School Life

Children are encouraged to share and promote their ideas in school.
In the younger years, classes have the opportunity to ‘show and tell’, sharing their enthusiasm for something brought in from home or something which interests them. As the children move through the school, debating and discussion is encouraged through Literacy and drama. In addition, the older year groups present their ‘current affairs’ weekly, taking turns over the year to share their interests and news stories. These are shared in the class, year group or during an assembly. For example, a group of girls in Year 6 recently presented a PowerPoint presentation on the Environment and Climate Change to Years 3 and 4 in assembly.

Moreover, we have a Student Council who are the representatives of the student body within the school. This includes a member of each class from Years 2-6. An official campaign is launched over a number of days where children promote themselves to their classes, explaining how they would represent the student voice. Once all campaigns have been heard, each class votes for their Student Council Representative.

The Student Council meets along with staff every fortnight to promote certain aspects of school life and to hear ideas from the children. Annual events organised and run by the Student Council include a ‘Reduce, re-use and recycle’ campaign with a drive to reduce energy consumption, Valentine’s Day flowers for the school, Red Cross Easter food collection, and a healthy lifestyle promotion with morning exercise and free fruit. The Student Council also raises money which is redistributed according to the needs of the school and directly benefits the children, for example play equipment for the whole school was bought by the School Council from funds raised.

The Student Council is run by a member of staff under the guidance of the Deputy Head Pastoral. At the beginning of the academic year, students are asked to put themselves forward for the Student Council. If they decide to run for Student Council then they prepare a short video of themselves explaining why they want to be on the Student Council, what ideas they have and the contribution they would like to make. This video is then shown to the whole year group who vote electronically for two candidates from their year group. The two candidates from each year group with the most votes are elected to represent their year group. When the Student Council congregates for the first time, they elect between them a President, Vice President, Secretary and Accountant. They then have regular weekly meetings with the staff member in attendance.

The Junior School has a Behaviour Policy which is strictly adhered to by all staff.
Our school promotes a positive mindset, positive behaviour and positive encouragement. We therefore reward the children for the way in which they conduct themselves and for their academic achievements. Abiding by the Golden Rules (in Early Years and Key Stage 1) and then the 3Rs: Respect, Responsibility and Relationships (in Key Stage 2) is the foundation of the school ethos in promoting positive behaviour.

Rewards are given in various ways from issuing stickers in the EYs, gems and certificates of achievement in KS1 and House points in KS2 as well as Merit stickers and certificates in Years 1-6. In addition, from EYs to Year 4, each week, we have a ‘Star of the Week’ who is chosen for displaying particularly positive behaviour in the class or around the school. Each child is rewarded with a certificate to take home and another certificate which is displayed on a board for the whole school to see. As the children make their way through the school there is greater emphasis on consequences, from a focus on ‘green choices and red choices’ in the Early Years to clearly defined consequences higher up the school. These include use of the ‘quiet room’ to see management during a break time, whilst completing a ‘reflection sheet’ which is signed by the child and management.

The Senior School has policies for behaviour, rewards and anti-bullying which are strictly adhered to by all staff. Our school promotes a positive, growth mindset with positive discipline, rewards, and encouragement. We reward students for their behavioural conduct as well as their academic, extra-curricular and sporting achievements. We achieve this primarily with the use of a Pyramid system of rewards and sanctions which is displayed in every classroom and used to guide students in their adherence with school policy. Pupils sign a Home-School Agreement undertaking to abide by school policies. The behaviour pyramids offer a series of escalating sanctions and reminders for students who find it difficult to behave in a positive way towards their peers, teachers, and other members of the school community. In Key Stage 3 students are rewarded and motivated with merits and merit awards. In Key Stages 4 and 5 pupils are awarded letters of commendation, GCSE and AS/A2 Award Certificates. A range of sanctions are used to reinforce positive behaviour including detentions, target setting and behaviour contracts. Repeated offences or serious transgressions can lead to internal or external exclusion from school. The School has a Pupil Disciplinary Committee constituted and run according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education.

Parents/guardians have a duty to make sure their children attend regularly and punctually. School staff are committed to working with parents/guardians to ensure as high a level of attendance as possible.

Students should be at school on time for registration every day unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. Permitting absence from school without a good reason is a breach of the Code of Conduct and the Home School Agreement. Permission for absence in advance must be sought from the Headteacher in writing. Parents should avoid extending holidays into term time or arranging visits to the doctor, dentist etc. during school hours.

Every half-day absence from school is classified as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED by the school.