The Personal Development Curriculum
Our vision
We provide an outstanding Personal Development Curriculum (PDC) to support the character development of our students throughout their journey at the Academy. At HASU, personal development (PD) refers to “the development of knowledge, skills, dispositions and habits which will promote and support our students in leading healthy, happy and fulfilling adult lives.”
Our curriculum encompasses a wide range of themes including:
- Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE)
- Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)
- Social, Moral, Spiritual & Cultural Education (SMSC)
- Careers Education
- Citizenship Education
You can read more about these themes and more on our Personal Development Curriculum pages.
The Student Experience
Students at HASU experience the PD curriculum through a variety of channels:
- Daily tutor time
- Weekly assemblies
- Termly ‘IID Day’ drop down days
- Participation in our ‘IID Award’ character development programme
- Enrichment
- Educational visits
Tutor Time Programme
The tutor time programme ensures that every student experiences a consistent personal development curriculum, led by their tutor and supported by their Head of Year and the Academy Leadership Group. In Years 7 to 10, every week, each tutor group will have a session of:
- Drop Everything And Read (DEAR)
- Assembly
- PSHE
- Citizenship
- Healthy Harris
In Year 11, students also study our bespoke 'Learning to Learn' curriculum during Tutor Time, incorporating revision skills, study habits and independent learning strategies. This addition to the Tutor Time programme is intended to provide Year 11 with the best possible support as they head towards their mock and formal exams.
Assemblies at HASU
Assemblies are an opportunity for students to come together and learn together about a variety of themes. Assemblies are hosted by the Head of Year, and led by a wide range of staff and students. Assemblies often begin by celebrating the arts through student performances. In any given year, assemblies will focus on a wide variety of themes such as:
- Our academy values (Innovation, Integrity, and Discovery)
- UK Parliament Week
- Black History Month
- European Week of Languages
- Chinese New Year
- Scholarship and challenge
- Sports Relief
And so many more. Each assembly links to our wider personal development curriculum, often introducing, developing or building upon content studied in PSHE and Citizenship lessons.
To find out more about the other elements of our Personal Development curriculum, please follow the links below to the relevant pages:
Termly ‘IID Day’ drop down days
Curriculum Overviews
At the bottom of this page you will find overviews of the Personal Development Curriculum.