Intent

The Prince's Trust Award, Certificate and Diploma in Personal Development and Employability Skills (PDE) recognises a breadth of personal skills, qualities and attitudes required by employers across a range of sectors. All of the units studied help young people to develop skills in key curriculum areas, preparing them to succeed in post-16 education, apprenticeships and employment.

Implementation

At The Limes College we begin the Personal Development and Employability qualification in Year 9 with selected students. As part of the outdoor education programme some students will complete the module Participation in Exercise and/or as part of Hair and Beauty some students will undertake the module Personal Project.

The majority of this qualification is undertaken in Year 10 and Year 11. Due to the structure of the course a student does not have to be enrolled on the course at the beginning of Year 10 in order to gain a qualification.  

In Prince’s Trust we have high expectations for all students, who learn through group activities and individual work. Students are required to undertake project work through the Community Project Module and the Enterprise Module. In the past we have run both a Pop-Up Restaurant and Café and fundraised for local charities.

All lessons are differentiated to meet the needs of all students both in terms of the choices given for tasks and through the different level of qualification. There is a continuous development of whole school literacy through the learning of key vocabulary used across the curriculum and through the varied use of reading activities. Students are encouraged to develop their independent learning skills and are encouraged, through the planning of the lesson to develop their high order thinking skills. Students are taught how to evaluate their own learning and to view critical and positive feedback in order to improve their work.

Impact

Students will engage in learning that is relevant to them and support their development of personal skills and attributes that are essential for working life and employment, as well as preparing them for progression into further education programmes, apprenticeships or other work based learning. All students on the Achieve Programme will develop skills for school and college, learn life skills and develop the skills to become active citizens within their communities. All students have the opportunity to leave the course with a recognized Princes Trust Qualification, this may be an Award, Certificate or Diploma.