Personal Development

Students spend more time in school in their timetabled lessons than outside of these.  As well as this, lessons are accessed by every child in the school.  Simply put, what takes place in lessons is the foundation for personal development and something upon which the other key elements of our approach can build.

Key points about the way our academic curriculum supports personal development include:

• We plan our curriculum as a 5 year educational journey and create space within it to allow activities and experiences that go beyond it.
• We plan to go beyond the National Curriculum at KS4 and KS4, ensuring there is depth of understanding for students that supports them at SCC and in the future.
• There is a strong base of traditional ‘academic’ subjects with large numbers of students following the EBacc, studying separate science and studying one of two foreign languages.
• We place great value on creative and practical subjects and large numbers of students thrive in studying these throughout their time at the school.
• We place great value on RE and Digital Literacy as subjects in their own right, but also for the way they contribute to developing personal qualities and skills.
• We ensure that the curriculum adapts to the needs of individual children, but always by ensuring it is as ambitious and broad as is appropriate for them.

We believe that educational visits can play an important role in deepening the learning and progress of our students.  With this in mind, we focus on the following when identifying the educational visits that will take place each year:

• We will operate educational visits that link closely to subject curriculums and enhance these, but also offer other visits that have clear benefits to our students where there is no specific curriculum link.
• We will prioritise visits that are repeatable from one academic year to the next and can therefore become part of a clearly planned programme of experiences that students take part in during their time at the school.
• We will prioritise visits that are accessible to large numbers of students (including where appropriate full year group cohorts) to maximise the number of students who are able to take part and benefit from the visit that takes place.
• We will prioritise visits that gives students access to experiences that would not otherwise be readily available to them.

Amongst the visits that take place each year that are accessible to full cohorts (or the vast majority of a year group cohort) are the following:

• Residential visit to an outdoor education centre for all Y7 students that is supported by Laidlaw X funding and supports the transition to secondary school, with a specific focus on developing key skills including ‘Teamwork’, ‘Staying Positive’ and ‘Leadership’.
• Full year group visit to Washington Wetlands Centre at the end of Y7 to support learning in Science and our STEM curriculum.
• All students in Y9 visit Durham University to highlight the possibilities of higher education and focus on the skill of ‘Aiming High’.
• All students in Y10 take part in multiple visits to local education and / or training providers as a key element of our Careers Journey at SCC.
• At the start of each year, all students are invited to take part in our end of year ‘Rewards Visit’ to celebrate exceptional behaviour in school across the year.  Each year, upwards of 80% of the students invited are successful in taking up their place on this visit.

As well as this, there are a range of other visits that are linked to specific subjects or which are designed to meet the additional needs of specific student groups and annual visits of this nature include:

• Visits to multiple places of worship that are linked to the RE curriculum.
• Visits to a range of locations including Beamish Museum to support the studies of students in Art and Digital Photography.
• Theatre visits to local theatres to enrich the English curriculum.
• Annual residential visit to a WWII battlefield site in mainland Europe to support the History curriculum.
• Annual residential visit to a European ski resort offered through the PE department.
• Programme of visits to Hardwick Park for targeted groups of students to take part in outdoor learning experiences to support their transition from primary to secondary education.

We believe that by bringing guest speakers into school or external groups to work with our students, this allows us to ensure the largest possible number of students can benefit from these experiences. 

Once again, we prioritise repeatable experiences and this means we have now been able to create a comprehensive calendar of annual experiences that support the personal development of our students and some of the key elements of this are summarised below:

• A wide range of careers events each year that include the following:
  • Post 16 Options Event attended by local post 16 education / training providers and a range of local employers.
  • Employer talks programme.
  • Employer mock interviews.
• STEM focused workshops and experiences including:
  • Medical Mavericks workshops focusing on science knowledge and careers in the medical sector for all students in Y9.
  • STEM workshops for all students in Y10 focused on creating working miniature cars.
  • Happy Puzzle Company workshops for all students in Y8 linked to Maths curriculum and focused on developing a range of skills including problem solving.
  • Involvement in STEM competitions including the ‘Teen Tech’ award and ‘Lego Leagues’.
• Creative and performing arts focused workshops and experiences including:
  • Comic book artist workshop for all students during Y8.
  • Series of dance workshops involving professional dance companies targeted at engaging all students in dance and supporting the development of a range of key skills including Aiming High.
  • Multiple opportunities for involvement in musical groups in school (e.g. school band or school choir) and then perform for audiences in school (Christmas Concert / Spring Music Showcase) or outside of school during community events (e.g. annual performance at Dementia Café).
  • Annual school production during the summer term and opportunities for students to act, dance, sing or be involved in the behind-the-scenes elements of the production.
  • Annual SCC Art Exhibition to showcase the exceptional artwork produced by SCC students through the curriculum in Art to our school and wider community.
• Team Sedgefield sporting events that include the following:
  • Representing Team Sedgefield in a wide range of sports across the course of each academic year, including football, cricket, netball, dodgeball and athletics.
  • Participation in sporting festivals and high-profile events each year such as ‘Sports Hall Athletics’.
  • Leadership opportunities for our SCC Sports Leaders at a range of events each year and notably the Primary Olympics Festival that is typically hosted at our school.

In order to ensure 100% of our students are able to fully access our comprehensive programme of enrichment opportunities, we have taken the decision to extend our school day for all students on a Wednesday each week and this is when our ‘Super Curriculum’ takes place.  In a school where the majority of students rely on school buses to travel to school each day, extending the school day in this way removes the barrier of transport and means we can be confident that every child is able to access the opportunities that our Super Curriculum provides.

There are two key strands to our weekly ‘Super Curriculum’ and these are detailed below:

Explore – At SCC, we believe that students’ learning journey through school is not just about securing academic qualifications; we value the whole experience that our students receive. We understand that time spent developing wider interests and skills is crucial to ensuring our students leave us as well-rounded citizens.

Through the EXPLORE element of our Super Curriculum, we offer a wide range of activities for students to engage with support their broader development and helping them find and develop new interests and talents.

Students choose from a wide range of staff-led activities that have been designed to support the development of personal interests, talents, or goals. Activities vary each term and are designed to be inclusive, purposeful, and engaging. Each option aligns with one or more of the seven themes that underpin our Super Curriculum, ensuring breadth and balance across the programme.  Our 7 core themes are:

• Sport, Health and Wellbeing
• STEM
• Academic Enrichment and Study Skills
• Creative and Performing Arts
• Leadership and Citizenship
• Life Skills and Enterprise
• Cultural and Global Awareness

Core - The Core element of our Super Curriculum is designed to provide students with opportunities to learn about important issues, events and concepts, extending their knowledge and understanding from what they learn about in their day to day lessons.

Students follow a planned sequence of units designed to develop and extend students’ knowledge and understanding from what they have learned about in their day to day lessons. These units ensure students receive a shared entitlement to key knowledge, skills, and experiences that support their academic progression and life readiness.

We want to equip our students with the skills necessary to work effectively with one another and where appropriate to provide leadership to others.  With this in mind, we have created a range of opportunities in school for students to either formally or informally have a voice about the operation of their school and to contribute to the way that the school functions.

Key elements of our Student Voice and our linked student leadership opportunities are summarised below:

• Our Y11 Student Leadership group has an important role in chairing our Student Voice group and meets regularly with other key leaders in the school, including the Headteacher.  Students become part of this group through a rigorous application and interview process.
• Students in each year group can apply to become part of our Student Voice group for the academic year.  After an election process, members of this group meet regularly as a group and with key leaders in the school to provide a structure for students to communicate their views and ideas for the effective running of their school.
• We have a range of more specific student leadership opportunities in school and these would include our PE Student Leaders and our school librarians.
• A number of student groups have been created in response to feedback from our student body.  These groups meet regularly with the support of SCC staff and include our LGBT+ Group and the Christian Union Group.

All of our students take part in regular SMSC lessons across the time that they spend at Sedgefield Community College.  These lessons are used as a key element of our approach to the delivery of PSHE (including RSHE), Citizenship and careers education.  There is a focus in these lessons on teaching our students how to live safe and productive lives, engaging fully with society and understanding how they can make a positive contribution to the wider world around them.

In addition to the carefully sequenced SMSC curriculum lessons relating to PSHE and Citizenship, we supplement these lessons with a range of activities and opportunities such as those detailed below:

• Extended Citizenship units during our school’s Super Curriculum, including those focused on developing first-aid skills.
• Workshops and guest speakers coming into school to work with students such as the Diversity Role Models group or the involvement of ‘The Naked Truth’ organisation to support our delivery of RSHE.

The Sedgefield Careers Journey spans the entire time that our students are members of our school community.  We have a particular focus on raising the awareness of all of our students of the range of possible routes that are available to them for further study or their future career(s) after leaving SCC.  We carefully balance a careers education and guidance programme that raises aspiration and a full awareness of different opportunities with more precise guidance relating to how precisely to pursue a desired route.

In addition to the careers lessons within our Super Curriculum, the following are just some of the key elements of our careers Journey:

• Regular opportunities to listen to and question local employers as part of our programme of employer talks in school.
• Opportunities to visit local further and higher education providers.
• Opportunities to visit local employers and gain a direct insight into the workplace through work experiences activities or through our programme of employer visits.
• Opportunities to find out about apprenticeship routes through our links with various apprenticeships providers and also local employers.
• Development of interview skills through participation in our employer interviews during Y10.
• Access to impartial careers advice and guidance through the school’s career advisor and also the close working relationship we have with DurhamWorks.

Subject areas explicitly focusing on careers linked to the specific subject area and forming close links with employers and local training providers where appropriate (e.g. links with Dance City Dance Academy).

• Weekly assembly programme with a theme of ‘understanding and engaging with the wider world’.  Our aim is to support students in developing their own informed point of view about current events or topical issues.
• Assemblies always link to one of our Laidlaw values and / or Skills Builder skills and explicitly focus on the importance of this value / skill and how best to develop it.
• Thoughts for the Week are shared with all students each week and encourage students to develop an informed view about topical events.  There is a focus on structured discussion and each set of ‘thoughts’ leads to an online vote about the topic.

In September 2024, we introduced the ‘Skills Builder’ approach to support our students in developing eight essential skills that we all need to develop if we are to achieve success:

• Listening: the ability to receive, retain and process information or ideas that you have listened to.
• Speaking: the ability to verbally communicate information or ideas.
• Problem Solving: the ability to find a solution to a situation or challenge.
• Creativity: the use of imagination and the generation of new ideas.
• Staying Positive: the ability to manage your emotions to use tactics and strategies to overcome setbacks and achieve goals.
• Aiming High: the ability to set clear, tangible goals and devise a robust route to achieving them.
• Leadership: supporting, encouraging and developing others to achieve a shared goal.
• Teamwork: working cooperatively with others to achieve a shared goal.

Each skill is broken down into 16 steps that move from ‘Getting Started’ in the skill to being able to demonstrate ‘Mastery’. 

Specific elements of our Skills Builder approach are summarised below:

• Our assembly programme explicitly focuses on the 8 essential skills, supporting our students to understand the value of these skills and how to employ them effectively.
• We have a consistent approach to highlighting where a particular skill will support the students to make excellent progress in lessons and ensure explicit teaching of the relevant skill at these times.
• Our extensive programme of educational visits, guest speakers and other events / activities in school, student leadership opportunities and our Super Curriculum enrichment programme have been carefully mapped against the Skills Builder skills.  We provide regular and meaningful opportunities for students to practise their skills in different contexts.
• We encourage students to take ownership of their own skill development through a structured self-reflection process and also involve our families through regular Skills Builder updates that are sent home.
• Students are rewarded for their ability to demonstrate the Skills Builder skills.  As well as being awarded ‘praises’ in lessons linked to these skills, there are also opportunities for students to earn our Skills Builder pin badges in a variety of ways (including the Experiences Passport) to showcase and further promote the importance of skill development.

For more information about Skills Builder, please click the links below to view our Skills Builder Handbook  and the Skills Builder - 8 Key Skills document.

Skills Builder School Guide 2025-2026

Skills Builder - 8 Key Skills

Key elements of the school rewards programme are listed below:

• Students can earn ‘praise points’ in lessons for demonstrating one of the Skills Builder skills.  These ‘praise points’ can then be spent on a range of experiences or prizes in our ‘Sedgefield Rewards Shop’ that opens in the final week of each half-term.
• Students can also earn ‘praise points’ for an excellent approach to homework and this links to our key personal development aims relating to homework.
• We want all students to have multiple memorable experiences during this time at the school and these are provided in many ways such as through our programme of educational visits and a comprehensive range of school-based experiences.  However, we also see the rewards programme as being central in providing memorable experiences that are accessible to all:
  • Each half-term, students can join the audience for the ‘Sedgefield Wheel of Wonder’ prize draw and guess who is this half-term’s ‘Masked Spinner’!
  • All students join the Christmas and summer celebration days and take part in a wide range of experiences such as our silent disco, whole school bingo, inflatable assault course and our year group rewards assemblies.
  • All students in Y7 to Y10 have the opportunity to take part in our end of year rewards visit linked to excellent behaviour across the year – each year approximately 80% of students are able to access this.
  • We celebrate the conclusion of Y11 with several events: Y11 Leavers’ Celebration; Y11 Prom (with all Y11 students given the opportunity to purchase a ticket through the ‘Sedgefield Rewards Shop’) and the Y11 Certificate Event.
  • Additional rewards focused on students developing excellent skills linked to the Skills Builder approach.

Our approach to supporting home learning at SCC has an explicit focus on the personal development of our students.  The approach to homework is designed in such a way that it has three key aims and these are detailed below:

• To provide regular opportunities for meaningful retrieval practice of vital knowledge.
• To provide meaningful opportunities for spaced learning to ensure depth of understanding.
• To support students to become independent learners, developing their ability to manage their time and prioritise and becoming expert in a bank of key revision techniques.

As with many other elements of our approach to personal development, there is a focus on supporting our students to develop the personal qualities and skills necessary to think for themselves and take responsibility for their own future development.

In September 2025, we are introducing our ‘Experiences Passport’.  This passport is primarily for students in Y7, but is available for all students across the school.

The passport lists a wide range of experiences and activities that we are challenging our students to complete.  These experiences encourage our students to try new things and also ensure that they are accessing opportunities to develop their key skills and personal qualities in a wide variety of contexts.

The various strands of our school approach to personal development provide students with opportunities to ‘complete’ many of the experiences on the passport:

• Experiences that are part of our ambitious school curriculum and take place during subject lessons.
• Experiences that can be accessed through our comprehensive programme of educational visits, guest speakers and workshops in school.
• Experiences that are available through our Super Curriculum and most notably the enrichment element of this.
• Opportunities to represent the school in sport, linked to the creative arts or as one of our student leadership groups.

When students have completed their ‘Experiences Passport’, the final stage is for it to be signed by a parent / carer and then presented to a senior member of staff in school.  The student will then discuss the experiences, providing another opportunity to develop vital speaking skills and then earn a ‘Skills Builder Reward Badge’ to celebrate their achievement.

Whilst one key principle of our approach to personal development is the desire to ensure an exceptional programme of experiences and opportunities for all, another is to ensure that we can provide further support or a personalised experience for any of our students who require this. 

Whilst there are an enormous number of ways in which we ensure such support can be provided, some of the key elements of our approach are summarised below:

• Enhanced transition programme from primary to secondary school for any students who require this and most for students with identified SEND.  We have created significant additional capacity in our SEND team to be able to offer a personalised transition programme that begins long before students join our school.
• During Y7 and Y8, we run a forest schools programme and this is targeted at young people who need further transition support after joining SCC and there is a focus on developing skills such as ‘Staying Positive’, ‘Teamwork’ and ‘Leadership’.
• Our school ‘Wellbeing Room’ operates every day at lunchtime and is a calm and supportive environment that is very well-attended by students who might otherwise find the experience of a large secondary school to be a little daunting.
• We run a homework club every Tuesday and Thursday and whilst designed for all students, this is accessed by many of our students with identified SEND who enjoy attending and find the additional staff support that is available to be beneficial.
• During the final months of Y11, we carefully target students who will benefit from the additional support of a school mentor.
• We work closely with a wide range of professionals and external agencies to provide the additional support that students may sometimes need.  We have access to our own school counselling service and a wide range of additional expert support through our strong partnerships.

In addition to the points above, there are three whole school approaches that are designed to benefit every child, but where the positive impact is greatest for those who require additional support.

• Super Curriculum Enrichment – Extensive evidence confirms that there is a huge disparity in the range of opportunities that our students are supported to participate in outside of school.  Whilst the Super Curriculum enrichment programme is beneficial for all, for some students, it is providing further experiences to supplement those that they are already accessing at home.  However, we have a significant cohort of students who do not have access to activities of this kind outside of school.  Whilst all of the students benefit from taking part in our enrichment programme, it is this second group of students where the benefit is greatest.
• Rainbow Flag Award – The school is proud to have achieved the Rainbow Flag Award that demonstrates our commitment to ensuring a supportive and inclusive environment for all. 
• Carnegie Mental Health Award Gold – The school is proud to have achieved the Carnegie Mental Health Award and this reflects our commitment to supporting the positive mental health and wellbeing of all members of our school community. 

As a member of the Laidlaw Schools Trust, we are fortunate to access additional charitable funding through the Laidlaw Foundation.  This funding is ring-fenced and focused on two key priorities:

• Supporting the character education of our students.
• Providing opportunities for our students to participate in extraordinary experiences during their time at the school.

We use this funding to support many elements of our school approach to supporting exceptional personal development for our students.  It is due to this funding that we are able to provide so many activities and experiences that can be made available to large numbers of students and which help us to ensure equality of opportunity for our children and access to additional support for those who may require this in order to achieve their full potential.