Aims and Values

Our Distinctive Values

These are our Distinctive Values. They are important ideas that we try to make a part of the everyday experience of everyone in school:

  • Zest for learning and a love of life.
  • Embracing the future with hope and confidence.
  • Seeing heaven in the moment.
  • Imagining the journey in another’s footsteps; nurturing, understanding, respecting all.
  • Everyone knowing that they are treasured and loved as a unique child of God.

Our School Vision

Everyone to learn and grow with God.

Our Aims

We aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum which develops each child spiritually, morally, intellectually, socially and physically within a Christian environment.

We aim to see each child as an individual, made in the image of God, and to address individual needs in order to help explore talents and fulfil potential.

We aim to develop a partnership between home and school and involve parents as actively as possible in the education and welfare of their children.

We intend this education to take place in a secure and happy environment, one which will provide the children with the self-esteem and skills necessary for them to take their place successfully as confident, responsible, tolerant and caring members of society.

Rights Respecting School

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is important to our school. We are a Bronze ‘Rights Aware’ School, working towards our Silver accreditation.  Threaded throughout our curriculum, we teach children about the rights which they and children across the world should expect to have and raise awareness and challenge situations where this does not yet happen.

29:Aims of education
Children’s education should help them fully develop their personalities, talents and abilities. It should teach them to understand their own rights, and to respect other people’s rights, cultures and differences. It should help them to live peacefully and protect the environment.

British Values

At St. Laurence Church Infant School we set out to work with our families to help our children become thoughtful, caring and responsible members of society who treat others with respect and tolerance, regardless of background.

We promote the basic British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs.

Democracy

We have a School Council which is made up of two members from each class. These representatives are nominated and voted for by their classmates. They meet regularly to discuss a range of issues. The discussions are then fed back to the rest of the class where they can all share their views and thoughts.

Within each class, chances are regularly made for children to have their opinions heard, for example by voting for which book they would like at story time, or what the class treat should be when they have collected enough ‘Brilliant Behaviour Buttons’.

Article 12. Respect for children’s views
“Children have the right to give their opinions freely on issues that affect them. Adults should listen and take children seriously.”

The Rule of Law

Our School Rules of ‘Be Ready, Be Respectful’ and ‘Be Safe’ are clearly outlined in our Behaviour Regulation Policy, which is also shared with parents and carers. At the beginning of the year class teachers discuss these rules with their pupils and the rules are regularly revisited. There are rewards for following the school rules and clear sanctions for breaking them. We teach a restorative approach, where children are helped to ‘put things right’ helping them to understand the consequences of their actions.

We ensure that children understand that rules are there to protect us and are essential for our wellbeing and safety. Children are also taught the importance of forgiveness and being allowed to make a fresh start. Elements of the History curriculum also enable children to explore the roles of law and authority in the past, for example through learning about the Gunpowder Plot.

Individual Liberty

We encourage our children to make their own choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. Through our PSHE lessons we discuss the different choices they may make and the consequences of those choices. Children are continually encouraged to make the right, safe choice by all adults working in school. The importance of making safe choices when using the Internet is explored through the Computing curriculum. We make children aware of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in an age-appropriate way.

Mutual Respect

Our whole school ethos is built around mutual respect. We are an inclusive school where everyone is valued and has a contribution to make to the school. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. Children are encouraged to respect each other throughout the day and they see this attitude modelled by the adults in the school. Our curriculum presents children with real people and fictional characters from a range of backgrounds and prompts discussion about our common humanity.  We teach children that racism, homophobia and transphobia, or discrimination on gender, age or disability is never acceptable.

Article 2: No discrimination
“All children have all these rights, no matter who they are, where they live, what language they speak, what their religion is, what they think, what they look like, if they are a boy or girl, if they have a disability, if they are rich or poor, and no matter who their parents or families are or what their parents or families believe or do. No child should be treated unfairly for any reason.”

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs

As a Church of England school, the Christian faith and its values are an integral part of the children’s day to day experiences. Children are taught an understanding of different faiths and beliefs through the RE curriculum. Children within our school with different faiths are encouraged to share their practices and special celebrations. Our curriculum includes learning about a range of cultures to raise children’s awareness of different faiths, beliefs and ways of life.

Article 14: Freedom of thought and religion
“Children can choose their own thoughts, opinions and religion, but this should not stop other people from enjoying their rights. Parents can guide children so that as they grow up, they learn to properly use this right.”