Personal Development at Northfield Primary School
At Northfield, we are committed to developing the whole child. Our Personal Development (PD) programme helps children to grow academically, socially, morally, culturally, and emotionally. Through a rich curriculum, co-curricular activities, trips, leadership opportunities, and real-world experiences, we ensure every child thrives and develops the skills and confidence for life beyond school. Central to this work are our PRIDE values - Perseverance, Respect, Independence, Determination and Excellence. These values are explicitly taught, consistently modelled, and celebrated weekly across the school. They underpin everything we do and provide our pupils with a strong sense of identity and belonging. At Northfield, PRIDE defines who we are, guides how we treat one another, and shapes the positive, ambitious culture in which our pupils succeed together as a community.
Curriculum
Our curriculum forms the foundation of personal development at Northfield. We follow the National Curriculum, ensuring that all pupils acquire the essential knowledge and skills across subjects.
We are proud to use LYFTA, an online platform that offers immersive, global learning experiences. Through LYFTA, children can explore different cultures, connect with global perspectives, and develop empathy and understanding. This transformational tool allows pupils to engage with real-world issues and reflect on their own experiences, helping to build confident, well-rounded citizens.
Talents & Interests
We celebrate pupils' achievements both inside and outside the classroom. Every class has achievement boards where children can share successes from home, reinforcing our school PRIDE values.
Our Northfield Talent Show, hosted at the world-famous Production Park in South Kirby, gives pupils the chance to shine in front of the local community. The year concludes with our prestigious Northfield Value Awards, a celebration of pupils' accomplishments and a recognition of those who exemplify our school values throughout the year.
Co-Curricular
At Northfield, we believe that every child should have the opportunity to explore and enjoy a wide range of activities. Our lunch-time clubs provide fun, enrichment, and skill development across sports, arts, and hobbies.
We also collaborate with external providers to broaden the offer, including Forest School sessions for outdoor learning and Classroom Kitchen activities to develop practical life skills. These experiences help children discover new passions and build confidence in diverse areas of learning.
Trips, Visits & Experiences
We have a Northfield 50 Experiences Passport, designed to give every child 50 memorable experiences during their time at our school. From cultural trips to practical workshops, these experiences enhance learning and personal growth.
The launch was marked by a special video from Sir Kevin Sinfield, inspiring the whole school community. In an unforgettable event, pupils completed 5 marathons in 5 days, highlighting the importance of teamwork, resilience, and ambition.
World of Work
Pupil leadership is at the heart of Northfield. A wide range of roles encourages responsibility, teamwork, and initiative, preparing children for their next stage of education.
Our Eco Leaders promote environmental awareness and community action, making a difference locally and globally. Meanwhile, our Pupil-Led Tuck Shop helps children understand money management, entrepreneurship, and communication with parents and the wider community.
Through these opportunities, pupils develop essential life skills and an understanding of the world of work, preparing them for the future with confidence and ambition.
British Values
Here at Northfield Primary School, we recognise the multi-faith and multi-cultural make-up of the United Kingdom, and believe it is important to promote the inclusive values that make Britain great.
We are an inclusive school. We welcome all pupils entitled to education under British law, whatever their faith, ethnicity, gender, political viewpoints, sexuality, or gender.
Here are some of the ways that we seek to promote British Values at Northfield:
We ensure that children are given a voice. They are empowered by being given opportunities to make choices about things they believe are important. Our school behaviour systems encourage pupils to respect the idea of democracy and respect the views of others.
Children are taught to understand the principles of rules, which enable a community – like a school – to work well. This is supported by our Community Police Officer. Children understand our behaviour systems and the rules we must follow, this helps pupils to make decisions and choices that are acceptable to the school community and society at large. We help pupils learn to manage their behaviour and take responsibility for their actions. We teach them to recognise right from wrong and why we have rules in school and society.
Within PE lessons and in the range of sports clubs which take place at Northfield, children learn and follow the rules and regulations of the sport being undertaken. Pupils understand and follow the rules, insisting on fairness and sportsmanship. They then extend this to the games they play in their free time in the playground as well as when taking part in sporting events across the Trust as part of the PAT games.
We encourage pupils to become good and valued citizens. We do this by supporting each pupil to become as independent as possible. Some pupils will be able to take responsibility for particular roles, such as Junior Librarians, School Council Representatives, hall monitors or playground leaders. They understand that with certain rights comes a level of responsibility.
We celebrate achievements in assemblies and with certificates. We encourage children to be proud of their achievements, both in and out of school. We encourage children to take responsibility for their behaviour, to challenge stereotypes and to spread an anti-bullying culture.
We promote each pupil’s inclusion in a range of activities, settings and locations. Our pupils go into the community to meet with a range of people in a variety of situations which include sports events, community events and shared participation with other schools. It is important for our school to be part of the community as the pupils, families and staff have much to offer in the development of community cohesion.
As we live in a multi-faith society, we promote the belief that each person is respected and valued equally without regard to ability, gender, faith, heritage or race. Cultural appreciation and development forms part of our curriculum. We celebrate faiths throughout the year with assemblies, workshops and drop-down days, where parents are actively encouraged to participate. We celebrate our differences and pupils are mutually respectful of these.
We teach Religious Education (RE) in each year group at Northfield. Our RE curriculum offers a broad and balanced education on a range of faiths, religions and cultures.
Throughout school, we encourage children to discuss the differences between people, such as their faith, ethnicity, disability, gender and sexuality. We also help them to explore different kinds of lifestyle, including relationships and families and bodily choices.