Personal Development

At Branston Junior Acacdemy we focus on the development of the whole child. As well as supporting pupils in developing their academic skills we aim to support children in their growth as people – focusing on supporting their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. Below, we outline just some of the ways we support pupils at this school to develop into accepting, kind, confident and well rounded individuals who understand the key British values of:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.

How do we develop children’s social development?

• A ‘house’ system of mixed year groups which encourages all ages of pupils to mix and work as a team
• We have peer mediators, who are Year 6 pupils who support other pupils in the school to resolve arguments and disagreements
• We have a wide range of extra curricular activities which allow children to get involved in a range of activities with other pupils
• We have an outdoor activity week which enables pupils to communicate with each other and promotes teamwork skills
• There are opportuntities for pupils to go on residential to  PGL to develop their social skills, teamworking skills and supportive skills outside of the school enviornment
• We actively promote the use of talk partners, group work and open ended investigation and activities to all pupils to communicate about their learning
• We hold coffee mornings (Autumn Y5/6-led, Summer Y3/4-led) to provide pupils with an opportuntiy to communicate with the public

How do we develop children’s moral development?

• We have a clear behavior system which puts the child at the cente. it encourages pupils to be responsible for their own actions and consider positive ways of improving behaviour when required
• We have a strong focus on 5R’s; Respect, Resilience, Relationships, Reflection and Responsibility.
• Each classroom has a think it talk it box. Which allows pupils to seek advice from each other during R time.
• Children understand the concept of democracy through the use of the school council and house captains.
• We regularly explore what is happening in the news as part of class assemblies to develop an understanding of right and wrong, an appreciation of fact and opinion as well as inspiring an interest in politics – particualrly in Year 5/6
• In every year group we teach PSHE which looks at a range of moral issues such as bullying and understanding other people’s emotions.
• During whole school assemblies we promote positive values through a range of assembly themes
• Every Friday we have a whole school celebration assembly where we praise excellent work and excellent behavior.

How do we develop children’s spiritual development?

• We follow the Lincolnshire Syllabus for RE lessons
• We make visits to the local church
• Where relevant to the topic, we visit places of worship to develop an understanding of other religions
• Where relevant to the topic, we have visitors from differnet religions coming in,  to tell us about their faith
• In whole schools assemblies we learn about a wide range of religions, beliefs and festivals
• We actively encourage children to speak about their own faith and beliefs

How do we develop children’s cultural development?

• We are very proud of our links with schools around the world, including Poland, Guadeloupe, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sicily and Bangladesh; and have often secured funding from the British Council in order to support us in developing and maintaining these connections
• We strive to learn about the world around us and explore how other people live
• Children are given the opportuntity to speak to pupils from other schools about their education experience
• We frequently have visitors from our partner schools who share what life is like in other countries
• We actively encourage children to share their own cultures and heritage.