At Orchard Head, the personal development of all our pupils is at the heart of what we do. This involves developing the knowledge, attitudes, skills, relationships and behaviour that our pupils can utilise in and outside the classroom. We achieve this through our curriculum and the the schools character and wider development work which supports learners in building character- this includes their resilience, confidence and independence as well as helping them to understand how to keep physically active and mentally healthy. In addition we have a high focus on pupils SMSC development (spiritual, moral, social and cultural) and understanding of the fundamental British Values and the world main religions to equip them to be responsible, respectful and active citizens who contribute positively to society.
Examples of how we promote the British Values:
How this is done at Orchard Head:
- Focusing on and showing how the school’s work is effective in securing these values
- Challenging pupils, staff or parents/carers who express opinions contrary to British values
What do we do?
- Provide pupils with a broad general knowledge of, and promote respect for, public institutions and services
- Teach pupils how they can influence decision-making through the democratic process
- Include in the curriculum information on the advantages and disadvantages of democracy and how it works in Britain
- Encourage pupils to become involved in decision-making processes and ensure that they are listened to in school
- Hold ‘mock elections’ so that pupils learn how to argue and defend points of view (Key Stage 2)
- Help pupils to express their views
- Model how perceived injustice can be peacefully challenged
- Democracy is shown through history topics such as the Vikings and Saxons
- Circle time and discussion groups
- Ensure school rules and expectations are clear and fair
- Class rules and celebration of adhering to these rules
- Help pupils to distinguish right from wrong
- Help pupils to respect the law and the basis on which it is made
- Help pupils to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals
- Include visits from the police across the year
- Teach pupils aspects of both civil and criminal law, and discuss how this might differ from some religious laws (Year 6)
- Support pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence
- Encourage pupils to take responsibility for their behaviour, as well as knowing their rights
- Model freedom of speech through pupil participation, whilst ensuring protection of vulnerable pupils and promoting critical analysis of evidence
- Challenge stereotypes
- Implement a strong anti-bullying culture – SSEAL theme – ‘Say no to bullying’
- E-safety throughout school
- Promote respect for individual differences
- Help pupils to acquire an understanding of, and respect for, their own and other cultures and ways of life
- Challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour
- Organise visits to places of worship
- Develop links with faith and other communities through RE, and working alongside children and their families
- Learning to disagree in a respectful way
- Develop critical personal thinking skills
We want every pupil to positively and proudly represent Orchard Head Junior, Infants and Nursery School, both inside and outside of the classroom. To help us achieve this, learning is enhanced through a range of different school visits, which take place from EYFS through to Year 6. These external experiences run alongside visitors into school who inspire our children.
We aim to provide our pupils with the confidence, independence, self-motivation and work-ethic needed to succeed in their secondary school lives and beyond. We celebrate and share the successes of our pupils and follow their progress when they transition, most likely, to one of our two Trust senior schools.
Our pupils are given the opportunity to work together throughout school, as well as being recognised for their personal achievements, when awarded leadership opportunities - such as being voted a member of our School Council, becoming an attendance champion or being awarded special responsibilities in school. Our pupils develop a range of life skills during the different educational visits and residential trips they experience.
The ‘50 Things’ initiative, provides all pupils with the opportunity to experience, learn and achieve a wealth of different skills and experiences. These are carefully selected and are matched in line with the different age ranges of the pupils throughout school. Our pupils are also encouraged to take part and engage with the extracurricular offer we have in place.
We also have important partnerships in place with Classroom Kitchen professionals, who visit to school to deliver specialist sessions to the pupils. These sessions are invaluable and provide the pupils with additional opportunities to learn new and important life skills. As well as this, we welcome sports specialist coaches into school, who deliver sessions which add further breadth to the PE and active lifestyle offer we present our pupils with.
The Orchard Head PE and Sports leader works in close partnership with the Trust’s primary PE coordinator to ensure our pupils can take part in multiple sporting experiences and competitions. This involves our pupils competing against other Trust schools and on occasions schools from the surrounding towns and wider region. We encourage our pupils to give to others through one of our many charitable initiatives. The school community is immensely proud of the considerable funds we raise each year our close neighbour, The Prince of Wales Hospice.
The school’s newsletter and Twitter feeds are excellent sources of information and platforms we use to share our news with the parents, stakeholders and local community.