Personal Development

We recognise that our children are the leaders of the future and therefore provide a range of opportunities for children to develop their leadership skills. Children’s voice is valued and promoted – throughout the academic year, our children are given a platform to express the views of their school to help shape its development. We encourage all of our pupils to embrace the wide range of opportunities available to them – and always seek to find new ways that we can further empower our pupils. This enables our children to develop as individuals, as a community and grow the school as a whole. 

We have developed a range of leadership opportunities for our children. For some of our leadership positions, children are elected by their peers through a democratic process. Others require children to apply for posts often requiring a written letter of application, giving a presentation and going through a selection process.

Being a Leader at Gray’s Farm Primary means applying the skills of: 

Responsibility / Volunteering/ Service to the community/ Respect / Empathy / Integrity / Initiative / Creativity alongside our cultural values

Leadership opportunities available at Gray’s Farm:-

JLT (Junior Leadership Team)
Being a member of JLT means that our children work hard to improve our school by helping students to have their say on aspects of our school. They also support staff to implement changes and organise events while being ambitious ambassadors for our school.

DLT (Duck Leadership Team) 
In Year 6 our Duck Leadership Team (DLT) look after the ducks by finding out all about what they like to eat and the foods that they cannot have. The children learn how to feed the ducks and how to act around them so as not to scare them as well as clearing out their enclosures and caring for them on a daily basis. 

Safeguarding Ambassadors
At Gray’s Farm we have a group of Safeguarding Ambassadors in Years 5 and 6. They have been taught using materials provided by TKAT as part of their SA@S programme. We are now working on developing their duties at school such as creating safeguarding posters and leaflets for visitors, developing ideas for our e-safety learning and being a ‘listening ear’ for our younger pupils.

ELT (Environmental Leadership Team) 
We care about our environment and work together to raise awareness, protect, sustain and improve our school environment.

Allotment Leaders
We have allotment leaders who have volunteered their time at lunchtime to learn about growing fresh fruit and vegetables and share their knowledge with any other children who help tend to the gardens.  Our children grow, pick and taste test their produce, often taking foods home that they have not tried before. 
Lunchtime Leaders
Under the guidance of Mrs Lyon the Lunchtime Leaders will set an example for others. They help support adults in running games and activities at lunchtime as well as supporting in the dining hall when appropriate.  

Reading Leaders
Are chosen because of their commitment and passion for reading. Their job is to spread this passion; organise reading events and look after our reading areas around the school.
 
Maths Champions
Are chosen because of their commitment and passion for maths. 
They try hard in all of their lessons and continuously practise their times tables. Their role is to ensure they support everyone in school with their times tables and and to take a lead role in organising TTRS (Times Table Rock Star) events. 

Radio Team
At Gray’s Farm, our goal is to develop children’s speaking and listening skills and give them opportunities to apply these in a variety of settings. While looking for what it takes to be a future employee we consider many different skills which can be applied and so many of them fall into our radio station.
We gather up a team of Hosts, Researchers, Interviewers and Script Writers to construct radio segments using our very own recording equipment. The children get the chance to build in confidence by trying out the different roles before the segment is then ‘broadcast’ to the school.
 

Our allotment  provides a growing space which is run by our children (at lunchtimes) to grow fresh produce throughout the year. By creating a school allotment we can open the eyes of children to food production and help them to understand the principle of healthy eating. Children of today are going to be making the choices of what they eat as adults and for their own children. By instilling a healthy lifestyle in them at a young age, it will guide them to making better decisions in the future.   

At Gray’s Farm,  our Forest School is based on a fundamental respect for  all children and for their capacity to instigate, test and maintain curiosity in the world around them.
Forest School is a unique educational experience for our Nursery and Reception children that offers children the opportunity to succeed and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland environment and we are extremely fortunate that the extent of our grounds allows us to offer these opportunities on site.
 

At Gray’s Farm we have year group pets in Nursery and Year 6. We believe that having the opportunity to care for an animal benefits our children by developing responsibility and meeting the needs of another being; fostering empathy and enhancing the emotional well being of our children.  

In nursery our children look after the fish by feeding them and making sure that their tank is clean.  In Reception each year the children have the opportunity to observe the very start of the life of a duck through our life cycles project, which involves helping to hatch out up to 5 baby ducklings. Once hatched, the children take on the role of mummy duck by cleaning out their bed, feeding them and even teaching them how to swim!
 

At Gray’s Farm, we believe that residential trips provide invaluable opportunities for children to explore new environments, develop independence, and discover their potential. These trips help children build confidence and self-esteem as they learn to take responsibility, make decisions, and experience a sense of freedom. They also gain a deeper understanding of their skills, talents, and limitations.

Residential trips are powerful tools for personal growth, teaching children important life skills, building character, and creating memories that will last a lifetime. Beyond the learning experiences, these trips foster strong bonds between children across the two classes as well as with the staff who accompany them.

At Gray’s Farm our residential takes place in the Spring term of Year 5.  In March 2026 our Year 5 children will be on residential for 2 nights and 3 days away at Rootd, which is an adventure camp, based around the forest school principles.
 

Years 4, 5 & 6
Each year, all children in Years 4, 5 and 6 participate in two small group cooking sessions lead by our head chef, Mrs Broomfield. During these sessions the children will develop their culinary skills and actively learn how to cook healthy, low-cost dishes using fresh ingredients. They will take their creations home for families to sample, along with the recipe so that they can recreate the dishes at home.

Overview of potential dishes that will be made with each year group. 
(NB: All dishes listed are subject to change without prior notice at the school’s discretion, based on availability and other considerations.)
 

Each year, Years 1, 2 and 3 will complete a whole class taster session in the Summer term with our head chef, Mrs Broomfield. The main aim of this session is for the children to:-
- Understand the importance of hygiene around food; 
- Experience basic food preparation; 
- To encourage them to try unfamiliar foods and form opinions on their likes/dislikes; 
- To learn some basic culinary skills.

Years 1, 2 & 3
Overview of potential dishes that will be made with each year group in their taster sessions. 
(NB: All dishes listed are subject to change without prior notice at the school’s discretion, based on availability and other considerations.)
 

At Gray’s Farm we are proud of our continuing commitment to charity.  
Each year, as a school, we take part in various charity events to help support a number of good causes.  We raise money each time thanks to the generosity and enthusiasm of our children and their families. There is never an expectation for anyone to donate and we try to be mindful of the cost of everyday living which is why we stick to three main charitable events each year:

Autumn term - National Charity 
Spring Term - International charity 
Summer Term - Local charity 
For 2025/2026 our Junior Leadership Team(JLT) will be voting for the charity they would like to raise money for. 

Last year (2024/2025) we organised events to raise money for:  

- Macmillan Cancer Care
- Poppy Appeal 
- Harvest donations for Unity Church Foodbank
- Local charity - CASPA 
We want our children to be aware that any size of donation can have an impact, they can reach out to others and show love and compassion and be shown that they can make a difference in the world.

Check out our Community Board in the main office to see how some amazing individuals in our school have completed their own fundraising for their own chosen charities. 
 

- Riverside (Year 2 and Year 3)

- Pemberley

At Gray’s Farm, we are committed to providing a broad and enriching programme of school clubs for all year groups. These opportunities are designed to support children’s personal development, extend their learning beyond the classroom, build confidence and encourage them to discover and nurture new interests.

Our provision includes a wide variety of activities led by both our skilled school staff and carefully selected external specialists. Current clubs include Jaime's Gymnastics, Charlton Athletic, PerformeR, Rocksteady, and Spectacular Science, alongside a range of school-led clubs.

This comprehensive offer ensures that our children have access to high-quality extracurricular experiences that promote confidence, creativity, teamwork, and a lifelong love of learning.