We have a holistic personal development programme which consists of key areas to allow all pupils characters to grow and develop in line with their age.

At Coopers, Personal Development is spread through different means of messaging, taught lessons and discussion on a daily basis.

The planned resources follow all statutory requirements, but also is reflective of the contextual issues in and around our school community, local community and world.

We ensure that these elements are reflected through our PD programme which is mapped week by week, aligned with national and international events, celebrations and initiatives. It aligns to our PSHE/RSE curriculum topics. 

We start every morning with collective reflection, which reflect our school values, SMSC topics and British Values.  Our pupils have a 30-minute tutor time lesson daily at KS3 and 4 and 100 mins weekly at KS5.  We focus on developing all pupils' characters through the key skills taught and on enhancing each child’s understanding of communicating these.  This follows the areas:

• Assembly (aligned to the theme of the week)
• A spiralised Personal Development plan using resources from the national skills builder, class data reviews (including merit and punctuality rewards)
• Weekly group class reader (DEI focus)
• World Around Us (RE)
• Picture news (Current affairs and explicit British Values).
• We also hold extra assemblies based on current contextual needs with frequent outside speakers.

Our teaching of the British values are not separated but are embedded with all we do and are tracked across the PD programme.  Subjects have a focus on SMSC and this is mapped across all their curriculums.

Tutor time is also used to help students organise and prepare themselves for the day.  In Year 11, tutor time is focused on developing curriculum currency in English and Maths, with targeted sessions (year 11 Masterclass) based on assessment gap analysis.

Coopers Tutor Time 

PSHE/RSE  

Pupils in years 7, 8 and 9 each have one 50-minute weekly lesson dedicated to PSHE and RSE. PSHE lessons incorporate all statutory elements of RSE, and aspects of CEIAG, Citizenship and British Values. The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of each year group specifically. Learning on the overarching themes of Health and Wellbeing, RSE and Living in the Wider World spiral up throughout the years so that students’ learning will develop and deepen at appropriate and relevant stages of their lives. The curriculum can be adapted flexibly to address any issues which emerge in our community or which students themselves feel are important. Pupils in years 10 and 11 have focused Personal Development sessions at key points in the year allowing an in depth focus on PSHE, RSE, CEIAG, study skills. Anti-bullying and e-safety are addressed in all year groups.

Students in years 12 and 13 also receive designated Personal Development and PSHE lessons from their form tutors which focus on global issues, current affairs as well as study and revision skills.

All PSHE lessons are specifically designed to be age-appropriate and underpin the development of knowledge and skills which students need to succeed, not only at school, but in the wider world also.  

PSHE Curriculum 

CEIAG Education

Careers education at Coopers comprises a spiralised approach in which each year group (7-13) receives a tailored package of careers related intervention. To help inform decisions around Careers education, we try to ensure students have exposure to Businesses, Further and Higher Education and other options that are available to them. We start this when they are in KS3 so that they can start thinking about Careers that interest them and routes that are available. As students reach key decision milestones, especially in year 9 for their options, year 11 for Further Education and year 13 for Higher Education decisions, careers support is intensified to ensure that all students have access to personalised guidance. Careers education spans the Tutor Time and PSHE curricula and opportunities are taken to embed links to careers across the curriculum as well. External speakers are used to enhance and broaden the careers education experience, and both virtual and in-person visits are used. Coopers have a subscription with unifrog which is used with Sixth form for UCAS and destinations, and for all year groups to explore career pathways and routes. We are currently in the process of organising Work Experience so that it resumes for our current Year 10s by the time they leave school.

Enrichment

At Coopers school we are dedicated to ensuring that the same broad and balanced offer that students receive in the classroom is also being mirrored outside of it. Department’s offer enrichment sessions ranging from Creative Arts, Food and nutrition, PE activities such as basketball to badminton, journalism, and many others.