Rules and Values
At Upton Meadows we believe we are ‘creating superstars of the future’. For children, this means that all adults in school will continuously strive to help them to attain their very best educationally, socially and personally.
A core set of values underpin our ethos and curriculum, influencing our interactions with each other and our attitudes to learning. RESPECT is at the centre of everything we do in school – respect for others, for yourself and for the school and wider environment.
Promoting British Values
It is an expectation of schools “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”
The government set out its definition of British values in the 2015 Prevent Strategy. At Upton Meadows these values are reinforced regularly and in the following ways:
Democracy: Democracy is apparent throughout school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our school council. The school council not only promotes democratic processes, fostering the concept and application of freedom of speech and group action to address needs and concerns. Key to this is the concept of holding others to account, including those in positions of authority and influence. Our school behaviour policy is applied consistently across the school and our Values are firmly embedded.
The Rule of Law: The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through school assemblies. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Promotion of ‘fair play’, following and developing rules, inclusion, celebrating and rewarding success, being magnanimous in defeat and participation in activities that promote kinship and affiliation with others. Visits from authorities such as the police are part of our calendar and help reinforce this message.
Individual Liberty: Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. 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 advise how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE. Whether it be through choice of challenge, of how they record, of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.
Mutual Respect: Part of our school ethos and behaviour policy has revolved around our values and pupils have been part of discussions and assemblies related to what this means and how it is shown. This is reiterated through our daily learning routines and children are rewarded for demonstrating the school values. Children and adults alike, including visitors, are challenged if they are disrespectful in any way. Values are highly visible around the school, and are an important part of our celebration assembly. Our behaviour policy is applied consistently by all staff and is firmly embedded across the school.
Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs: This is achieved through enhancing pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity. Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE. Our celebration of different festivals ensures our children are aware of other cultures within our society, other than their own. Likewise, we use emerging news articles to learn about different events around the world as and when they occur.
Behaviour
Our school behaviour policy has just been rewritten and relaunched and is available to download from this page. We have 3 simple rules that children are expected to follow at all time:
- We show respect
- We try our best
- We are kind
Rewards
We have a variety of rewards in school for children showing our school values. These include ‘dojo’ points earned on an individual, class and house point level, superstar awards, good work awards and lots of stickers! Children will receive continual feedback about their work and behaviour choices from all adults in school.
Home school partnership
Good relationships between home and school are crucial if a child is going to flourish, thrive and achieve their best. Therefore we welcome and appreciate parental support and involvement in all aspects of learning in the wider life of the school. This is achieved in a variety of ways, for example, our celebration assembly on Friday mornings allows parents to celebrate in the successes of those children who have been awarded ‘Superstar’ or ‘Good Work’ awards. We also have a multitude of opportunities for parents to visit the school for class assemblies, shared reading, craft activities and on various other occasions, along with the more formal chance to meet your child’s teacher twice a year at parents’ evenings.
