Acre Heads Primary School Ethos and Values

Acre Heads Ethos and Values

‘a place to nourish thinking minds’

Ethos

With our growth mindset, we believe in being positive in every situation. Therefore, we have very few school rules – in fact we only have two:

Be nice
Do the right thing

What we do have are values and these are our guiding principles for behaviour and ethos. They apply to all school stakeholders, not just our children. Children don’t automatically know how to behave positively in every situation they come across. We try to give them strategies for managing their own behaviour and taking responsibility for their own actions. The ethos of the school is created by the attitudes and values displayed by staff towards the children and each other.

We care deeply for our children and their families, staff also care for each other and it is evident that the children also care for the staff – indeed, we regard ourselves as a family unit. In speech and conduct we aim to uphold these values and establish a harmonious, hard working and safe environment for all.

We give security and friendship. We show quality appreciation and care. We want the best for everyone in our community – the best care, the best education and the best life chances.

Values

Our main school value is ‘respect for others’ and this is what we are always striving to develop. There is a value allocated to each class in the school – the children have to be champions of that value and try to uphold it. These values were decided on by parents and children.

Year Group	Class	Value
FS	Foundation Stage	Caring - We should be caring towards others.
Year 1	Sugarloaf	Family - We are all part of the Acre Heads family.
Year 1	Drewton	Honesty - We must have complete honesty at all times.
Year 2	Sandholme	Kindness - We must show kindness at all times.
Year 2	Barmby	Friendship - We must show friendship to others.
Year 3	Gowdall	Trust - People should be able to trust us.
Year 3	Carlton	Initiative - We can act independently.
Year 4	Smeaton	Respect - We must respect other people.
Year 4	Drax	Forgiveness - We must show and expect forgiveness.
Year 5	Upton	Enthusiasm - We must try to show enthusiasm in all we do.
Year 5	Hensall	Self-confidence - We will develop through encouraging each other.
Year 6	Cudworth	Perseverance - We must persevere and not give up.
Year 6	Hemsworth	Achievement - We must always strive for achievement.

These values are intrinsic throughout the school and are at the core of the community values we believe every child should develop through their learning journey. These values are displayed in the relevant classrooms and are integrated through SMSC and character education.

Aims

We aim to be a learning community:

We aim to show the children that we can always do better, as individuals and as a collective.
We aim to celebrate our successes and learn from our mistakes.
We aim to create an environment where children can grow and develop with no limits through participation in their own education.
We aim to enable our children to use their skills to become deep thinkers, responsible role models and leaders of others.
We aim to encourage children to see that learning is for our whole lifetime – teachers, governors, parents and carers are learners too.
Through modelling the merits of hard work, diligence, open mindedness and reflection, we aim to encourage Acre Heads’ children to nourish other people’s thinking minds – constantly striving to achieve better mastery of their curriculum key skills.

These aims are intrinsic within our core values:

BELIEF – I know I can do it

DETERMINATION – If I make a mistake, I will keep trying

RESILIENCE – I will find a way around it

TEAMWORK – I will help others to achieve

At Acre Heads we want to engage children to become skilled and self motivated, lifelong learners, through an enjoyable, relevant curriculum which provides them with:

More opportunities
More time to talk about learning
More helpful comments on marking
Less directing
More choice
More responsibility
More collaboration
More access to the best resources we can provide – including ICT

Our curriculum encourages active participation from our pupils. It encourages them to grow and achieve in a safe environment built on mutual respect.

High quality teaching and learning are promoted within a positive environment that sets out to encourage observation, investigation and development of language skills. Each and every child is encouraged to work towards high expectations and the development of good relationships.

The school strives to maintain the excellent relationship that exists with parents and the community. A partnership approach is valued, accepting that home and school each have major influences on the educational and emotional development of the child. Parents are welcome and are given the opportunity of contributing to the life and work of the school.

Our excellent links with other schools, professional services and the wider community enable the children to be positive contributors to their own surroundings and thereby develop a sense of pride in their environment. We strive to maintain a happy, caring and successful school in which all are valued and are proud to belong.

Learning in Action

Latest events going on in school….

ACRE HEADS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Acre Heads Ethos and Values

‘a place to nourish thinking minds’

Aims

We aim to be a learning community:

Learning in Action