Personal Development Programme

At St Peter and St Paul, we recognise that our students are growing up in a rapidly changing society and period of time. This can present our young people with a range of complex challenges and new opportunities.  We want our students to acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills to manage their lives, both now and in the future. To help students develop the qualities and attributes required for them to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society, we ensure each student has access to Personal, Social, Health, Careers, Citizenship and Economic Education as part of the taught curriculum.

The Personal Development programme of study is delivered through discrete curriculum time, Living Stones as well as embedded within specific subject areas.  The statutory content is divided into three themes:

Created and loved by God: Health

This aspect of the programme of study focuses on enabling our students to make well-informed, positive choices for themselves.  During Personal Development, Living Stones, Science and PE students will have the opportunity to learn about and understand how their bodies are changing, how they are feeling and why and to develop the way they use language to talk about their bodies, health and emotions.

Created to love others: Relationships and Sex Education

Through Personal Development, Religious Education and Science, it is the policy of the Academy to provide relationship and sex education in accordance with the principles approved by the Governing Body.  The aim is wherever possible to place it in the context of a developing awareness of human relationships, and of the moral responsibilities which these entail.

Created to live in communities: Citizenship, British Values and Careers

In all key stages, students are encouraged to develop an understanding of democracy, government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.  The teaching of this is embedded within Humanities, Living Stones and Personal Development. Students take part in activities that deepen their understanding of how to evaluate different ways that citizens can act together to solve problems and contribute to society.  In addition, this programme will provide opportunities for students to explore finance and their future careers in order to be well informed about the available options Post 16.

Relationships & Sex Education

As many of you will be aware, Relationships & Sex Education (RSE) is taught at our Academy in Terms 2 and 5 as part of our Personal Development programme under the banner of ‘My Relationships; Created to love each other’. The content taught is available to view via the Academy website.

The right to withdraw your child from these lessons:

The teaching of Relationships & Sex Education has been made compulsory in schools since September 2020 but parents and carers have maintained their right to withdraw their children from certain parts of these lessons.

The Department for Education has published the following information in this regard:

Parents will continue to have a right to request to withdraw their child from sex education delivered as part of RSE in secondary schools which, unless there are exceptional circumstances, should be granted up to three terms before their child turns 16. At this point, if the child themselves wishes to receive sex education rather than be withdrawn, the school should make arrangements for this to happen in one of the three terms before the child turns 16 – the legal age of sexual consent.

There is no right to withdraw from Relationships Education at primary or secondary as we believe the contents of these subjects – such as family, friendship, safety (including online safety) – are important for all children to be taught.

If you wish your child to be withdrawn from sex education, please email your request to [email protected]

Staff

Mr Challenger – Subject Leader
Mr Henderson
Mr Clark
Mr Penney