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    • Personal Development

    If young people are to truly thrive, they need more than academic success.  They need to be confident, kind, and to have a well-rounded character.  They need to be part of a community that is bigger than they are: a community with an ethos of care, that supports them and in which they can support other people.

    That is why, at John Masefield High School, personal development is at the heart of everything we do. Our programme is designed to support academic learning while also developing essential life skills, character, and a strong sense of personal and social responsibility.

    By fostering personal growth alongside academic achievement, we ensure that students are not only prepared for exams but are also equipped with the skills, confidence, and mindset to thrive in life beyond school.

    Pastoral Support

    The Pastoral Support we provide for students is an important foundation of our personal development curriculum.   We know that every student feeling a sense of belonging – that they are part of the JMHS community – is a precursor to personal development.  Our pastoral care is key to fostering this sense of belonging and as such, it facilitates and enables personal development.

    Key to this is our team of tutors.  Every student joins a tutor group at the start of Year 7 and this will stay the same for the next five years.  Typically, tutors stay with their year groups for the entirety of this time.  This means that our tutors build strong relationships with both the students in their tutor group and the students’ families.  Tutors are therefore extremely well-placed to support our students’ personal development: they can help guide them to leadership and enrichment opportunities that might suit them and encourage them to try new things.  They are also uniquely well placed to deliver taught PSHE and careers sessions to the students who they know so well.

    All of the students in the same tutor group are also part of the same house.   Throughout the year each of our four houses compete for trophies awarded for positive behaviour, high attendance, sporting achievement, participation and House Points.    This fosters a sense of belonging, community, camaraderie and friendly competition. 

    Tutors for each year group are expertly led by a Year Leader.  Year Leaders are always on hand to proactively intervene when students need additional pastoral support.  They can co-ordinate with a student, their family, and all of a student’s teachers, and where necessary, they can support students in accessing additional services and support both in-school and within the community.   They will also track the students in their year group to ensure that they are all taking advantage of opportunities on offer and work closely with students and their families if someone is not involved in the wider life of the school as much as they would like. 

    Year Leaders also deliver assemblies: a chance for a whole year group to come together every week, here key messages from our PSHRE curriculum and, of course, celebrate one another’s efforts and the successes of our community. 

    Personal development curriculum overview

    Personal development is integral to how we achieve our vision a school and you can see an overview of how this is achieved below.   Every aspect of our personal development curriculum contributes to all three elements of our vision, although different aspects naturally make a stronger contribution to particular areas.

     

                                                     Overview of personal development at JMHS                                       

    Personal, social, health education

    Excellent and enjoyable learning through a comprehensive taught PSHRE programme

    Our PSHRE programme is carefully planned so that every student will leave JMHS able to make safe, informed decisions, maintain healthy relationships, and manage their own physical, social and mental well-being.   As part of this curriculum we ensure students are aware of services that are available in the local community to support them now and in the future.

     It is delivered, in the most part, by tutors who receive training from our PSHE Lead.  Where topics require more expertise because, for example, of their sensitive nature, Year Leaders will teach these via workshops.

    Supporting students to achieve their individual best by teaching them about their emotional, social and financial well-being

    Our citizenship curriculum has two terms with lessons focussed on well-being.  One has a particular focus on happiness, with lessons that range from the stoics of the ancient world to the positive psychology movement of the 20th and 21st centuries.   The other has a particular focus on financial well-being, ensuring students can manage their money wisely.  In this respect we have ensured we go beyond the national curriculum so that students have the best chance of living a happy, fulfilling life.

    Building a community where we support one another by explicitly teaching students how we behave respectfully in JMHS and the wider world

    We have a ten-week induction programme for new Year 7s, culminating in a residential, outdoor education visit.  We use this time to teach students ‘how we do things’ at JMHS and to ensure that they have an ample opportunity to meet the members of their new community.

    We also take time, across a student’s whole school career, to explicitly teach and model the behaviour we expect from pupils.  This includes classroom conduct, and also how to interact politely and respectfully with members of a shared community, demonstrating kindness, empathy, and generosity.

    Careers

    Excellent and enjoyable learning through a careers curriculum with taught sessions in every year group

    The careers curriculum at John Masefield High School runs through all three Key Stages and supports students to: 

    • Grow throughout life by learning and reflecting on themselves and their strengths. 
    • Manage their career actively to make the most of opportunities and learn from setbacks. 
    • Create opportunities by being proactive and building positive relationships with others. 
    • Balance their life as a worker and/or entrepreneur with their wellbeing, other interests and involvement with their family and community. 
    • Explore the possibilities open to them and learn about recruitment processes and the culture of different workplaces. 
    • See the big picture by paying attention to how the economy, politics and society connect with their own life and career. 
    Supporting students to achieve their individual best by providing highly personalised careers support, with multiple 1-to-1 meetings for each student

    Careers advice and support meet the needs of each student.  We use assessment tools to understand each student’s strengths, interests, and aspirations, ensuring all receive targeted advice about their next steps, whether that’s further education, apprenticeships, or entering the workforce. Every student will have had at least one 1-1 IAG (Information, Advice and Guidance) meeting with our independent careers adviser by the end of Year 11, and another one by the end of Year 13. Students will receive more guidance and support if needed.

    Building a community where we support one another by providing regular opportunities to engage with local employers and professionals, including work experience

    These opportunities are provided through career fairs, guest speakers, workshops and work experience. These encounters bring different careers to life and provide students with role models and insights into the world of work.

    British values

    Excellent and enjoyable learning through timetabled citizenship lessons in Key Stage Three and a programme of ‘Big Questions’ delivered in Key Stage Four tutor time

    British values are promoted explicitly through citizenship and tutor discussions, and implicitly through leadership opportunities, democratic student elections, volunteering, respectful debate, our House System and the wider culture of the school.

    Our citizenship programme aims to ensure every student leaves us with a secure knowledge of British values, able to play a positive role in modern British society.  The curriculum is taught through timetabled lessons in Key Stage Three, and then moves to tutor time in Key Stage four, with a more explicit focus on discussion and debate through ‘Big Questions’.

    Supporting students to achieve their individual best by providing a wide range of leadership opportunities in all year groups and supporting students to take advantage of these

    We believe that students benefit from opportunities to show leadership and make a contribution to improving the education, enrichment opportunities or well-being of others.  For this reason, there are a wide range of leadership opportunities for students.

    Most of our students begin this with their first term in school, by helping to look after younger students and assisting as guides on our Open Evening.  Such opportunities will continue throughout Key Stage Three, with language, arts and sports leaders in Year 9 and above organising their own events to enrich the experience of primary school students. 

    Leadership opportunities extend in Key Stage Four with the opportunity for students to apply to be school prefects: students that take on a more sustained leadership role in the school.    Students continue to have leadership opportunities in the Sixth Form.  Students in Year 12 apply for roles within the Student Leadership Team at the end of the Spring Term in order to take over after Easter when Year 13 begin their final examinations.  There are a number of roles available each year, including Charity Lead, Sports Captain, News Editor, Study Advisor, Student Council Chair and a number of Subject Ambassadors. 

    Building a community where we support one another by having all students participating in student democracy and providing opportunities for everybody to contribute to their community

    We are proud of our school’s Student Council.  Each year, each tutor group holds an election to nominate their Council Representative.  Once on the Council, representatives join one of four committees who gather student voice, review and plan changes to improve our school:

    • Events, Fundraising and Rewards Committee
    • Eco & School Improvement Committee
    • Academic & Learning Committee
    • Well-being & Inclusion Committee

    Students also elect the most sought after student leadership roles in the school: our Head Students.  These students are selected after an election involving all students in the school, held once candidates present their manifesto.  The role of a Head Student is to be a leader, advocate, and representative for the student body, working to improve the student experience and promote a positive school culture.

    Enrichment

    Excellent and enjoyable learning through a wealth of enriching experiences across the curriculum

    Our staff work hard to ensure that their curriculum experience is fulfilling and memorable.  Whilst accessing the national curriculum inside their classrooms, all students will benefit from rich experiences.   They will perform, create, speak, and across all aspects of the curriculum, students develop respect for people with different backgrounds, faiths, beliefs and protected characteristics.  This core experience is enriched by the use of educational visits and other opportunities outside of the classroom.  Across their time at JMHS, we will ensure that every child experiences:

    • artistic performance
    • outdoor education
    • encounters with higher education
    • encounters with employers
    • diverse cultural experiences
    • opportunities to travel beyond Herefordshire
    • participation in competition

    Our aim is not simply to provide opportunities, but to ensure every young person participates in them.

    Supporting students to achieve their individual best by providing a comprehensive programme of extra-curricular opportunities

    There are a wide range of extra-curricular activities taking place during term time at lunchtime and after school.  These include homework, art, cookery, chess, book club, design technology, chamber choir, rounders, football, rugby, dance, netball and warhammer to name a few. Clubs and activities will change termly to ensure that students are provided with an array of opportunities throughout the school year.  If we do not currently cater for your particular hobby or interest, please let us know, and we will try our best to accommodate your request.    

    full details of our extra-curricular programme
    Building a community where we support one another by sustaining a house system where all participate and support one another

    All students are part of our House System and participate in weekly tutor time challenges.  These are supplemented by regular House Competitions throughout the year, culminating in the whole-school Sports Day.  Students’ achievements are celebrated and lauded, from weekly assemblies to annual award evenings.