Personal Development
Haven High Academy (HHA) recognises the importance of the personal development off all its students. Therefore, HHA provides our students with a wide range of transferable skills and knowledge to help them in all aspects of their lives, the personal development covers a wide range of topics from empathy to careers pathways, harmful online content and preventing prejudice and discrimination. This aligns with our academy values of progress, resilience, integrity, discipline and excellence (PRIDE) goal to create students that can be true citizens of the world. HHA personal development programme is split into the strands of:
- Community
- Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health
- E-safety
- Careers and the Wider World
Within each of these stands the personal development programme is delivered through a combination of the following mechanisms:
- Awareness – a lesson delivered by the form tutor in form groups each week.
- Assemblies – delivered in year groups and designed to support the Awareness lessons and used to deliver specific content (To be delivered via pre-recorded
- Awareness Days – a full day off timetable where students spend the day focusing on a specific area of personal development pertinent to each year group. These include multi-agency days where multiple external agencies are invited in to deliver sessions.
- PHSE timetabled lessons – All students throughout their time at HHA will partake in PSHE lessons
- External speakers – specialists are invited to speak with our students on topics such as drug and alcohol awareness, contraception, higher education etc.
- Curriculum – some of the topics are covered directly through our curriculum areas such as Science, RE and PE.
Community
Our focus on community focuses on existing alongside others in harmony. Key topics include managing personal emotions, showing empathy, respect and resilience and looking after the environment. Forms of prejudice and discrimination are discussed and challenged including those of stereotyping, bullying and racism. Students are encouraged to discuss their thoughts on these topics in a safe environment.
In addition, we have a dedicated member of staff who works with our local community leaders to develop links with the academy. HHA feel it is important that the academy and its students are actively involved in projects around the town.
Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health
Overarching themes: Family and Friends, Intimate Relationships, Health and Hygiene.
E-Safety
Overarching themes: Becoming an aware internet user, Interacting with Others Online
Careers and the Wider World
Overarching themes: Employment and Employability Skills, Individual Rights, Financial Management, Keeping Safe
As an academy, we aim to provide our students with a skill-set that will allow them to flourish when they leave us at the end of a successful journey. Much of this skill-set comes from a rich and varied curriculum. HHA has also established its future zone that provides students with information, so they are fully aware of the opportunities available to them. For the younger students, an introduction to responsible money management and financial risk sets them up to be able to handle their own income and control their expenses. Student’s rights are explained to them, both in terms of their human rights and their rights as consumers of goods both physical and digital.
In year 10 all students will have the opportunity to take part in one week’s work experience. The students must develop their own links and formally apply for roles at companies through usual communication channels. This has seen our students working in varied settings for example NHS placements, schools’ placements, care homes, vets, garages to name but a few.