Character Education
As an academy, we embed these virtues into the seven following themes and aspire to model and teach these traits to all our children. A Framework for Character Education in Schools. The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues p 5 For secondary students, these themes are delivered through
Personal Development strands:
1. Performing
2. Creativity
3. Leadership & Volunteering
4. Sports
5. World of Work
6. Charity
7. Giving Back
As a staff team we will model the virtues we wish to see in our students. We focus particular attention on our core virtues: love, wisdom, fairness, self-control, courage, humility and integrity. This forms the basis of our Character Caught Education (primary) and Foundations Curriculum (secondary) which will be implicit yet clear for our pupils to observe. In order to teach character, we use our assembly format (both whole school and House assembles) to explicitly teach the importance of character using Biblical role models to shape our understanding of these virtues, and unpick this further through Tutor Reflections and Personal Development sessions (secondary). Moreover, we teach a range of character virtues in stand alone lessons, within our existing lessons (eg moral dilemmas in English, curiosity in Science etc) as well as through enrichment (clubs and visits) and whole school initiatives. For this to be effective and have impact we must work as a team and provide a consistent whole school approach to ensure we are fully equipping our children to become “good citizens”.
Tutor programme
Assembly programme
What is Character?
The DfE define Character as ‘a set of positive personal traits, dispositions and virtues that inform motivation and guide conduct so that students reflect wisely, learn eagerly, behave with integrity and cooperate consistently well with others. This gives students the qualities they need to flourish in our society.’
Our ultimate aim is to support our students to achieve excellence in character, aspire to develop into morally responsible citizens who are able to positively influence their community.
Intent - Character Education
- To raise achievement through increased motivation.
- To promote inclusion and equality of opportunity.
- To encourage participation in, and commitment to extended learning.
- To develop and enhance employability skills, attitudes and attributes
There are five key “Building Blocks of Character” as defined by the Jubilee Centre. (See below)
We embed these virtues into the seven following themes and aspire to model and teach these traits to all our children. A Framework for Character Education in Schools. The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues p 5 For secondary students, these themes are delivered through
Personal Development strands:
1. Performing
2. Creativity
3. Leadership & Volunteering
4. Sports
5. World of Work
6. Charity
7. Giving Back
The Academy community, inclusive of staff, students and parents / carers will model inspirational influence of the framework of virtues and key drivers and challenge or raise awareness where there are deficiencies. Short fallings in these virtues and key drivers leads to an organisation devoid of positive culture and climate. Only by modelling the expectations and behaviours, will good virtues and character building be, ‘caught’.
Examples
- The Academy Conduct Cards are used to reinforce, and reward, the civic and moral virtues of community and responsibility Key Drivers.
- The Academy rewards system has the Key Drivers at its core and rewards are issued for commitment to these.
- Behaviours for learning are reported to parents / students and referred to in episodes of learning within classrooms, through the Academy Investment in Learning pillars. Attitude and Effort, response to Feedback, Homework and Oracy help fulfil the Key Drivers: Aspiration, Resilience and Confidence (intellectual and performance virtues).
- The Academy staff relentlessly over communicate expectations and standards, from uniform and presentation of work to the need for courtesy and consideration.
Taught
The Academy provides educational experiences in and out of the classroom that equip students with the language, knowledge, understanding, skills, and attributes that enable character development. We commit to high quality Character Education, which is explicitly taught as part of the Academy tutor programme.
Examples
- Weekly tutor time Character Education sessions for all year groups are designed and created to address all facets of personal development and deliver personal growth of our key drivers, and all the character virtues, in all our students.
- Dedicated curriculum time for KS3-5 for our personal development offer through Life Skills.
- Assembly programmes coherently link personal development (Tutor Time and Life Skills and topical, cultural events / dates) together to continuously re-visit our Key Drivers.
Sought
The Academy provides varied opportunities that generate the formation of personal habits and character commitments. These help students, over time, to seek, desire and freely pursue their character development. The voluntary and passionate engagement is for fun, learning and to give back to the academy and wider community.
Examples
- A vast and varied enrichment / extra-curricular programme that allows character development in all academy Key Drivers.
- Careers Advisor (Careers Inc) providing CEIAG for all KS4/5 students, which is an extension to the statutory career programme in KS3-5.
- Engagement in charity work, such as the recent Comic Relief fundraiser, building character through the civic and moral virtues and the Academy Key Drivers: Community and Responsibility.
- Visits and residentials allow students to develop the civic virtue and hone the Key Driver: Confidence.
- Opportunities for leading through student leadership, the student council, and ambassadors, to grow confidence.