At Somersham Primary School we undertake to:
- provide a happy, secure, and stimulating environment in which each individual will be able to develop their full potential in all areas of the curriculum;
- develop social, moral, spiritual, physical, emotional and aesthetic values to enable each child to become a happy and fulfilled adult;
- encourage positive attitudes towards learning;
- stimulate an inquiring mind;
- target higher standards in a supportive yet appropriately challenging situation, where children can feel secure enough to make mistakes and learn from them, knowing that all efforts and achievements will be appropriately rewarded.
- teach the children the fundamentals of good citizenship within the school and wider community, so that they respect different opinions and values, and are able to show self-control, truthfulness, good manners and a sense of responsibility.
- instil in all children a sense of achievement and confidence in their own and others’ abilities and qualities.
Our Shared Values
Successful learning involves developing key qualities, knowledge, skills and dispositions1. In a coordinated programme throughout each term and across the curriculum, school staff and children will actively explore, embed and reinforce the following learning roots:
- Resilience (locking on to learning) – absorption, managing distractions, noticing, perseverance;
- Resourcefulness (learning in different ways) – questioning, making links, imagining, reasoning, capitalising;
- Reflectiveness (becoming more strategic about learning) – planning, revising, distilling, meta-learning; and
- Reciprocity (learning alone and with others) – interdependence; collaboration; empathy and listening; imitation.
Our Learning Ethos
Alongside our shared values, the learning ethos and atmosphere underpin the agreed aims that define what makes our school unique and special. Teachers will provide a broad and balanced curriculum, which will develop the skills, concepts and knowledge necessary for future learning. In the course of their daily work the staff will contribute to the development of this ethos through:
- providing a calm, quiet and stimulating working environment where appropriate, in which each child can achieve his or her maximum potential;
- providing a welcoming environment, in which courtesy, kindness and respect are fostered;
- providing positive role models;
- providing a fair and disciplined learning environment;
- maintaining purposeful and informative planning, record-keeping and assessment documents, in line with the school’s assessment, recording and reporting procedures;
- providing children with meaningful, purposeful tasks, related to the National Curriculum programmes of study and Early Learning Goals;
- valuing and celebrating pupils’ success and achievements;
- effective management of their professional time in school;
- reviewing personal and professional development by undertaking appropriate INSET, training and support from colleagues in order to ensure a high level of professional expertise;
- promoting creativity through the learning curriculum, including extra-curricular activities.
Our vision and values are at the core of everything we do. They underpin our teaching and learning, and provide an environment which prepares our pupils as confident, happy citizens.
All pupils at Somersham Primary School are strongly encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance.
At Somersham Primary School we ensure that pupils understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law. Our school’s ethos and teaching supports the rule of English civil and criminal law and we do not teach anything that undermines it. When we teach about religious law, we explore the relationship between state and religious law, and ensure that pupils understand the difference between the law of the land and religious law. We promote fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. As a community we actively challenge opinions or behaviours in school that are contrary to fundamental British values. We use the National Teachers’ Standards and the Headteacher Standards (2015) in our appraisal of teachers and the Headteacher. We expect all staff to uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high ethics and behaviour, within and outside school. This includes not undermining fundamental British values.