What is Strive?
Sandroyd launched its ambitious and innovative new school-wide Strive programme, in September 2017, to address two key educational issues:
- Much of what makes children happy, confident and successful in life cannot all be taught via sedentary studies in a classroom.
- Children love to ask questions, but often expect to be given the answers. They also want to ask questions that interest them, rather than those constrained to the curriculum.
Our Strive programme was specifically created to stretch and challenge all of our pupils (aged 7-13) in areas beyond the traditional curriculum, and to enable them to fulfil their potential by:
- Having curious minds, to work things out for themselves - be that spotting patterns in strategy games, solving problems or investigating how things work
- Being open to new experiences, learning new skills and different ways of thinking – from learning sign language to navigating using the natural environment.
- Developing a raft of qualities – self-confidence, creativity and resilience - in preparation for their senior schools and beyond. We encourage them to explore who they are and how to overcome uncertainties, which test their courage and control.
How does it work?
- All pupils take part in a 40 minute Strive session, four afternoons per week
- There are six key areas that define the outcomes we are endeavouring to encourage in our pupils: Enlighten. Explore. Enquire. Innovate. Adapt. Reflect.
- Each area has a variety of carefully timetabled activities that are delivered to all pupils – both during the academic year, and as they progress through the School
- In the first year there were 50 different activities timetabled, with the programme changing every half term so the subject stays interesting and pupils are exposed to a broader range of challenges.
- At their core, the activities are designed to be fun – so they are engaging and memorable, to stimulate a love of learning.
- Activities are delivered by specialists, with all staff taking part; drawing on their experience, specialisms or interests.
- Every Strive session finishes with pupils’ reflecting on what they have learnt and how they can apply this in their daily life.
As Strive works on developing ‘soft skills’, empirical evidence is difficult to measure. Testimonials are provided in the supporting documents, which show that:
- Staff unanimously agree that they have noticed positive changes in the pupils’ confidence, resilience, problem solving, independent learning, communication and creativity skills.
- Parents have noticed a visible difference: “she is developing skills she doesn’t even realise.”
- Pupil feedback (via individual and group reflections) is incredibly positive: “It gives you knowledge of things you wouldn’t normally learn about in the classroom.”
Strive is not a stand-alone programme; it is at the heart of our School motto, (Niti est Nitere - ‘to strive is to shine’) and it is at the centre of all that we do. With nearly 100 hours, per academic year, allocated to Strive, we are confident that pupils will be able to fulfil their potential - to ‘shine’.
The Strive programme at Sandroyd won 'Strategic Education Initiative of the Year' at prestigious TES Independent School Awards 2019 . Further information can be found on our news pages.