Personal Development

Our personal development extensive offer includes:

PSHE Curriculum: Jigsaw

The intent of our PSHE curriculum is to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more. As a result of this, they will become healthy, independent and responsible members of a society who understand how they are developing and it will give them confidence to tackle many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. We provide our
children with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of
self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community.

Relationship and Sex Education

RSE is an integral part of personal, social and health education (PSHE) and ensures that pupils receive the appropriate information, develop skills and explore attitudes at the time when they are able to best respond in order to grow in confidence with their bodies and their relationships. At Kippax Ash Tree, we follow the RSHE Jigsaw Scheme of Work. RSHE outcomes will also be addressed in other parts of the wider and national curriculum. For example, National Curriculum Science outcomes include naming body parts, understanding the human life cycle and human reproduction, and religious education includes work on families and values. Effective SRE is integrated across the curriculum but it is also important to deliver some identified SRE lessons so that pupils can learn about the human life cycle in the context of learning about themselves and their relationships.

E-Safety

Every computing lesson starts with a spotlight on e-safety, to prepare our children for life in the digital world. Children use our computing suite and technology in the classroom to develop their computing skills and understanding by working on a project relating to either computer science, digital literacy or information technology. Children learn to use a range of devices such as laptops and iPads, and complete projects where they write algorithms, debug codes, present information, and much more.

British Values

• Individual Liberty: We know that we are all special. We can make our own choices about what activities we would like to do. We can talk about our own ideas and opinions.
• Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.: We know that different people might have different ideas or opinions or beliefs to us.
• Rule of Law: We follow the rules in our school. We understand the consequences of our actions.
• Democracy: We have equal rights. We know that we have rights as children.
• Mutual respect: We understand and respect the roles of people who help us. We treat everyone equally.

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC)

The ‘Believing and Belonging’ syllabus includes two key elements. Firstly, it is about beliefs and values. It aims to develop pupils’ understanding of world faiths and other beliefs, exploring their commonality and diversity. Secondly, it is about belonging. It aims to nurture pupils’ awareness of the treasury of diversity as well as sensitivity to the questions and challenges that different views and cultures can present. Ultimately, we all share a common humanity and we share this patch of Earth. Engaging and stimulating RE helps to nurture informed and resilient responses to misunderstanding, stereotyping and division. It offers a place in the curriculum where ‘risky’ questions can be tackled within a safe but challenging context.

Forest School

We are fortunate to have an area on site perfect for forest school. Children in EYFS take part in forest school sessions throughout the school year. Forest school sessions help to develop: self awareness, empathy, social skills, communication skills, independence, self esteem and confidence and physical development including both fine and gross motor skills. Our forest school curriculum teaches children a range of experiences including: tree and plant identification, knot tying, den building, whittling. In addition to these specific forest school experiences, forest school sessions include opportunities for children to explore reading and writing in a different environment and develop their oracy skills through activities such as storytelling, poetry, song writing and much, much more. Staff are encouraged to use the forest school area across the curriculum and take learning outside where possible.

Enrichment Clubs

Our after school club offer supports personal development by having a focus on team work, engagement, fitness,, physical health, mental health and sports. Children in Years 1—6 can attend weekly free of charge after school.

Experiences

Our broad and balanced curriculum allows for children to experience a range of curriculum enhancing experiences. From going to the theatre, residentials, going on trips, going to the pantomime, visiting local amenities, team building activities, sporting events, to the seaside and much more! These opportunities allow children to develop the understanding of the wider world and support our vision of giving children a life of opportunity and success.

Year 6 Jobs and Roles of Responsibility 

Children in Year 6 are given the opportunity to apply for a range of roles and responsibilities for leading different parts of school or areas of the curriculum. Children apply for a role by submitting a letter of application to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). They are then invited to interview for their preferred role where they are required to give a presentation as to why they would be the best candidate. The application and interview process encourages the children to develop their oracy skills and allows them to demonstrate their passion and commitment to the school, as well as teaching them an important life lesson. Successful candidates work alongside members of the school’s Leadership Team and Senior Leadership Team in order to: plan and organise events, take part in monitoring and assessment of their curriculum area/key stage, promote the school at events such as the new EYFS parents meeting, support teaching and learning across the school and be role models for others.

Pupil Parliament

At Kippax Ash Tree we actively promote pupil leadership opportunities, enabling our children to develop valuable communication, organisation and debating skills. We believe that providing these key roles of responsibility are paramount to their development and learning experience. Pupils relish the opportunity to become a greater part of school life and enjoy making their voices heard.
Our successful Pupil Parliament is a well-respected body within the school and consists of eight pupils from Years 5 and 6; eight Members of parliament (MPs). They meet regularly to discuss topics, issues and initiatives that affect them and their learning environment. As part of their responsibilities, the team organise their own meetings, decide on an agenda, share new ideas and vote on a number of school-related issues. They annually visit the Lord Mayor of Leeds and The Houses of Parliament in London to gain a wider understanding of the mechanics of politics and democracy.

Physical Health

Physical Education at Kippax Ash Tree Primary School develops pupils' knowledge, skills and competences in a range of different sports and physical activities. We recognise the importance of PE on children’s health and wellbeing and strive to provide high quality teaching and learning experiences to enable every child to achieve their personal best. We aim for all children to be physically active for sustained periods of time and able to make informed decisions in order to lead healthy, active lives. Children participate in competitive sport for both enjoyment and development and are encouraged to display their ‘Ash Tree’ values demonstrating respect and sportsmanship towards their opponents.

Relationships

“No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship”.

Our school culture is based upon embedding significant relationships between, all adults and all children. This our includes, staff, parents, families and children. We want all our children, staff, parents and families to strive to thrive, to have powerful voices which enable children to make meaningful choices then every child needs a strong support network based on positive, mutually respectful relationships.

Social and Emotional Mental Health (SMSC)

At Kippax Ash Tree Primary, we promote an inclusive, restorative environment in which each individual is valued and respected. We have an ethos of setting high expectations of attainment for all pupils with consistently applied support, tailored to each individual child where needed. We recognise that all children and young people need a solid foundation of positive mental health to benefit fully from all of the opportunities that are available to them. We want our children to be resilient and mentally healthy, so that they can succeed. As a staff team, we understand and recognise the risk factors and indicators that may signify that a child needs additional support with their SEMH needs and we respond accordingly.

Equality and Diversity

In order for our children to learn to be respectful communicators and global citizens both inside and outside of school we focus on developing positive words and actions by acting and speaking with care and respect. We share our communities heritage with our children so they recognise the positive benefits of knowing each other as individuals. We champion our wider community to allow our children to be responsible global citizens.

Careers and Aspirations

As stated in our school’s vision we want every child to have a ‘life of opportunity and success’. Our curriculum enables our children to learn about different cultures and influential people throughout history. They learn to expand their knowledge and skills through a rich broad and balanced curriculum. Children take part in various workshops e.g.: UK Parliament, meet people from the community, listen to key speakers and meet visitors from a range of jobs and occupations. We want all of our children to have the opportunity to go to University, higher education or to get a great job which they love.

Building Empathy

At Kippax Ash Tree we continually model empathy. We show that we care about everyone in the school community and we expect our children to do the same. We encourage and model open our eyes and ears to others, including those who are sometimes treated as invisible. We model to and encourage our children to take action, whether it’s standing up for someone, helping to solve a problem, or simply listening to someone. We teach our children to notice and reject stereotypes, respect and value differences, widen their circle of concern, listen closely to peers and adults and manage difficult feelings like sadness, anger, and frustration. We create opportunities to practice taking another’s perspective and imagining what others are thinking. Play charades, role plays, read and discuss books, and use “what would you do” and ‘think aloud’ strategies.

Pastoral Support

Our strong nurture and pastoral offer supports our positive culture across the school and our pupils know that we will not tolerate bullying, harassment and violence and when dealing with any issues these are taken very seriously. Well-being is at the heart our work as we know that happy children make progress and we are proud that our pupils behave consistently well and demonstrate high levels of self-control appropriate to their age. For pupils who struggle, our staff are highly effective at supporting these pupils due our strong pastoral support. Alongside this we have two school dogs; Indie and Mindy. Their work with children is one of our well being initiatives, The dogs have regular children who walk them, have short sessions with them or sometimes just come a sit and build up their confidence. Some children come who have got behavioural challenges and their time with Indie or Mindy is a reward if they're able to meet their targets.

Unicef Rights Respecting School

At Kippax Ash Tree School, we are committed to building a sustainable ‘rights respecting environment’. The school will effectively promote the values and principles of the ‘United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child’ and use it to underpin our vision for school improvement. Policies and practice have been reviewed with reference to the convention. Above all else, the best interests of our children are a top priority in all our actions. Our Pupil Parliament, consisting of children from Year 5 and 6, will be spearheading this exciting journey to achieving the Silver Award.
We are developing this approach to build upon our value-based learning, continue our positive cultural development and create an even more harmonious and open atmosphere, where everyone involved in the school will be respectful of each other and understand the responsibilities they have to one another and themselves.

Basic First Aid

Children learn basic first aid, as recommended by St John’s Ambulance including head injuries, who to call in emergencies, bites and stings. Asthma, bleeding and chocking, Children learn how to take responsibility for their own safety.