Personal Development

Personal development is a core focus area of the school ethos as we see this as being directly linked to improving the life chances of our learners. As such we regard PSHE as a core subject within our curriculum. This enhanced focus recognises the importance of this subject in supporting our pupils’ life skills. Staff continuously model these skills throughout the school day to ensure that they are not only featured in cross curricular learning strands but that pupils see these being used in a variety of contexts.

Medina House has an extensive Mental Health Support Team which ensures that all pupils’ needs are being met and to ensure that they have access to these essential therapies. The team consists of two ELSAs and one play therapist who are supported by the whole school mental health lead. Mental Health Action Group meetings are held regularly to ensure that the mental health of all of our school community is considered. Any specific support required is triaged and supported through the most relevant support network, for example sign posting to relevant agencies or support from our family liaison officer.

Pupils regularly focus on the curriculum of our fundamental British Values and these are often seen ‘live’ in school. Examples of these include children being allocated classroom tasks and responsibilities, students voting for their student council representative, enrichment afternoons and celebrations. The school is  active in the local community and regularly visits the local church where we celebrate yearly events such as Harvest Festival and Christingle. Although our students live on an island we are keen to ensure that they are made aware of the wider opportunities made available to them on the mainland as well as participating in events with mainstream pupils for example, sporting tournaments and Dance Live. 

Medina House School prides itself on our inclusivity and ensuring that all pupils are given the opportunities to attend activities in line with their age and stage.  Our focus is always to celebrate everyone as a unique learner whilst encouraging teamwork to ensure that children accept their peers.  All children are encouraged to celebrate each other’s achievements in weekly class assemblies and end of term celebrations; these examples link to our successes of becoming a Rights Respecting School (Silver Award).