Personal Development

The Enrichment (Personal Development)  curriculum at Leigh Academy Minster  is designed to ensure that students are fully supported in their journey to becoming a well-rounded citizen prepared for life in Modern Britain.

Personal Development is an extremely important part of the curriculum, which is discreetly taught to all year groups and throughout form time.

Our curriculum has been designed  to support the following key areas:

• Developing responsible, respectful, active citizens or who are able to become actively involved in life as an adult. This starts in year 7, and is built upon through various stages in the spiralled curriculum.
• Deepens students’ understanding of the Fundamental British Values
• Promotes equality of all, ensuring equal opportunities and creating an environment where all students can thrive, regardless of race, religion, gender, belief, age, disability or sexual orientation.
• Develops the character of students, allowing opportunities to reflect on their own progress and conduct to help flourish in society.
• Provides the knowledge and understanding to make healthy choices, related to diet, eating and relationships to maintain healthy physically and mentally.
• Provides an age-appropriate sex education for all students, influenced by guidance from the Department for Education and the PSHE association.
• Supports students’ with the knowledge to understand what they need to do to reach and succeed in the career which they aspire.

Students’ spiritual development is seen throughout various phases of the Enrichment curriculum, as students gain knowledge and understanding of a variety of faiths and key beliefs. students are given opportunities to reflect upon these beliefs and compare them to their own in a safe environment, developing an awareness of how beliefs impacts on decisions and behaviours. Throughout the Enrichment learning experience and during form time activities students use imagination and creativity in their learning.

The moral development of students is also supported through an analysis of varying religious rules and the impacts this has on people’s lives. Within this topic, students also gain knowledge of possible conflicts between religious laws and the criminal and civil laws in The United Kingdom. students learn how to make appropriate moral choices through a wide range of activities and topics across Enrichment lessons and throughout ‘theme of the week’. In addition to this, students learn about ‘aims of punishment’ linking this to their own lives to better understand the consequences for behaviours and actions.

The theme of the week programme which enriches cultural experiences for students allows them to discover their own heritage, values and shared beliefs, promoting a culture of mutual respect and tolerance for all. Many students willingly take part in and respond positively to artistic, musical, sporting and cultural opportunities. This has been specifically supported through key events. Celebrating diversity is commonplace within the academy, such as Black History Month, Autism awareness week and LGBT+ History. All these events are celebrated in the academy, as well as a number of clubs/groups to support, such as a Diversity group and LGBT+ Ambassadors.

Healthy Minds

Healthy Minds is a unique approach to teaching personal, social, health topics that enables students to navigate the world within and beyond school. Students are taught one lesson per week from Y7 – 10 and enjoy a range of lessons that enable class discussions and debates. Students participate in a variety of topics that include building resilience, ensuring internet and mobile phone safety, aspirational career guidance, as well as how to maintain healthy relationships. The lessons are taught by a variety of specifically trained Leigh Academy Minster staff and continue to be popular among the students.