Personal Development and SMSC
As well as working to develop our pupils academically, we also take our responsibility to provide for the personal development of all pupils very seriously. Only by developing all our pupils as responsible and active members of our school community can we hope to realise our school motto of Unum in Corpore Uno – Together in One Body. As part of our personal development programme, we also look to deepen pupils’ understanding of spiritual, moral, social and cultural education (SMSC). Through these common aims, we ensure that all pupils are ready to take their places as responsible, respectful and active citizens.
Our personal development programme is vast and is comprised of many different elements, including the core and extended curricula, our CPSHE programme, our extra-curricular provision and the Catholic life and mission of the school.
Everything we do as a school is underpinned by the four Cardinal Virtues, which in themselves link implicitly to British Values. Pupils are reminded on a daily basis on how to conduct themselves in a virtuous and respectful manner and are rewarded by specific virtue house points when they display behaviour reflecting Fortitude, Justice, Temperance or Prudence. This ensures that pupils learn to behave with integrity and consideration for others, showing respect for each other and for their environment.
All pupils, through the House System and chaplaincy, are involved in fund-raising activities and events throughout the year, which raises thousands of pounds annually for worthy causes on a local, national and international basis. This not only increases pupils’ awareness and empathy for individuals and organisations which need support, but also showcases their generosity and embodiment of the virtue of Justice.
Pupils are taught explicitly about the fundamental British Values of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and mutual respect and tolerance through the citizenship strand of our CPSHE provision, and also through our Extended Learning Day programme. We are also increasing the opportunities for pupils to engage in formal debates, primarily throughout the CPSHE curriculum and Extended Learning Days, so that they can articulate and justify their viewpoints on a variety of moral and social issues in an appropriate, respectful and formal manner.
Through the healthy mind and body strand of CPSHE, they also learn how to improve their mental health, eat healthily and maintain a healthy lifestyle. All pupils have the opportunity to be physically active through their physical education lessons, and the food and nutrition curriculum focuses explicitly on healthy eating through reference to the Eat Well guide. In addition, our exhaustive extra-curricular offer provides a myriad of opportunities for pupils to be either physically or mentally active.
Pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships through our HRSE programme.
Corpus Christi is a diverse and multi-cultural society made up of pupils and staff from many different national, ethnic and religious backgrounds. We regard this as a real strength of the school, and we endeavour to celebrate the many different cultures our school embodies through events such as our Culture Day.
Equality of opportunity underpins everything which we do as a school. Our bespoke curriculum is explicitly designed to ensure parity of education, which not only satisfies, but goes beyond, the requirements of the National Curriculum.
Our school provides an inclusive nurturing and supportive environment which meets the needs of all pupils, irrespective of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. The importance of the protected characteristics is regularly highlighted through safeguarding assemblies and the CPSHE programme, with any unkindness or discriminatory behaviour robustly challenged.
The personal safety strand of our CPSHE curriculum equips pupils to recognise online and offline risks to their safety. We also ensure that pupils know where to get advice and report concerns about their own personal safety, or that of others. Areas which are covered include accident prevention, drug education, online safety, weapons and gangs, as well as accessing help and support. Some of these areas are also further highlighted by content delivered during Extended Learning Days, such as online safety and the PREVENT strategy.
Pupils in all year groups are also addressed in regular safeguarding assemblies which not only reinforce key messages and procedures, but also highlight any trends or topical issues.
Our pupils benefit from a comprehensive and unbiased careers programme which is constantly reviewed and refined. We are recognised locally as having exceptional guidance and opportunities for pupils and are one of very few schools across the country who have achieved all eight Gatsby benchmarks for the last four years. We also satisfy all the requirements of the Baker Clause.
As part of our careers provision, all pupils in Years 10 and 11 benefit from individual careers support from our careers advisor, Mrs Creeley. All pupils benefit from lessons in careers education and study skills through the CPSHE curriculum, and this is further reinforced through an Extended Learning Day for each year group. In November each year, we invite employers and further education providers to hold a careers fair in school which is attended by pupils in Years 8-11, and Year 11 pupils also benefit from mock interviews to prepare them for college or employer encounters.
We work closely with external partners to give pupils from Year 8 the opportunity to learn more about careers in a variety of different areas, including our work with UCLan and the Future U programme. All Year 10 pupils visit two of our local sixth form colleges, and we have positive links with other local further education providers. We are also organising a visit for Year 10 pupils to a local university, so that they can learn more about life on campus and the courses which are available.
At Corpus Christi Catholic High School we are inspired by Jesus to lead lives that are purposeful and enable us to fulfil our talents. We care for one another and show mutual respect and love through our relationships with one another. In this way, Jesus is invited into our hearts. In the Beatitudes, Jesus invites us to lead a full life with him by explaining what makes people blessed or happy. Though this we grow in our understanding of how loving our neighbour enables us to be happy too. Happiness can only be truly achieved when we have a good relationship with ourselves, recognising our God-given dignity. This enables us to enter into relationships with other people in our lives, which help us grow and flourish, and we respect that everyone is a unique and beautiful part of God’s creation. We are all children of God, created equal and called to grow in love for him through the person of Jesus Christ and to spread the Good News through the work of the Holy Spirit. We are gifted with the love of God and the ability to love others. Our sexuality is part of our total self-gift of the heart and we seek to bring the young people in our care to know the beauty, goodness and truth of the Church’s teaching about how to lead a fulfilled life as they grow and change from children into young adults.
CPSHE aims to:
- develop self-respect and love of self;
- invite young people to develop and deepen a loving relationship with God;
- invite young people to understand that their life has a purpose;
- invite young people to develop and deepen relationships with each other based on mutual respect and care, and understand that this can be an expression of God’s love;
- foster an understanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church about how to live a full life, a life of virtue, and the place of human sexuality in living a full life, marriage and parenthood;
- have a strong awareness of their own safety and the nature of consent;
and - have an understanding of the law in England about equality and marriage, appropriate to age and maturity
| Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puberty | Sexual Exploitation | Consent | Domestic Violence | Healthy Relationships |
| Healthy Relationships | Sexting | Sexual Health | Promiscuity | Pregnancy |
| Sexual Health | Drugs and Alcohol | Pornography | Sexuality | Parenthood |
For further information regarding Personal Development and SMSC education please contact:
Mr Warham, email: nwar@ccc.lancs.sch.uk or telephone school reception: (01772) 716912.
