Visions and Values
Our Values
During 2012 the children and staff of our school developed a value based school. Using the values of the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics we explored those that were most valuable to our school community and came up with a word that means something to us all.
FREE stands for Friendship, Respect, Excellence and Equality
‘FREE’ also articulates what we want our children to be... Free to learn, Free to achieve, Free to be whoever they want to be in life, Free from the effects of bullying and deprivation. This supports the school aims:
Opening doors to exciting learning, the wider world and a fulfilled future
The values are underpinned by a bespoke scheme of work that teaches children explicitly and implicitly about the values. This is written to cover the requirements of the PHSE curriculum whilst also adding an extra dimension particularly with respect of the need to ensure that our multicultural, diverse community learns how to live together in harmony.
Our behaviour policy is entirely based on the values with children being rewarded for achieving aspects of FREE. There is also a house based system with house captains leading the children in house activities and earning house points in Friendship, Respect, Excellence and Equality.
Collective worship is also based around these values with staff and visitors leading sessions to exemplify their understanding of what it means to be friendly, respectful, excellent and equal.
British Values
British Values that we share with many countries in the world, are discussed in collective worship and in our FREE programme. Mr Cooper often uses assembly time to talk about important people and events in British and world history to help the children understand these values and we have a giant timeline in the hall that we add to afterwards to help us remember the stories.
If you visit the childrens' section of the website you will see details of some of these people and events.
F.R.E.E. Assemblies
Miss Innes leads F.R.E.E assemblies where the children learn about aspects of our F.R.E.E values e.g:
- Anti - Bullying assemblies to learn the difference between Rude, Mean and Bullying
- Assemblies about children's rights
- Online safety assemblies
- Pupil leadership assemblies
- Assemblies about Equality and how we are all different whilst also being all the same
Achievement Awards
Each Thursday we have special assemblies where teachers award achievement certificates to children who have shown FRIENDSHIP, RESPECT, EXCELLENCE OR EQUALITY in their work, their behaviour, their treatment of others and their attitudes. Some children earn our special "FREE Champion" Award for exceptional demonstration of our values and they then get invited by Mr Cooper to a special tea party at the end of each term.
Equalities in Education
We welcome our duty under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to promote community cohesion.
We welcome the proposals set out in Equality Bill: making it work, published by the Government Equalities Office in June 2009, that from 2011 onwards we should publish a statement of equality objectives for our school and should report on progress towards achieving them
We recognise these duties are essential for achieving the five outcomes of the Every Child Matters framework, and that they reflect international human rights standards as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and the Human Rights Act 1998.
Guiding principles
5. In fulfilling the legal obligations cited above, we are guided by seven principles:
Principle 1: All learners are of equal value.
We see all learners and potential learners, and their parents and carers, as of
equal value:
- whether or not they are disabled
- whatever their ethnicity, culture, religious affiliation, national origin or national status
- whatever their gender and gender identity
- whatever their sexual identity.
Principle 2: We recognise and respect difference.
Treating people equally (Principle 1 above) does not necessarily involve treating them all the same. Our policies, procedures and activities must not discriminate but must nevertheless take account of differences of life-experience, outlook and background, and in the kinds of barrier and disadvantage which people may face, in relation to:
- disability, so that reasonable adjustments are made
- ethnicity, so that different cultural backgrounds and experiences or prejudice are recognised
- gender, so that the different needs and experiences of girls and boys, and women and men, are recognised
- sexual identity.
Principle 3: We foster positive attitudes and relationships, and a shared sense of cohesion and belonging.
We intend that our policies, procedures and activities should promote:
- positive attitudes towards disabled people, good relations between disabled and non-disabled people, and an absence of harassment of disabled people
- positive interaction, good relations and dialogue between groups and communities different from each other in terms of ethnicity, culture, religious affiliation, national origin or national status, and an absence of prejudice-related bullying and incidents
- mutual respect and good relations between boys and girls, and women and men, and an absence of sexual and homophobic harassment.
We ensure that policies and procedures should benefit all employees and potential employees, for example in recruitment and promotion, and in continuing professional development:
- whether or not they are disabled
- whatever their ethnicity, culture, religious affiliation, national origin or national status
- whatever their gender and sexual identity, and with full respect for legal rights relating to pregnancy and maternity.
Principle 5: We aim to reduce and remove inequalities and barriers that already exist
In addition to avoiding or minimising possible negative impacts of our policies, we take opportunities to maximise positive impacts by reducing and removing inequalities and barriers that may already exist between:
- disabled and non-disabled people
- people of different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds
- girls and boys, women and men.
Principle 6: We consult and involve widely
People affected by a policy or activity should be consulted and involved in the design of new policies, and in the review of existing ones. We consult and involve:
- disabled people as well as non-disabled
- people from a range of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds
- both women and men, and girls and boys.
- Gay people as well as straight.
Principle 7: Society as a whole should benefit
We intend that our policies and activities should benefit society as a whole, both locally and nationally, by fostering greater social cohesion, and greater participation in public life of:
- disabled people as well as non-disabled
- people of a wide range of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds
- both women and men, girls and boys
- gay people as well as straight.
Below you will find a copy of our full policy statement and also a review of our recent actions and our plans for the year ahead.