Character Development & Values

For some time concern has been growing about whether the emerging generation of citizens’ education is sufficiently fit for purpose especially bearing in mind the state of the health and wellbeing of so many young people, degradation of the environment, the world they are inheriting, the pace at which various aspects of daily life are evolving and the qualities needed for the new world of work.

In 2017 the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust held a series of round table discussions with a large cross section of people from politics, education and the youth sector in the UK to address the significance of character development, viewed as an important yet often overlooked part of education today. Along with the attendees, countless stakeholders involved in how children are growing up consider that young people need to be better equipped with tools and skills that enable them to live positive lives and that assisting them in developing strong character traits supports improved academic attainment, employment prospects, workplace productivity and individuals’ contributions to society. Following this nurturing of character initiative, in July 2018 a white paper was published: The Opportunities and Challenges offered by Character Education. The first recommendation was that the Department for Education takes the lead in establishing a clear definition for character development and that it should then be applied across Government and communicated effectively to education, business, community and youth-sector organisations. It was proposed that character development be defined as: when people align their actions with their considered values.