Character is a set of personal traits that produce specific moral emotions, inform motivation and guide conduct. At Lightcliffe we are dedicated to ensuring our students receive character education; this includes all explicit and implicit educational activities that help young people develop positive personal strengths.
Character education is more than just a subject. It is about helping students grasp what is ethically important in situations and how to act for the right reasons, so that they become more autonomous and reflective. Students need to decide the kind of person they wish to become and to learn to choose between alternatives. In this process, the ultimate aim of character education is the development of good sense or practical wisdom: the capacity to choose intelligently between alternatives.
Character education equips young people to grow an understanding of Service, Health and Happiness, Ambition, Resilience, Equity and Dignity, which allows students to learn to independently thinking for themselves in all situations of their life. It is fundamental to the pursuit of academic excellence, and stands at the heart of all aspirational teaching, learning and pastoral care.
Character education (known as SHARED Character) at Lightcliffe is not an educational programme. It is an approach that, implicitly and explicitly, permeates all subjects as well as the general school ethos. Effective character education will have a legacy far beyond the school gates, impacting young people as friends, neighbours, parents, team members and employees, benefitting both the individuals themselves, their wider communities and broader society.
At Lightcliffe SHARED character development is both taught and caught through lessons and the constant modelling of our six SHARED Characteristics for Character Development. These are bound together through the constant use of our acronym SHARED.
Lightcliffe students:-
