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Personal Development
At Duncombe, we recognise that the primary years are a key time for children to develop their own identity and aspirations for the future. As well as academic development, it is essential that children are given opportunities, through the curriculum and beyond, for personal development. We understand the crucial role we can play in helping children to prepare for their adult lives so they can go on to engage positively in society. The opportunities we can offer them while at Duncombe will impact upon their future, helping them to develop the core values we hold at the school; ASPIRE
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Personal Development Vision
The vision for Personal Development at Duncombe is that:
- Children have opportunities throughout their time at Duncombe to have rich and varied experiences.
- All children develop their ‘cultural capital’ while at Duncombe
- Physical and mental well-being are prioritised as much as academic achievements
- Families are involved wherever possible, to support all areas of their child’s personal development
Overview of Provision
The mindmap below gives an overview of our Personal Development provision for 2020-2021, in five broad areas; mental well-being; physical development; cultural capital; spiritual, moral, social and cultural development & British values; relationships, sex education. You can also view how each area is broken down in the Personal Development presentation.
Pastoral Team
We have a Pastoral Team of professionals who meet regularly to discuss the provision for the well-being of pupils and their families. The professionals involved include:
- Pastoral Lead
- SENCO
- DSL
- CAMHS clinician
- School Counsellor
- School Therapist
- Outreach Behaviour Support Worker
- Educational Psychologist
- Speech & Language Therapists
- Early Help Practitioner
Work is done to develop whole school practice as well as offer timely and targeted support to individuals or groups identified when concerns are raised, sometimes by the pupils themselves, their families or colleagues.
Some of the holistic work done at Duncombe has involved training our staff in developing children's self-regulation and building their self-esteem. More information can be found at the links below.
The video below can be really useful to help explain why we sometimes lose control of our emotions and how we can help to stop this.
The links below are to websites with a host of excellent resources and links to organisations to support well-being for children, young people, families and professionals.
Values Assemblies
We hold weekly values assemblies which are carefully plotted to cover a range of issues and to respond to current events.
Due to the pandemic, our values assemblies have taken place in the classrooms (rather than collectively in a hall), with children watching the recording and promting class discussions. A sample of these values assemblies can be viewed below.
Support agencies and organisations
Into University
IntoUniversity is a UK wide educational organisation that provides a variety of programmes both in school and at our local North Islington learning centre, promoting young people’s aspirations. The FOCUS Programme provides structured workshops in partnership with schools to provide information, advice and guidance, to support development of key skills and to inspire students to achieve their potential. In years 3 and 4, students gain insight into a variety of career pathways. In years 5 and 6, students come to our centre for full day and week long workshops. They are introduced to life and education at university, examine a degree topic in depth and prepare for the transition into secondary school.
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At Academic Support, Primary and Secondary students go to the North Islington centre, where they receive after-school help with homework and develop transferable skills through the Primary Academic Support Curriculum and the Future Readiness Award. The Mentoring Programmes pair students aged 10-17 with a mentor who provides help with school work, social skills, and confidence-building, encouraging the young people to think about their futures and raise their aspirations.
Skills Builder
The Skills Builder Partnership work with our school to build essential skills education into the everyday curriculum. Their eight core skills can be viewed below. Children work on project days, focusing on developing one or two of the skills in relation to their age expectation.
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More information can be found at their website:
Pupil Voice
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