Personal Development

Personal Development

Personal Development at Mill Hill Primary Academy is built upon the foundations of our school values, which are depicted in our school motto ‘Work Hard, Dream Big, and Never Give up.’ Our values underpin our school culture and are our daily expectations for all children across the academy.

At Mill Hill Primary Academy, children’s primary school years should be filled with the greatest experiences. They are linked to our rich, vibrant and creative curriculum. All children have a passport, which has an overview of the enrichment experiences we promise to provide each child during their curriculum journey with us. We look forward to creating many happy memories together and building happy, healthy children ready for their future. Please see an example of a child’s enrichment passport below.

We have designed an innovative curriculum to support children on their individual journeys to gather additional knowledge and skills that will support their Personal Development now and in the future. All class teachers have mapped out cultural capital and personal development throughout the academic year. We also actively promote and develop pupil’s understanding and appreciation for Fundamental British Values – Rule of Law, Democracy, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect, and Tolerance.

We provide a wealth of opportunities for children’s Personal Development and we monitor and tailor our provision according to both group and individual needs. These link closely to our PSHE Curriculum, various SMSC opportunities, and assemblies. By offering a unique, varied, and diverse range of experiences, we help to prepare our children for life in modern day Britain. We want each child to leave school feeling confident, unique, and proud.

To see our breadth of Personal Development opportunities, please click on the links below.

 

Character Education

In recognition of our work with The Character and Arts Foundation, we have been recognised as ‘School of the Year’. See our news page for more information. We are a partner school in the Character & Arts Foundation and our children will be taking part in a plethora of exciting and enriching opportunities. Please see the details below and the attached link https://citylearningtrust.org/character-arts-foundation/

Through our rich, exciting and creative curriculum, we focus on teaching pupils to be the best they can be, to take pride in their work, and to be positive members of the school and wider community. We want children to thrive on challenge, love learning, respect each other, and have attributes that will ensure that they will be valued members of society.

Our weekly assemblies teach pupils about personal qualities valued in society. Our weekly assemblies also enable pupils to explore issues relating to direct rule, behaviour, bullying, exploring different cultures and key themes linked to SMSC and the wider world around them.

We hold a weekly Achievement assembly where we celebrate children’s achievements in the form of Head Teacher certificates, Super Learners of the week, Reading Raffle winners, Times Table Rockstar awards, weekly house team winners and the best class attendance is celebrated with a big breakfast for the whole of the class. On a termly basis, children are nominated for a CEO award, where the children are presented with a certificate and prize from the CEO of the Trust. Parents and Carers are also invited into the academy on a termly basis for breakfast with their child if they have exceptional attendance for that term. Key achievements for children across the week from working in class and achievements received from outside of school are also celebrated by using Class Dojo.

 

Pupil Voice and Student Leadership 

We believe that the views and experiences and influence of our pupils are a crucial part of our drive to continuously improve the provision for all children at Mill Hill. We, therefore, seek ways to listen to the views of our pupils and involve them in decision-making across the school. We have created a range of meaningful roles for pupils to allow them to develop their leadership skills in the form of:

  • School Council
  • Senior Prefects
  • Prefects
  • Ambassadors
  • House Captains
  • Vice House captains
  • Eco Council

 

House Teams 

The house system within the academy has been up and running for a couple of years now. The names of the teams have been closely linked to our school motto of Work Hard, Dream Big and Never Give Up. The names of the houses are Aquila, Cygnus, Lupus and Scorpius and they are named after constellations so that the children could aim for the stars in all that they do in the academy. As part of our Student Leadership Team, we have House Captains, from Year 6, and Vice House Captains, from Year 2. The house system is an integral part of the Academy’s holistic approach to developing children.

The key aims of our house system are:
• to give all children the opportunity to work together across age groups in a collaborative environment where they see that age is not a barrier to friendship.
• to provide all children with the opportunity to participate in a variety of inter-house competitions including sports, academia and the arts. We want our children to see that healthy competition is good. It drives our children to improve and teaches them to accept failure.
• to develop a sense of belonging and be part of a community of peers. This sense of belonging develops the children’s confidence.
• to become leaders within the school community. Our House Captains are encouraged and supported to rise to the challenge of organisation and leadership which prepares them for life beyond school.

Careers and Enterprise

At Mill Hill Primary Academy, we recognise the important role that primary schools have in enabling children to have high aspirations about their future through independent and impartial career advice. As a school, we endeavour to provide children with a range of meaningful experiences, visits, and visitors that teach them about the world of work and provide information about future careers. We are focussed on embedding career- related learning throughout our curriculum. We help children to understand who they could become and encourage them to develop a healthy sense of self that will enable them to reach their full potential.

Our Career-related learning encompasses activities that involve employers’, raising aspirations and broadening children’s horizons. We do this by ensuring that careers are featured throughout the curriculum (through topic-based activities, discrete lessons and/or themed weeks). During our foundation subjects, we make clear links to potential careers. For example, geography shows a cartographer, who collects information about an area’s geography and designs and produces maps and globes and art shows a ceramicist, who makes objects from clay. These are designed to motivate children, to give them self-belief and to connect learning to life.

We were one of thirty-five schools in the City to be part of the Opportunity Area project with Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Enterprise Partnership. The project delivery model aimed to embed employer led Enterprise, Employability and Careers into school culture and curriculum with a focus on real life exposure to the world of work.  We achieved the Careers Mark during the project and have continued to embed many aspects of this programme and much more.

Our aims are to:

  • Aspire pupils to think of the future, increasing aspiration for all
  • Develop and encourage a sense of ambition toward a future career
  • Understand the basic skills and attitudes needed to be successful in the world of work and provide experiences of meaningful interaction with the world of work
  • Provide high-quality information from a wide variety of sources-curriculum lessons, PHSE lessons, specific career sessions and visitors from a variety of careers
  • Challenge all forms of stereotype (by background, gender or diversity groups) and preconceptions
  • Develop self-evaluation skills and make plans for the future
  • Increase knowledge of post-11 and post-16
  • Understand employment-related vocabulary

 

Please see below for the personal development year group mapping.

 

 

Here is a sample page from our Enrichment Passport.

Personal Development

Personal Development at Mill Hill Primary Academy is built upon the foundations of our school values, which are depicted in our school motto ‘Work Hard, Dream Big, and Never Give up.’ Our values underpin our school culture and are our daily expectations for all children across the academy.

At Mill Hill Primary Academy, children’s primary school years should be filled with the greatest experiences. They are linked to our rich, vibrant and creative curriculum. All children have a passport, which has an overview of the enrichment experiences we promise to provide each child during their curriculum journey with us. We look forward to creating many happy memories together and building happy, healthy children ready for their future. Please see an example of a child’s enrichment passport below.

We have designed an innovative curriculum to support children on their individual journeys to gather additional knowledge and skills that will support their Personal Development now and in the future. All class teachers have mapped out cultural capital and personal development throughout the academic year. We also actively promote and develop pupil’s understanding and appreciation for Fundamental British Values – Rule of Law, Democracy, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect, and Tolerance.

We provide a wealth of opportunities for children’s Personal Development and we monitor and tailor our provision according to both group and individual needs. These link closely to our PSHE Curriculum, various SMSC opportunities, and assemblies. By offering a unique, varied, and diverse range of experiences, we help to prepare our children for life in modern day Britain. We want each child to leave school feeling confident, unique, and proud.

To see our breadth of Personal Development opportunities, please click on the links below.

 

Character Education

In recognition of our work with The Character and Arts Foundation, we have been recognised as ‘School of the Year’. See our news page for more information. We are a partner school in the Character & Arts Foundation and our children will be taking part in a plethora of exciting and enriching opportunities. Please see the details below and the attached link https://citylearningtrust.org/character-arts-foundation/

Through our rich, exciting and creative curriculum, we focus on teaching pupils to be the best they can be, to take pride in their work, and to be positive members of the school and wider community. We want children to thrive on challenge, love learning, respect each other, and have attributes that will ensure that they will be valued members of society.

Our weekly assemblies teach pupils about personal qualities valued in society. Our weekly assemblies also enable pupils to explore issues relating to direct rule, behaviour, bullying, exploring different cultures and key themes linked to SMSC and the wider world around them.

We hold a weekly Achievement assembly where we celebrate children’s achievements in the form of Head Teacher certificates, Super Learners of the week, Reading Raffle winners, Times Table Rockstar awards, weekly house team winners and the best class attendance is celebrated with a big breakfast for the whole of the class. On a termly basis, children are nominated for a CEO award, where the children are presented with a certificate and prize from the CEO of the Trust. Parents and Carers are also invited into the academy on a termly basis for breakfast with their child if they have exceptional attendance for that term. Key achievements for children across the week from working in class and achievements received from outside of school are also celebrated by using Class Dojo.

 

Pupil Voice and Student Leadership 

We believe that the views and experiences and influence of our pupils are a crucial part of our drive to continuously improve the provision for all children at Mill Hill. We, therefore, seek ways to listen to the views of our pupils and involve them in decision-making across the school. We have created a range of meaningful roles for pupils to allow them to develop their leadership skills in the form of:

  • School Council
  • Senior Prefects
  • Prefects
  • Ambassadors
  • House Captains
  • Vice House captains
  • Eco Council

 

House Teams 

The house system within the academy has been up and running for a couple of years now. The names of the teams have been closely linked to our school motto of Work Hard, Dream Big and Never Give Up. The names of the houses are Aquila, Cygnus, Lupus and Scorpius and they are named after constellations so that the children could aim for the stars in all that they do in the academy. As part of our Student Leadership Team, we have House Captains, from Year 6, and Vice House Captains, from Year 2. The house system is an integral part of the Academy’s holistic approach to developing children.

The key aims of our house system are:
• to give all children the opportunity to work together across age groups in a collaborative environment where they see that age is not a barrier to friendship.
• to provide all children with the opportunity to participate in a variety of inter-house competitions including sports, academia and the arts. We want our children to see that healthy competition is good. It drives our children to improve and teaches them to accept failure.
• to develop a sense of belonging and be part of a community of peers. This sense of belonging develops the children’s confidence.
• to become leaders within the school community. Our House Captains are encouraged and supported to rise to the challenge of organisation and leadership which prepares them for life beyond school.

Careers and Enterprise

At Mill Hill Primary Academy, we recognise the important role that primary schools have in enabling children to have high aspirations about their future through independent and impartial career advice. As a school, we endeavour to provide children with a range of meaningful experiences, visits, and visitors that teach them about the world of work and provide information about future careers. We are focussed on embedding career- related learning throughout our curriculum. We help children to understand who they could become and encourage them to develop a healthy sense of self that will enable them to reach their full potential.

Our Career-related learning encompasses activities that involve employers’, raising aspirations and broadening children’s horizons. We do this by ensuring that careers are featured throughout the curriculum (through topic-based activities, discrete lessons and/or themed weeks). During our foundation subjects, we make clear links to potential careers. For example, geography shows a cartographer, who collects information about an area’s geography and designs and produces maps and globes and art shows a ceramicist, who makes objects from clay. These are designed to motivate children, to give them self-belief and to connect learning to life.

We were one of thirty-five schools in the City to be part of the Opportunity Area project with Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Enterprise Partnership. The project delivery model aimed to embed employer led Enterprise, Employability and Careers into school culture and curriculum with a focus on real life exposure to the world of work.  We achieved the Careers Mark during the project and have continued to embed many aspects of this programme and much more.

Our aims are to:

  • Aspire pupils to think of the future, increasing aspiration for all
  • Develop and encourage a sense of ambition toward a future career
  • Understand the basic skills and attitudes needed to be successful in the world of work and provide experiences of meaningful interaction with the world of work
  • Provide high-quality information from a wide variety of sources-curriculum lessons, PHSE lessons, specific career sessions and visitors from a variety of careers
  • Challenge all forms of stereotype (by background, gender or diversity groups) and preconceptions
  • Develop self-evaluation skills and make plans for the future
  • Increase knowledge of post-11 and post-16
  • Understand employment-related vocabulary

 

Please see below for the personal development year group mapping.