Personal Development

All students will leave as confident, resilient and articulate young people, assured in their value of truth, strength of compassion and necessity of respect.

Personal Development at Ark Charter

At Ark Charter, we are committed to ensuring every student is able to fulfil their potential. Our Personal Development curriculum ensures we develop students' character so they leave us as well-rounded citizens with a deep understanding of the role they play in the wider world. Our PSHE/RSE and SMSC programme ensures that students develop social and emotional skills and receive the fundamental learning they need to make good choices. Our Christian values of truth, compassion and respect are reflected in how we reward and recognise our students to go above and beyond in their learning both inside and outside the classroom. We believe that the academic and personal development curriculum support each other to develop students so they leave us with the best possible outcomes to open doors to their future.

What does personal development look like at Ark Charter?

Personal development enables our pupils to learn the importance of values and virtues in helping to live a fulfilled and happy life. From the moment our pupils walk through the doors, they are encouraged to embody our values so they become truthful , compassionate and respectful individuals who actively make a positive difference in school and their wider community. Pupils are provided with a wealth of opportunities to develop their confidence and resilience in a safe and supportive environment. We educate, enrich and empower them through a range of strategies.

Within the personal development curriculum, pupils are taught the importance of citizenship and their role within the wider community. Pupils can take on responsibilities in the classroom and make a positive contribution to the whole school through the election of student council representatives. Student leadership is a crucial part of their development and there is a wealth of opportunities that students can embrace. Pupils can also be part of the Council of Portsmouth (COPS), ensuring their voices are heard in the city.

Through our taught Personal Development lessons, pupils will develop their knowledge of political systems and British values whilst sharing their opinions and challenging one another’s ideas.  We also link our academic studies through the Empowerment curriculum and independent study to provide opportunities for our students to become well rounded, articulate and conscientious citizens.

The PSHE strand of the curriculum enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. Pupils will learn about healthy relationships, staying safe and the importance of both physical and mental health. Our Relationship and Sex Education lessons are designed to help and support young people through their physical, emotional and moral development. These lessons teach students how to respect themselves, each other and the community they are part of.

The Empowerment programme

Our mission is to nurture confident, resilient, articulate and well-rounded individuals by focusing on three core pillars: Empower, Enrich, and Educate. These principles guide every aspect of our personal development programme, known as our Empowerment programme.  

Empower

We believe in empowering our students to take control of their learning and personal growth. Through leadership opportunities, exposure to the world around them and student-led initiatives, we encourage students to be proactive in their education and development. This empowers them to:

• Build Confidence: By being given opportunities to learn about the world around them and debate key issues in Topical Tuesday, students gain the confidence to take on challenges both in and out of the classroom.
• Enhance Leadership Skills: We offer roles in student councils, clubs, and extracurricular activities where students can lead, collaborate, and influence positive change within the school community. Our student voice is deeply important to us. 
• Foster Independence: Encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving helps students become self-reliant and responsible individuals capable of making informed decisions through our Empowerment programme.

Enrich

We seek to enrich the lives of our students by providing a holistic educational experience. Beyond academic success, personal enrichment focuses on character building, emotional intelligence, and social awareness. We aim to:

• Cultivate Emotional Resilience: Through counselling services, mindfulness practices and our taught curriculum, students are taught how to manage stress, build resilience, and maintain a positive mindset.
• Enhance Cultural Awareness: A variety of cultural, artistic, charitable and community service programs alongside our Charter Challenges expose students to diverse perspectives, fostering empathy and a global outlook.
• Promote Healthy Relationships: With a focus on teamwork, communication, and conflict resolution, we help students build strong, respectful relationships with peers and teachers throughout our programme.

Educate

Our approach to education goes beyond traditional academics. We focus on creating lifelong learners who are curious, adaptable, and equipped with essential life skills. Key aspects of our educational framework include:

• Academic Excellence: A rigorous PSHRE curriculum is designed to challenge students and ensure that they learn how to construct arguments and come to justified conclusions. 
• Critical Thinking and Creativity: Through our curriculum, students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative skills.
• Life Skills Development: Our dedicated Character curriculum enables students to gather a range of skills they can apply in everyday life. 

Conclusion

At our school, personal development is valued by every member of our community. By focusing on Empowering students to take charge of their growth, Enriching their emotional and social lives, and Educating them for a future of lifelong learning, we are committed to fostering well-rounded individuals who are prepared to make meaningful contributions to society. Through these three guiding principles, we create an environment where every student can encourage one another, bear with one another and build each other up.

Student leadership underpins our student voice here at Ark Charter Academy and we are proud of the wide range of opportunities for leadership. Leadership skills allow children to have control of their lives and the ability to make things happen. In addition to this, leadership instils confidence, and helps children solve problems creatively, work in a team, and work collaboratively with others. Leadership also gives children many opportunities to develop responsibility.

Some leadership opportunities at Ark Charter require pupils to apply as there are a set number of positions available and pupils are selected based on their application. For example, in year 11, the principal positions are available to pupils who demonstrate excellence in all that they do and are exemplary role models. They form our Student Academy Leadership Team (SALT). However, we want to provide leadership opportunities for all pupils.

The newly established SALT team will begin formation of the school council by leading on an election process in the autumn term. Students in each year group will elect a year group ambassador to represent their year group at school council meetings. The organogram for the SALT and school council structure can be seen below:

At Ark Charter Academy we are proud to be part of the City of Portsmouth Students (CoPS) initiative which effectively allows students at Charter to be part of a wider council of students. The offer seeks to provide students with the opportunity to tackle key issues surrounding education and learning, as well as their wider community. Through CoPS, students are encouraged to sit in the driving seat to speak out and share their thoughts, ideas and opinions; students then work together to find solutions to the issues they face, share conversations and resources to assist each other, and support one another in their actions – all of these lead to improvement in their educational experience, that of the other students in Portsmouth, as well as the future of students of these establishments.

Students in year 8 have formed the new 24-25 CoPS cohort and have gained a position on the school council. Our ‘retired’ year 8 CoPS students will serve as mentors for the new cohort and also act as school council members.

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To encourage student development and support the inclusion of all our students, our extra-curricular offer is broad. It is designed to enable our students to become rounded individuals and develop the skills they are most interested in and provide them with additional opportunities. The clubs range from debate club to Taekwondo. Students are rewarded for their extra-curricular attendance through our positive reward system, which is directly linked to and supports, our school values. Regular student voice enables us to be responsive with our offer and encourage more students to attend.

Anti-bullying ambassadors

As part of our ongoing audit of bullying we are supplementing our leadership structure with anti-bullying ambassadors who will be recruited by the student body and aid in gathering student voice and bringing about positive responses to the issues students are facing. The role of an anti-bullying ambassador is to lead on anti-bullying campaigns, promote a culture which celebrates and tolerates differences and to help keep peers safe both online and offline. Our Anti-bullying ambassador recruitment process is being launched alongside our school council recruitment as part of our democracy themed week of collective worships. To ensure our ABAs are as effective as possible, we will choose from each year group.

Our mission is to nurture confident, resilient, articulate and well-rounded individuals by focusing on three core pillars: Empower, Enrich, and Educate. These principles guide every aspect of our personal development programme, known as our Empowerment programme.  

Empower

We believe in empowering our students to take control of their learning and personal growth. Through leadership opportunities, exposure to the world around them and student-led initiatives, we encourage students to be proactive in their education and development. This empowers them to:

• Build Confidence: By being given opportunities to learn about the world around them and debate key issues in Topical Tuesday, students gain the confidence to take on challenges both in and out of the classroom.
• Enhance Leadership Skills: We offer roles in student councils, clubs, and extracurricular activities where students can lead, collaborate, and influence positive change within the school community. Our student voice is deeply important to us. 
• Foster Independence: Encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving helps students become self-reliant and responsible individuals capable of making informed decisions through our Empowerment programme.

Enrich

We seek to enrich the lives of our students by providing a holistic educational experience. Beyond academic success, personal enrichment focuses on character building, emotional intelligence, and social awareness. We aim to:

• Cultivate Emotional Resilience: Through counselling services, mindfulness practices and our taught curriculum, students are taught how to manage stress, build resilience, and maintain a positive mindset.
• Enhance Cultural Awareness: A variety of cultural, artistic, charitable and community service programs alongside our Charter Challenges expose students to diverse perspectives, fostering empathy and a global outlook.
• Promote Healthy Relationships: With a focus on teamwork, communication, and conflict resolution, we help students build strong, respectful relationships with peers and teachers throughout our programme.

Educate

Our approach to education goes beyond traditional academics. We focus on creating lifelong learners who are curious, adaptable, and equipped with essential life skills. Key aspects of our educational framework include:

• Academic Excellence: A rigorous PSHRE curriculum is designed to challenge students and ensure that they learn how to construct arguments and come to justified conclusions. 
• Critical Thinking and Creativity: Through our curriculum, students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative skills.
• Life Skills Development: Our dedicated Character curriculum enables students to gather a range of skills they can apply in everyday life. 

Conclusion

At our school, personal development is valued by every member of our community. By focusing on Empowering students to take charge of their growth, Enriching their emotional and social lives, and Educating them for a future of lifelong learning, we are committed to fostering well-rounded individuals who are prepared to make meaningful contributions to society. Through these three guiding principles, we create an environment where every student can encourage one another, bear with one another and build each other up.

Our Extra Curricular offer in school is broad and wide reaching to support access for all. At Ark Charter Academy, we believe it is important to develop and value the interests and talents of all of our pupils. We therefore offer an extensive range of Extra-Curricular Activities which are delivered by our teachers and specialists. These activities and clubs are offered to all children across Key Stage 3 and 4 during the school day and beyond. They are reviewed termly so that all children have the opportunity to broaden their experiences. The clubs we offer include: debate club, football and netball clubs, LGBTQ club, Science clubs, Music Clubs and Seasonal Production rehearsals.  

Our intent is to enhance pupils’ learning experiences, form personal connections between pupils and their peers; create opportunities for pupils to try new experiences; and teach skills essential for life after school. 

From these experiences we believe the children will receive the following benefits:  

• Enhanced learning experiences relating to the curriculum area 
• Respect for other cultures and beliefs  
• Improved emotional Health and Wellbeing.  
• Confidence to speak to others  

What are the benefits for the school?  

• More contented children.  
• Improved communication and relationships between staff and children.  
• Improved communication and relationships between staff and parents and the local community.  
• Improvements in pupil behaviour and school ethos.  
• Improved connections with British Values and a better understanding of what each value means. 

Through our Personal Development Curriculum, we aim that all pupils leave Ark Charter with a broad and diverse knowledge of moral, social and cultural issues and how they can positively contribute to the wider community. Our curriculum enables students to explore and develop their understanding of British Values within a wide range of topics in addition to exploring the importance and impact of current affairs. It also provides opportunities for students to develop their character. They do this by challenging themselves and contributing positively to their community.

The Personal Development Curriculum develops pupils’ ambition and independence, as well as teaching truth, compassion and respect. This ensures they fulfil our intention that all students will leave as confident, resilient and articulate young people, assured in their values of truth, compassion and respect.

Our Personal Development curriculum is underpinned by the 3 E’s. We want our students to be educated, enriched and empowered. 

This takes the following forms:

• At KS3, PSHE is taught for 30 minutes every week and allows students to explore the Wider World as well as our British Values and Citizenship.
• SMSC is delivered through PSHE, RE, Tropical Tuesday and Collective Worship.
• Our character programme runs through our tutor work, our empowerment curriculum, our Collective Worship programme and our enrichment. It is also explicitly delivered to Years 7-9 every Wednesday during Lesson 6. 
• A responsive and topical Collective Worship programme which covers current affairs and encourages debate through the linked Topical Tuesday.
• Our CEIAG programme is delivered through PD lessons, our Wider World programme and through the curriculum. We also have a dedicated Careers team that provides many opportunities for all year groups.
• We have a vibrant enrichment programme which provides a range of clubs and experiences for our students.

For us to achieve this, we have designed our Empowerment programme which is delivered as stated below.