Personal Development

Exceptional Personal Development at Red Lane

Our offering at Red Lane goes far beyond the academic curriculum provided; a heavy emphasis is placed on the holistic development of our pupils’. Evidenced initially through our Red Lane Way: the personal and social development of pupils cannot be left to chance and is underpinned by the school mission, core values and mantra. The explicit teaching of ‘how to be’ known as ‘The Red Lane Way’ is key to supporting pupils’ personal and educational journey through school and on into adulthood. Further to this approach, personal development is embedded throughout our curriculum, with carefully planned opportunities meeting the needs of our pupils’ and opening them to the wider world beyond school.

School provides high-quality pastoral support, overseen by our Inclusion Team. The Thrive Approach provides an evidence-based, structured system, which is used to assess the personal and social development of all our pupils. This rigorous approach enables the team to identify the support needed for all pupils. School’s trained Thrive practitioner supports the assessment of all pupils and subsequent development of whole class and, where needed, individualised action plans. The appointment of a new member of the pastoral team, who has experience working with the local authority Behaviour Support Service and specialist provision facilities, has enabled the school to offer further alternative interventions, providing additional bespoke support to parents and families. Pastoral staff develop exceptional relationships with pupils and provide a safe space for them to work and share their concerns or worries.

Developing a broader offering, the school works with numerous external agencies, many with a focus on the holistic development of our pupils: Bolton Wanderers in The Community provide life skills and leadership programmes to pupils throughout KS2; one-to-one listening sessions support pupils’ emotional needs through work with King’s Church Listening Service; Bright Leaders deliver a mixture of whole class, one-to-one and small group programmes developing the leadership skills and aspirations of pupils to name just a few.

Ensuring that our Year 6 pupils are prepared for the next stage in their educational journey, a range of impactful activities are arranged. Year 6 take part in the Crucial Crew experience, building on their understanding of how to keep themselves safe in the wider world, skills and knowledge further developed through our PSHCE curriculum. Bolton Wanderers in the Community (BWiTC) deliver whole-class transition programmes through the summer term and individual pupils are identified who may need enhanced transition packages. As part of the school’s work with BWiTC, a member of their staff works with a selection of pupils on a one-to-one basis during their final term at Red Lane. This support continues throughout the pupils’ first year at high school. Maintaining this consistent relationship ensures pupils have the best opportunity to succeed through the transition process.  

The development of pupils’ individual talents is highly valued and opportunities are carefully planned. The school’s specialist music provider (ALFA Education) work with all children, developing a curriculum offering to meet the national curriculum expectations and the needs of the pupils’. All pupils’ are given the opportunity to learn the ukulele at the beginning of KS2; pupils are also given the chance to join the school’s choir. Throughout the year the choir perform at a number of venues and events: Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, The Toughsheet Stadium and the local care home to name just some. In addition to the choir performances, pupils also put on a wonderful pantomime performance on our KS2 stage, an opportunity which built on the nativity performances of our KS1 pupils.

The value of inclusion and equality is central to the opportunities on offer. Breaking Limits workshops delivered to all pupils, highlighted the importance of facing challenges in life and overcoming these; our visitor shared his journey from being told he would never walk to the many things that he has achieved throughout his life. Year 4 and 5 children took part in the Show Racism the Red Card event at Bolton Wanderer’s Toughsheet Stadium, engaging in thoughtful and impactful workshops. School’s clubs programme is carefully structured to ensure all children have the opportunity to take part in an extra-curricular activity. The range of activities is broad and varied: cooking club, singing, art and craft and a variety of sports clubs are on offer. Inclusive sporting opportunities have been developed in collaboration with our PE specialist provider (Greater Goals) and BWiTC. We are extremely proud of our sporting success over the past few years and this continued last year.  

At Red Lane, we recognise that a broad and rich series of life-experiences is essential in developing aspirations and an understanding of the wider world. Purposeful opportunities are carefully planned throughout pupils’ journeys through school, including visits to farms, zoos and local art galleries, culminating in overnight visits in Years 5 and 6. All pupils in Year 5 are offered the opportunity to take part in a two-day visit to London: pupils visit the Tower of London, Natural History Museum, eat out a restaurant, see a show at a London theatre and visit the Harry Potter experience at the Warner Brothers’ Studios. Year 6 pupils finish their time at Red Lane with a residential trip to Dobroyd Castle in Todmorden with Robinwood. This trip acts as a fantastic opportunity to make life-long memories, celebrate their time at Red Lane and develop new skills, trying activities that they have not before. Recognising the challenges facing families with the costs of these trips, school makes a significant commitment to reduce the costs annually for all pupils.

Throughout KS2, the school has developed an enrichment programme which enhances the curriculum offering and provides new and different experiences. A purposeful programme has been planned by school leaders in conjunction with external agencies to engage children in exciting learning opportunities. Year 6 take part in the ‘Growth Project’, building on their economic understanding from the delivery of our PSHCE curriculum. Children are provided with a budget and work collaboratively to develop a business plan; they are then given the chance to run their stall for the other children in school and assess the overall effectiveness of their business. Further enrichment opportunities include community outreach projects in each KS2 year group, STEM projects, Money Sense programmes, Forest School and the Play Leaders project for Year 5 delivered in conjunction with BWiTC.

Pupil leadership has been a key area of development at Red Lane, as we believe that the best schools have a strong pupil voice and a culture led by the pupils. The prefect team, including the Head Boy and Head Girl, are leading lights of our pupil leadership programme. A challenging application and interview process ensures pupils understand the importance of the role and significance of their commitment to the school and its community. A key aspect of the application process includes prefects suggesting changes that they would like to make to improve the school. Throughout their year in role, prefects are supported to implement their vision working as a team. The Head Boy and Girl also take a leading role on the School Council. With the support of the lead member of staff, they organise meetings, collate ideas and feedback from other pupils, present plans to the Head of School and support implementation. In conjunction with Bright Leaders and BWiTC, the school has worked to develop the role of Play Leaders, with older children taking on the position of role models supporting the younger children to engage appropriately with games and activities during the lunch period.

With aspiration a Core Value at the school, we strive to enhance the pupils’ awareness of careers and future prospects. Whilst the ‘Growth Project’ and ‘Money Sense’ enrichment programmes provide a basis for this, further opportunities are carefully developed. In collaboration with The Brilliant Club, a selection of our Year 6 pupils take part in the Scholars Project. Pupils engage with PhD students from a local university to complete a study and produce a report. The programme runs throughout the autumn term and culminates in a graduation at the university in the spring. In order to enhance our careers teaching, the school is taking part in a careers pilot project, developing a programme of careers study, enhancing the pupils’ understanding of careers available to them and taking part in a Careers Day – with visitors from different fields and industries.

Throughout a child’s journey at Red Lane, we aim to engage them in exciting learning opportunities which develop them in a holistic manner and set them on a road to success on their journey through life.