Personal Development

At Brownhills West, we do not just want the children to succeed academically; we want to develop the whole child. Personal development is at the core of our enrichment offer. Our children have many different talents and abilities. We therefore want to foster knowledge, skills, abilities and understanding development in many non-statutory but highly important areas further encouraging our children to DREAM BIG.

 

Enrichment

  

Whole School Theme Days

Throughout the year, themed days/weeks are woven into the curriculum to extend the breadth and balance of opportunities we offer our children. These include Anti-bullying Week, Online Safety Day, Black History Month, Sport and Health Week, Mini-enterprise Day, Science Day, European Day of Languages, RE Days and others.

Forest School and Outdoor Learning

Forest School is an initiative designed to encourage and inspire individuals of any age through an innovative, long term, educational approach to outdoor play and learning in a woodland environment. As a school, we are fortunate enough to have our own Forest School are and a teacher trained to deliver the Forest School Programme. 

Educational Visits

School trips and visits are an integral part of the education of children at Brownhills West Primary. We value the opportunities such visits offer our children and the commitment of staff and adults undertaking them. Trips include class visits aimed at bringing learning alive and providing first-hand experience. Extra-curricular outings such as activities with the school choir or sporting events provide the experience of taking part in performances or competitions. We aim to give every child the opportunity to represent our school in anything before they leave us at the end of Year 6.

Visitors to Our School

Visitors (in person and virtual) have a valuable role to play and can contribute to many aspects of the life and work of our school. They deliver talks, workshops and full day activities across a wide range of subject, giving children access to outside experiences and expertise. Visitors provide a link with he wider community - children have the opportunity to work alongside artists, musicians, authors, health professionals and others.

Termly career workshops introduce children to the world of work, develop career-related learning and breakdown gender stereotypes. Presentations introduce children to different career options and aim to increase aspirations while also raising self-esteem and breaking down barriers. Talks are wide-ranging reflecting different employment strategies and delivered by both men and women.

After School Clubs

We offer children opportunities to participate in extra-curricular activities after school free of charge to all. At any time, a wide range of clubs is on offer - our programmes of clubs and activities is revised termly depending on the time of year. Clubs are shared at the beginning of a half term, and parent will use our online booking system to confirm the child(ren)'s place. Below is an example of an after school club offer. 

Autumn 1
Day	Club Title	Age Groups	Amount of children	Run by
Tuesday	Outdoor Games	Years 1-3	20	Mr Bunn
Friday	Spooky Creative Club	Years 2-6	15	Miss Puddy
Friday (Lunchtime)	Choir	Years 3 - 6	30	Mrs Briley
Thursday	Commando Joe’s	Years 4 - 6	20	Mr McNamee
Thursday	Cheerleading	Years 1,2 & 3	20	Mrs Samra

 

Autumn 2
Day	Club Title	Age Groups	Amount of children	Run by
Thursday	Cheerleading	Years 1,2 & 3	20	Mrs Samra
Tuesday	Lego	Years 1-4	20	Mrs Winfield
Friday (Lunchtime)	Choir	Years 3-6	30	Mrs Briley
Monday	Indoor Ball Club (Bench, Dodge, Hand)	Years 4 - 6	20	Miss Millward

Music

We provide opportunities for children to take part in a wide range of musical activities and performances where they are encouraged to sing, compose and work creatively with sound. Through active listening, children's awareness, understanding and appreciation of a wide variety of music are developed. A range of opportunities are provided within and beyond the curriculum for children to showcase their musical skills and talent. For example, every year our older children take part in Young Voices, where school choirs across the Midlands region come together to perform at the Genting Arena in Birmingham. We also work closely with Brownhills Ormiston Academy to provide opportunities for children to further develop and deepen their musical knowledge and skills, supporting a smooth transition to secondary school and preparing them for the next stage of their musical journey.

Assemblies

A rounded programme of daily assemblies helps to promote children's spiritual, moral and cultural development, and provide clear guidance on what is right and what is wrong. Children are taught about our British Values and protected characteristics. We also welcome guests to deliver assemblies, which are held to inspire children and raise aspirations around potential careers for the future.

 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Being Brownhills Best Values and Special Events	n/a	Singing	Picture News	Praise Assembly

Opportunities to Volunteer

Volunteering is an activity that everyone can get involved in and benefit from. At Brownhills West Primary, we promote and encourage children's active citizenship and positive contribution to the school and wider community. We offer many opportunities for children to take on new responsibilities and be involved in successfully supporting the life and work of the school. These include elected representatives on our School Council, Eco Committee, Digital Leaders, Junior Health and Safety Officers and RotaKids. Older children can also apply and be interviewed for positions such as Playground Leaders and Class Librarians, and within classes children can volunteer to take on various responsibilities ranging from collecting and distributing equipment to supporting staff members in delivering assemblies.

 

Children tell us that they enjoy the opportunity to volunteer to help make our school an even better place to be and rising to the challenge that additional responsibilities bring.