Many of you will be aware that Taunton Prep School is a flagship of the Prep School Baccalaureate (PSB) and yet I am often asked for clarity about what that means for our learners.
For those slightly unsure, the PSB is an assessment model that has at its heart the development of the values, skills, attitudes and behaviours required for children to succeed and flourish in an ever changing world. Children are encouraged, recognised and celebrated in their achievements, and directly prepared for the next step of their educational journey.
What makes the PSB distinctive is the active and focused development of skills at the heart of curriculum study. Alongside a grading system for academic study there is one for skills, and this is monitored by individual tutors with input from all staff. All PSB schools including us, have a tutorial system focused on individual personal development. Tutors meet regularly with children in their groups and also hold 1:1 meetings when they go through all aspects of school life and the development of an individual’s academic and extra-curricular profile.
The aim is to ensure that by the time pupils leave TPS they have developed a secure understanding of how they learn, strong independent and collaborative learning skills and also experienced leadership. As we have grown and developed the PSB skills based curriculum, it is clear that pupils take far greater ownership of, and interest in, their learning than is the case in a purely knowledge based curriculum.
For more information, do contact to me or Marian Drew, or visit the PSB website on the following link: www.psbacc.org
Duncan Sinclair
Prep School Headmaster
