Maynards Green Community Primary School School Vision and Values

The School values are embedded in every aspect of what we do as a school community. We believe and feel that these are values that have informed and underpin British society. To embed these ideas we promote a curriculum with an emphasis on creativity and the arts, independent enquiry, reflective thinking and collaboration. 

Intentions:

• To enable pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;

• To enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of Britain;

• To encourage pupils to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely;

• To enable pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in Britain;

• To further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures;

• To encourage respect for other people;

• To encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in Britain.

Here is a flavour of how the School develops and promotes these fundamental values:

Democracy:
Pupil voice is taken seriously at Maynards Green, with children being asked their opinions and suggestions about school matters, ranging from the naming of ‘Manny Maynard’ our well being chameleon to choosing the book we read at the end of the day. Regular meetings of the democratically-selected School Council ensure that pupils are able to make valuable contributions to the development of the School. House Prefects and Sports Captains also provide excellent role models for younger pupils and often represent the School in different ways, such as showing prospective parents around. The understanding of democracy as a concept is studied in a range of History-led themes.We provide children with opportunities to take on responsibilities. We create a school council using a democratic election process promoting the idea of democracy. The Year 6 children also take responsibility for various areas of the school such as Head Boy, Head Girl, their deputies, House Captains, House Prefects, Class Monitors and a Computing Team,

The Rule of Law:
Pupils throughout Maynards Green develop their understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Each year, they are involved in developing their own class rules and are reminded of what they can expect of/from the School and what the School expects of them in order to maximise their learning. Through their daily School life and explicitly in PHSE lessons, they develop their understanding of actions, responsibilities and consequences. Visits from/to authorities such as the Fire Service and volunteer groups are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message. 

Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:
One of the core values of our school is respect and this underpins everything that we do in school. Children are taught the importance of respect and understand that respect should be shown to everyone. Respect for everyone is continually reiterated throughout teaching and learning, assemblies and day to day interactions. It is accepted by all staff and children that respect is at the heart of everything we do. Through the RE and PSHE curriculum, children are taught about different cultures and ways of life and develop an understanding and respect for these differences. Children are encouraged to discuss these differences between people including faith, ethnicity, disability, gender and differences in family situations.
It is an expectation that all members of the School’s community demonstrate a respectful attitude at all times. Reception children begin to develop their understanding of others through the planned learning opportunities within the ‘prime’ areas of ‘Understanding the World’ and ‘Personal, Social and Emotional Development’. Discussions, assemblies, team games in PE and PSHE lessons across the School help to reinforce this message. Bullying is not tolerated and pupils are taught about the different types of bullying, why they might occur and discuss possible strategies for dealing with incidents should they witness any. 

Individual Liberty: 

Within School, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. From the earliest age, Reception and Year 1 pupils exercise individual freedoms through their child-initiated learning. These further embed the characteristics of effective learning in Early Years and Key Stage 1 where the main focus is on metacognition and self-regulated learning, giving each child a voice and choice about their learning. As a School, we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make choices safely through the provision of a safe environment and empowering education.

Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely through:

• Online Safety and PSHE lessons

• Choices about their learning challenge and how they record

• Participation in our numerous extended learning clubs and opportunities

• Circle time 

• Pupil conferencing

• Non-uniform days

Assembly Time:
Time is given to sharing and discussing British Values in weekly, dedicated assembly slots. Here, teachers share examples of the British Values in action and support the children in remembering each value and its meaning.

The work of  Jigsaw PHSE, which has mapped out the values across the curriculum, gives opportunities to the children to enter into a community of enquiry and shared dialogue with both adults and their peers so that they think deeply- critically, caringly, creatively and collaboratively about their own experiences and can compare them to others in order to build their own set of personal values.

By the time pupils leave the school they will be able to discuss ethical values, Human Rights and Equality issues. We expect children to have a rational and reasonable basis for their opinions and the capacity to defend and promote an individual opinion and to respect the opinions of others. We expect all pupils to show a commitment to the ideals of justice and fairness.