- Home
- Personal Development
- Personal Development
Personal Development
Empowering Every Student to Thrive: Nurturing Personal Growth and Success
At Chiswick School, we believe that academic success must be complemented by a robust and inclusive personal development programme. This ensures that our students leave as well-rounded, confident, and responsible individuals prepared to be active citizens.
Personal Development is integral to our ethos of fostering respect, resilience, and ambition, equipping students with the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to lead fulfilling lives. Our curriculum, assemblies, enrichment and extracurricular activities combine to provide students with opportunities to thrive personally, socially, and academically. We aim to develop students' confidence, empathy, moral understanding, and the ability to make informed decisions in their daily lives and future endeavours.
Aims and Objectives
The Personal Development Programme at Chiswick School seeks to:
- Promote holistic growth: Develop students' spiritual, moral, social, cultural, and emotional wellbeing.
- Foster responsibility: Equip students to assume responsibility for their actions, build resilience, and manage challenges effectively.
- Prepare for life beyond school: Provide students with knowledge and skills to navigate modern life, including health, relationships, finance, and careers.
- Support inclusivity: Celebrate diversity and promote respect for all, fostering a safe and inclusive environment.
- Enhance participation: Encourage active engagement in school life, the local community, and wider society.
Key Components of the Programme
Curricular Provision
- Personal, Social, Health, and Citizenship Education (PSHCE): Delivered to all students from Year 7 to Year 13 through weekly timetabled lessons, covering health and wellbeing, relationships and sex education (RSE), and living in the wider world (economic and civic education).
- Religious Studies (RS): Studied as a curricular subject, as Religion and Philosophy in Key Stage 3 and as Religious Studies in Key Stage 4, promoting understanding of different faiths and world views, moral reasoning, and critical thinking.
Additional Provision
- Assembly Programme: Addresses key themes such as fundamental British values, mental health, and current social issues.
- Character Education: Formally fostering virtues such as resilience, community awareness, gratitude, honesty, and curiosity, through form time activities, assemblies and whole-school initiatives.
- Drop-Down Days: Dedicated days and half days exploring specific themes such as anti-bullying, health, careers and with input from external agencies and speakers.
- Extracurricular Opportunities: Clubs, volunteering, sports, and enrichment activities that foster teamwork, leadership, and resilience.
- Trips and Visits: Including cultural, civic, and educational experiences to enhance personal growth.