Whilst at Bishop Young Academy’s Dovecote Provision our pupils are encouraged to develop as individuals as well as learning academic subjects. We are very aware that pupils arrive in year 7 as children, but leave, at the end of year 11, as young adults.

To nurture these huge changes, we support all our students to work through a ‘character’ curriculum, a set of fundamental personal traits that we want to develop in all our pupils.  We call this our ‘Bishop Character’ & base this on the following areas:

B is for Benevolence - the quality of being well meaning and kind. We want our students to show compassion, consideration and altruism, ensuring they are able to make a positive contribution to wider society.

I is for Integrity – this is not just about telling the truth. It is about being true to their beliefs and upholding them; it is about having pride in all that they do, always working to their true ability and behaving correctly towards others at all times.

S is for Self-fulfilment – to develop a greater understanding of themselves as a person as well as their strengths and, perhaps more importantly, the areas in which they need to develop. They will gain a sense of self-fulfilment as they achieve their goals.

H is for Health & Happiness – we want our young people to be happy, healthy and equipped with a powerful toolkit of resources to thrive. We want them to understand the importance of physical, mental & social wellbeing so they can become happy and successful citizens.

O is for Oneness – As a faith school, we actively promote tolerance, inclusivity & mutual respect. We see our Dovecote provision as a family within the wider family of the academy and teach our pupils to accept & support each other with love and respect.

P is for Perseverance – Developing resilience is at the heart of all the work we do, so that pupils do not give up when the going gets tough, but to keep trying with a positive mindset & a belief that practice makes perfect.

These ideas permeate everything we do both inside & outside the classroom. They are not an educational programme but are designed to cultivate the virtues of character associated with common morality. They are designed to help our young people to consider what type of person they want to be & encourage them to be ethically motivated, to ‘do the right thing’ & to develop good sense and have practical wisdom.

We utilise ‘restorative practice’ in order to teach our pupils good communication skills and empathy, so they have strategies to cope with the world of further education and work, where they  will encounter a range of people, with potentially different religions and cultures, opinions and philosophies. We feel it is vital to give them the resources they need to operate professionally with colleagues, knowing that they will have to face people that they might view as ‘other’ and potentially work with, or make friends with, them.

By demonstrating Bishop Character, our staff help students to cope with being part of a community, needing to communicate with other people at home & work & to treat others with respect and care. It promotes social cohesion, equality, kindness, honesty & resilience, all characteristics which should help them to be mature, genuine & useful adults, who can cope well and thrive within the wider world.

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