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Charles Read High School


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

Three coordinators working together produce a cohesive programme covering all areas of personal development and taught by form tutors.

The school

Charles Read High School is a rural, 11-16 mixed comprehensive school with approximately 200 students. Students are taken from a large area of rural Lincolnshire between Grantham and Bourne. A high proportion have challenging home backgrounds, so personal development is a particularly important part of the curriculum.

The programme

The programme is called Citizenship, PSHE and Careers (CPC) and provides a coordinated approach to all areas of personal development. It is structured as a series of small units which are covered in two to six lessons, so one or two themes can be taught during each half term. Students tend to see it as a single subject made up of a series of modules such as citizenship, drugs education and personal finance education.

Teaching and learning

In key stage 3, CPC is taught in two fifty-minute lessons each week. In key stage 4, there is one 50-minute CPC lesson per week. The programme is taught by form tutors and the three specialist staff who coordinate the programme. Teaching assistants are involved in most of the lessons.

Elements of tutorial time, 'Thought for the Week' and assemblies also contribute to the programme. As a small school, Charles Read recognised that opportunities for covering the personal development curriculum would need to be identified in other subjects. For example, in English there is planned coverage of rights and responsibilities in year 10 and empathising with the lives of others in year 11.

Time spent on additional off-timetable activities varies according to the year group, but includes two weeks of work experience in year 10. In key stage 4 students are involved in Rotary Club activities and have mock interviews. In both key stages 3 and 4, a wide range of visiting speakers contribute to the programme.

Coordination

In this small school staffing is an issue. At the start of each year a list of ‘backup staff’ is formed to help minimise disruption. Staff absence can test the quality of the coordination in order to keep everything running smoothly.

There are three coordinators for the CPC programme:

the coordinator for PSHE, citizenship, and sex and relationship education
the head of RE
the head of careers, who manages careers and work-related education.

The three coordinators work together to plan the curriculum and put together a programme of study which identifies the topics to be taught, the resources needed, the contributions of other subjects, the intended outcomes and how students could be assessed. Learning is intended to be as practical and active as possible. Each coordinator has responsibility for monitoring the teaching of their own components.

Assessment

Formal assessment takes place each half term. Assessment decisions are recorded and used as part of an annual report to parents. However, the focus tends to be on levels of involvement rather than on measured attainment

Evaluation

Evaluation is based mainly on comments from staff, who aim to reflect the reactions of students. Students are encouraged to identify aspects of the programme that they find either problematic or useful.