Personal Development
At Montgomery the curriculum extends beyond the academics. We work hard to enhance the children’s spiritual, moral social and cultural development and ensure they are given high quality opportunities. Our curriculum offer seeks to promote a passion for Personal Development within all children.
Our Monty Values are the character traits and learning behaviours that will help them thrive as they progress through Primary School and move on to their next adventures.
Our ‘Heart of Monty’ values are the characteristics and attitudes that we believe are most important in the way we lives and work. These core values are the guiding principles that dictate how we expect out staff and children to behave and how we want our children to approach their learning. Respect, honesty, determination, self-belief, passion and teamwork.
The Heart of Monty values are threaded throughout our teaching and learning in school. They also form the basis of our whole-school behaviour and reward system. Children are encouraged to show these values in everything they do, both in and outside the
classroom, in lessons, at playtimes, in clubs and everywhere else in their school lives and in the wider community and world. We celebrate the children’s achievements and behaviours displayed with Monty Values badges, learner of week certificates, presentations and a trophy for each class.
It is our goal to promote and progress life skills in all our children, which will cultivate our Monty values, so that our children are thoroughly prepared for life in modern Britain. We aim to educate our children to enable them to be responsible, respectful, honest and active citizens who are able to play their part and become actively involved in public life as adults. Our children are encouraged to have high aspirations and to take on roles and responsibilities within our school and the community.
Our year 6 children work towards their Civic Award. To achieve the award pupils have to prove their participation in six main areas. These are: Active Citizenship in their school community. This could be Peer Mediation , Reading Buddies . School Council or other positions of trust and responsibility in school. Active Citizenship in their home communities . The children complete litter picking, beach cleans, bulb planting, helping at Brownies/Cubs/sports clubs and looking after people in the community. Children also work with others to organise events in school to support local charities. A physical hobby and a non-physical hobby. They have a residential experience and adventure training. This entails sleeping away from home and family and taking part in outdoor challenges. Children also complete charity work which they feel strongly about. Children need to make a pledge to the planet during the time they are undertaking the award and this fits well for our school and the thread of sustainability woven through our curriculum.
The Civic Award brings about community cohesion through linking school and community. It empowers children to become global citizens – developing their awareness of the works of charities. It develops empathy and the desire to strive for a fairer future. It encourages them to be compassionate and to take responsibility for positive change. It enables children to achieve economic well being through the management of money. It encourages children to be safe – action planning with risk assessments is an important part of the award. It develops character education and skills of self esteem, confidence, resilience and assurance. It develops a team working ethos and promotes related skills of collaboration and independence. It supports children in leading purposeful and full lives and is great preparation for both secondary school and the workplace. The scheme develops pupil voice and citizenship. It encourages acquisition of important values (respect contribution compassion etc) and allows children to see them in practice. It is about what we all believe in: moral purpose and integrity - developing and nurturing the whole child for life and placing education in a broader and more worthy context.
Within school our children are encouraged to take on roles and responsibilities to help and support the growth of one another and make school a happy, caring and nurturing environment. There are opportunities to take roles and parts in the key stage Christmas productions. The children have the opportunity to stand for School Council, Sports leads, Spanish Ambassadors, present to younger children and share learning opportunities, to be a Mental Health Ambassadors, a reading buddy, dinner hall mentor and many more.
We want our children to be alert to current affairs and to value their personal development curriculum. Personal Development will broaden our students understanding of fundamental British values; democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and mutual respect and tolerance. Personal Development will enlighten children so that they behave with integrity and cooperate consistently well with others demonstrating our respect and teamwork Monty Values.
Through our assemblies, PHSE lessons and other areas of the curriculum our children are taught British Values. Our children are encouraged to debate and vote throughout their schooling. Our members of parliament deliver a speech to their class and are voted for. They then represent their class and attend meetings and present the children’s priorities and voice in developing the school.
Through assemblies, lunchtimes and teaching opportunities we share current news and developments with the children and discuss these. We celebrated the Queen’s Jubilee with events and a community picnic. We marked the Queen’s death and celebrated the King’s Coronation with a celebration.
The children have worked with the local News and radio and been involved in producing the footage to broadcast giving their opinions and discussion points.
Through personal development, children will know that we can all thrive together and our children will gain a thorough understanding that difference is a positive, not a negative, and that individual characteristics make people unique. Montgomery children will enjoy an inclusive environment and will strive to ensure that all members of the Montgomery community, irrespective of age, disability, gender, race, religion, belief, sex, sexual orientation or social disadvantage feel welcomed and valued.
Throughout their time at Montgomery, our children have the opportunity to visit different religious buildings in the locality, celebrate festivals from different religions and to gain knowledge and understanding of the lives of different people within our school, the community, our country and the world.
The children have experts come in to work with them. We have had a Methodist preacher, Diwali workshops, Taiko drumming.
In assemblies we explore themes such as The Windrush Generation, Ghandi,
International mother language Day, European languages day, Eradicating poverty, World mental health day, Remembrance Day, International Women’s Day to name a few.
We celebrate RE day each year. With last year’s theme being we have far more in common than what divides us encouraging children to value and have understanding and empathy for one another.
Through singing assemblies, we explore a range of songs, genres and languages.
Through the curriculum we ensure our children are represented in images, stories, texts and examples used. The scientists, DT designers, artists, musicians and composers with protected characteristics are chosen to study.
Different ethnicities are represented throughout the curriculum and significant cultural celebrations are represented. Children work cohesively to support, encourage and unite in school. Equal access to an inclusive curriculum is a priority with careful thought to adaptive teaching to support equity for all.
Everything we do ensures that our children develop spiritually, morally, socially, and culturally so that they are ready to thrive as a member of society. Our aim is to ensure that all children engage with views, beliefs, and opinions that are different from their own in considered ways. Our curriculum develops children’s character, giving them qualities they need to flourish in society.
Our children have the opportunity to perform at Exeter Catherdral with the rock choir. They take part in a Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra workshop and watch a performance. The choir have performed at The Big Sheep event, the Summer fair and performed to local the local nursery school.
Personal Development will equip our children with the abilities to recognise online and offline risks to their well-being and make them aware of the support available to them. We develop our children’s readiness for the next phase of education so that Monty children are equipped to make their transition successful.
The children are taught through PSHE and the use of One Decision and Natterhub about the risks on and offline. Assemblies and newsletters are also used to raise the awareness and support in family discussions and awareness. We celebrate Internet safety day and the importance of staying safe.
The children have worked with local secondary schools to develop a Yr 6 transition choir, sporting competitions, attended Colyton Grammar maths competition and outreach sessions as well as Exeter Maths School’s physics workshop.
Our personal development curriculum will provide wider opportunities for educational trips, visits and visitors to explore different parts of our curriculum. Personal Development will embed our Monty values and ensure our children have high ambitions and challenge themselves to improve and grow with passion, self-belief and determination. On top of the rich and ambitious opportunities our children have through our curriculum, the wealth of trips and experiences we have to bring learning to life and support children in making memories, provides opportunities for children to remember their learning with fun, meaningful and real life experiences.
On top of the curriculum experiences, we as a school, believe there are additional specific experiences that every child at Montgomery should experience before they leave us. These will enable children to have broad horizons in life and high aspirations for themselves. We want our children to be inspired and challenged, so that each one can develop their unique potential to the full and know that everything is there for them to celebrate and enjoy.
Through our commitment of 11 experiences by 11,
All children at Montgomery will:
· Visit the Theatre
· Visit a museum
· Go on a residential
· Visit a different County
· Visit different landscapes – forest, moors, beach
· Complete 5 good deeds – charity opportunities
· Create something amazing
· Perform on a stage, in a concert or compete in a sporting event
· Take a journey on a train and a bus.
· Visit religious buildings.
· Complete life skills activities – cooking, making, fixing, baking
Our children are from Exeter so they should have:
Visited the cathedral
Visited the Quay
Visited the Underground Passages
Worked with a local artist
Visited a farm
Visited the Roman Wall
Visited the University
Visited the city, forest, moors and beach
Other trips include but are not limited to: cinema trips for visual literacy, Pizza Express linked to DT, food and nutrition , Kents Cavern – History and Science, Dawlish Warren for geography, coasts and public transport, Dartmoor Zoo, Plymouth Aquarium, Space dome, Narnia trip and Escot.
As well as other local visits to the RAMM, Roman wall, River Exe Walk, Peter Randall Page – RAMM, Farm school, shops, historic buildings and more.
Throughout their time at Montgomery our children have live animal experiences, workshops and visits from local experts and practicing artists and various professionals such as archaeoligsts, the dental team, RNLI, doctors and many more. This enables children to have a broad and balanced view of all of the different roles that subjects can lead to and to have high aspirations and ambition for themselves.
The children have opportunities for parents to work alongside them and to have the opportunity to share their work. Children present and display porfolios of work and celebrate their achievements.
On top of our PSHE, Science, PE and DT curriculum our children have additional opportunities to understand healthy lifestyles. At Monty our children have the opportunity to attend a range of early morning and after school sports club and swimming at Exeter School. Each week a PE learner of the week is chosen and celebrated in assembly. We also have a cookery club. Our children have opportunities to engage in sports activities with participation and representation of the school in a range of sporting competitions. Friday afternoons offer the opportunity for inter school events. These also include specific PP and SEN events. Montgomery children are ambitious in their sporting challenges and achievements reaching the regional finals for netball and football as well as the national finals for dodgeball.
Through our PSHE curriculum, SEMH groups, mindfulness afternoons and our Mental health Ambassadors our children are encouraged to prioritise their mental health. They are able to speak positively about their mental health and how to promote good mental health. As a school we celebrate World Mental Health Day as a whole school to raise awareness and develop our children to be resilient, confident and independent.
Fire safety is very pivotal to our school and this forms part of our PSHE curriculum with the fire brigade coming into school each year. Lots of our children ride their bikes to school and we value their safety and understanding of the risks. Bikeability supports our children to develop the skills and ability to be safe on the road.
The school provides high quality pastoral support. Our staff pride themselves with knowing their children and developing their talents, interests and allowing them to develop and grow. Montgomery is a nurturing and caring school that is inclusive to all. Children have equal access to the curriculum that through adaptive and creative teaching ensures it is equitable for all. Children have an age appropriate understanding of healthy relationships and of the protected characteristics. At Montgomery we promote equality and diversity. Our children understand and respect difference in the world and are thoughtful and respectful to one another and difference is celebrated!
