activities is crucial for personal development, which is why we offer extra-curricular clubs. These clubs are available to all our pupils and provide a fantastic opportunity for them to engage in activities beyond the regular curriculum. The clubs cover a broad spectrum of interests and are designed to cater to different age groups and preferences. We regularly update the clubs on offer to ensure that students have a wide range of options to choose from throughout the year.
Student Voice and Leadership
At The Rookeries, we value the opinions and ideas of our students. Through surveys capturing pupil voice, we encourage our children to suggest clubs they would like to experience. This ensures that the clubs reflect their interests and passions. Moreover, we have a student leadership program that allows our oldest pupils to take on leadership roles within the clubs. This program helps them develop important skills such as teamwork, communication, and organisation, which will benefit them as they progress through their educational journey.
Lunchtime Clubs
To ensure maximum participation, our free clubs take place over lunchtime. This allows all pupils to join in the extra-curricular activities. By incorporating clubs during lunch breaks, we provide equal opportunities for personal development to every student in our school.
Supervision and Safety
All clubs are supervised by our dedicated staff members who ensure the safety and well-being of our students. While the clubs are student-led, our staff members are always present to provide guidance and support.
We are proud to offer these personal development opportunities to our students and believe that they play a vital role in their overall growth. We encourage all parents to discuss these clubs with their children and help them make the most of these wonderful opportunities.
British Values
Here at De Lacy Primary School, we recognise the multi-faith and multi-cultural make-up of the United Kingdom, and believe it is important to promote the inclusive values that make Britain great.
We are an inclusive school. We welcome all pupils entitled to education under British law, whatever their faith, ethnicity, gender, political viewpoints, sexuality, or gender.
Here are some of the ways that we seek to promote British Values at De Lacy:
We ensure that children are given a voice. They are empowered by being given opportunities to make choices about things they believe are important. Our school behaviour systems encourage pupils to respect the idea of democracy and respect the views of others.
Children are taught to understand the principles of rules, which enable a community – like a school – to work well. This is supported by our Community Police Officer. Children understand our behaviour systems and the rules we must follow, this helps pupils to make decisions and choices that are acceptable to the school community and society at large. We help pupils learn to manage their behaviour and take responsibility for their actions. We teach them to recognise right from wrong and why we have rules in school and society.
Within PE lessons and in the range of sports clubs which take place at The Rookeries, children learn and follow the rules and regulations of the sport being undertaken. Pupils understand and follow the rules, insisting on fairness and sportsmanship. They then extend this to the games they play in their free time in the playground as well as when taking part in sporting events across the Trust as part of the PAT games.
We encourage pupils to become good and valued citizens. We do this by supporting each pupil to become as independent as possible. Some pupils will be able to take responsibility for particular roles, such as Junior Librarians, School Council Representatives, hall monitors or playground leaders. They understand that with certain rights comes a level of responsibility.
We celebrate achievements in assemblies and with certificates. We encourage children to be proud of their achievements, both in and out of school. We encourage children to take responsibility for their behaviour, to challenge stereotypes and to spread an anti-bullying culture.
We promote each pupil’s inclusion in a range of activities, settings and locations. Our pupils go into the community to meet with a range of people in a variety of situations which include sports events, community events and shared participation with other schools. It is important for our school to be part of the community as the pupils, families and staff have much to offer in the development of community cohesion.
As we live in a multi-faith society, we promote the belief that each person is respected and valued equally without regard to ability, gender, faith, heritage or race. Cultural appreciation and development forms part of our curriculum. We celebrate faiths throughout the year with assemblies, workshops and drop-down days, where parents are actively encouraged to participate. We celebrate our differences and pupils are mutually respectful of these.
We teach Religious Education (RE) in each year group at The Rookeries. Our RE curriculum offers a broad and balanced education on a range of faiths, religions and cultures.
Throughout school, we encourage children to discuss the differences between people, such as their faith, ethnicity, disability, gender and sexuality. We also help them to explore different kinds of lifestyle, including relationships and families and bodily choices.