Our Values
We are a listening school that encourages our children to have opinions and to express them freely but respectfully. We find opportunities for our children to express their preference by taking part in simple ballots. They learn about representation by voting for their preferences and are given fair opportunities to act as classroom helpers, lunchtime buddies and tour guides on Open Morning. We are active members of the Gloucester Schools’ Partnership and children represent us and work with pupils from other schools at Partnership events such as Pupil Conferences and Science Fairs. We seek their opinions about school issues in class meetings and they make a contribution to decisions about improvements to school facilities.
We have clear expectations for behaviour which are applied consistently throughout the school. Our behaviour policy is regularly reviewed and known to all members of the school community. We use ‘Learning Gems’ to promote positive behaviours for learning and they have become a shared language for discussing behaviour.
As well as their academic achievements, we celebrate considerate behaviour, reliance and perseverance in Celebration Assembly each week. Children in Reception and Year 1 are given a great amount of choice about the ways in which they learn. They develop independence and take some responsibility for their own learning from their first day at school. Exciting and stimulating environments, both inside and outside, offer opportunities for child-initiated learning which is balanced by structured teaching sessions and focussed tasks or ‘must do’ activities. In Year 2, the children are given opportunities to choose the way that they express their ideas and record their work. The concept of ‘good choices’ lies behind our strategies for ensuring good behaviour. We encourage the children to collaborate and work respectfully with a talk partner or as part of a group in lessons. Through the Read Write Inc programme they take turns to be the teacher when learning phonics and practising reading in pairs. In our Reception/Year 1 classes the older children are caring and responsible when helping new children to settle into school. In discussions and teaching sessions all children’s contributions are welcomed and valued.
We teach the children about the Christian faith in RE lessons and our assemblies encourage the children to reflect upon Christian values. We also learn about and celebrate the beliefs and practices of other faiths. Our children hear and enjoy many stories from other countries and cultures. We encourage independence of thought through reflection and open ended
questions. We celebrate the culture, customs and dietary requirements of all our children sensitively and seek every opportunity to raise their awareness of issues around local, national and global citizenship.
Underpinning our work in school are six key values. These incorporate the ‘Learning Gems’ and each one is focussed on for a term.
Our values are:
Responsibility
Care and Respect
Tolerance
Resilience
Cooperation
Creativity and individuality
Children learn about these values in PSHCE lessons and assembly.