What is ‘I MATTER?’
‘I MATTER’ is a new, innovative programme of personal development and character education that is unique to Rednock and that forms one of the ‘golden threads’ of our curriculum. The acronym ‘I MATTER’ stands for a series of six values that were developed based on careful analysis of both the latest educational research and the needs of our students. They provide a framework for our students to develop the positive character traits that we know will help them to be successful both in school and in the wider world.
‘I MATTER’ sits directly underneath our whole school vision statement of ‘everyone matters’; each value encompasses a number of different character traits, described in student-friendly language. These values pervade everything that we do in school, enabling us to consistently teach and model the traits we want students to develop. You can read more about the individual values here.
Key components of the I MATTER framework
The I MATTER programme has been deliberately designed to a wide range of different aspects of our provision in school. This is because we know from research that for character education to be successful, it has to run as a thread through everything that a school does. This enables character values to be ‘taught’ in a wide range of contexts, ‘caught’ as students move through their school careers, and then ‘sought’ by students as they enter the wider world. The I MATTER programme encompasses:
- Every subject in the taught curriculum – each subject has mapped the I MATTER values into their provision, and all subjects have a termly focus centred on one of the values.
- The Life Skills programme – this is organised around the I MATTER values, with one tackled each term. This allows us to teach a spiral curriculum, with each value revisited annually throughout a student’s seven year journey with us.
- The tutor programme – students have a weekly tutor time session, structured around the term’s I MATTER value.
- Student leadership – there is a large and growing number of opportunities for students to lead in school, including leadership roles in every subject, active community councils, a whole-school council, and ‘family’ leadership in tutor times.
- Careers education – this sits under the value ‘I am motivated’, and runs through Life Skills, SBC, the tutor programme, the assembly programme and all curriculum subjects. In addition there is a planned programme of careers enrichment.
- Community engagement – Rednock is a school at the heart of its community, and we have a large and growing number of links to and partnerships with local organisations, businesses and individuals.
- The co-curriculum – this sits under the value ‘I explore the world around me’ and constitutes a vast range of enrichment opportunities within lessons, trips, visits, speakers, volunteering opportunities, community projects and clubs.
The Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) Curriculum
The SMSC curriculum is incorporated into the I MATTER programme as we seek to establish links between what is taught in school and the society in which we live. We provide a wide range of planned activities, supplemented by further opportunities in response to current affairs and global events. Our teaching of the SMSC curriculum is firmly rooted in our belief in the importance of fundamental British values.
Spiritual development involves the growth of students’ sense of self, their unique potential and their understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Students are encouraged to reflect on their place in the world, and to answer for themselves some of life’s fundamental questions.
Moral development involves improving students’ abilities to make judgments about how they should behave in society, and to reflect on the consequences of their actions. At Rednock School, students are taught to take responsibility for their actions, and to regard people of all faiths, races, cultures and beliefs with respect and tolerance.
Social development refers to students’ knowledge and understanding of all aspects of society. At Rednock School, we teach students how to work together in many different contexts; we encourage them to participate,to lead and to act on their own initiatives.
Cultural development refers to students’ knowledge and understanding of different cultural beliefs, customs and traditions, as well as the systems of values and attitudes which form the basis of identity and belonging within society.
