The term Personal Development at Sir John Hunt encompasses:

 
• Personal Development (PD) and Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSC) 

   (as defined by the Ofsted inspectors handbook 2019)
• Modern British Values and Citizenship (as outlined in the National Curriculum);
• Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)
• Collective worship and spirituality
• Sir John Hunt’s College attributes and Character education
• Careers Advice and Guidance (as defined by the Gatsby benchmarks)

Nationally there has been much debate about the importance of Personal Development and the delivery of RSE and it features significantly in the School Inspection Handbook. The College adopts an embedded approach for its delivery and the strands feature in curriculum time, assemblies, extracurricular experiences, and the College’s leadership and volunteering programme.

All students in Years 7-9 have a 50-minute timetabled lesson each week for Personal Development, which is delivered by a subject specialist. This learning is enhanced through a series of six structured Drop Down Days (DDD) across all three Key Stages and a weekly session during AM Reg for Key Stages 3 and 4.

 
Curriculum Audits have enabled topics to be highlighted that are not sufficiently covered in depth across the Curriculum and these, along with parent and staff feedback and student surveys have shaped the themes and planning for each Drop Down Day and the College’s weekly AM reg and assembly programme.

 
Students in Key Stages 3 have a total of 72.5 hours of Personal Development a year (32.5 hours lessons, 10 hours AM Reg and 30 hours Drop Down Days) and Key Stage 4 have a total of 40 hours Personal Development across a typical academic year (10 hours during AM Reg and 30 hours Drop Down Days).