Values
Our Values and Ethos
The Community at Shiremoor Primary are committed to providing a safe, happy and nurturing environment where all children will become confident learners, realising their potential and being fully equipped for the journey ahead.
Our Mission
- Aspire
- Respect
- Challenge
British Values Intertwined With Our School Values
ASPIRE, RESPECT AND CHALLENGE
These are our core values and many children wear them on their jumpers, they are up around school and we talk about them often but they also relate to all aspects of school life.
Our Careers curriculum is extremely important to us as we need children to understand the purpose of education and to support them in developing skills and knowledge they need to become successful adults who can make positive life choices and live good lives. We try to ensure that children learn about careers through the subjects we teach but also that they hear from people working in real careers. We encourage children to aspire to particular careers and ask that they always (across KS2) have a career aspiration in their head.
We link success with arriving at school on time and being your best self.
We also talk about having aspiration for life in general and encourage children to consider the wide world for them to explore in future and some of the interests that they could develop. This links with our enrichment programme.
Respect runs through all day and every day. It starts with encouraging children to show respect for themselves by being well-presented in uniform and arriving at school on time (especially older children). We want them to try their best with all aspects of presentation and children work hard to gain their pen licences. They know what good learning is and that they should respect themselves by doing their best learning.
Respect is also implicit in our school rules and expectations for excellent behaviour at all parts of the school day including the way they treat others. We also, in PSHE, look at ways to show respect beyond school.
Asking children to challenge themselves is important in all aspects of life preparation. Children learn that finding things hard can be a positive as it helps us become better generally. We have children challenge themselves in lessons but also beyond lessons through our enrichment activities.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Each term, in Shiremoor Primary School, children have a ‘Personal Development’ Week which enables children to learn about and consider matters which will be important as they grow into adults. Personal Development Week covers aspects of spiritual, moral and cultural education, Personal, social and health education, Religious Education and environmental learning. In addition to this, across the year, there are many opportunities for children to learn key aspects of all of the above subjects and also to develop their knowledge of careers, British Values and our heritage.
BRITISH VALUES
Democracy
Each year begins with a democratic process where each class can nominate representatives for our school council, Shiremoor Voice. As children progress through school, this process becomes more like a real election with candidates preparing their own manifesto to secure a vote. All children have opportunity to complete voting slips to elect their Shiremoor Voice representative. As children are involved in this process, they are encouraged to see the link with real politics, and to know about the main political parties and how Government works.
Children progressively learn about our political and legal system and compare and contrast it to other systems around the world. Children also learn why voting is a democratic right that they should exercise when given the opportunity. Links are made with the Royal Family and the role they play in our democracy and children learn about the impact of other monarchs.
Once Shiremoor Voice is established, the council meets every week with an agreed agenda. All classes contribute to the agenda through class discussion and the representative then brings the views of the class back to the meeting. Information about actions can be shared in assembly.
Any pupil or member of staff can bring an item to be placed on the agenda for discussion but the key focus areas are school priorities, supporting charities and school development. The Council is also very involved in environmental issues. Minutes of the meeting are shared on the website.
Rule of Law
At Shiremoor Primary School, we are very conscious that an important part of our work is to create productive members of a future society. To this end, it is really important that children learn about how society operates and the importance of being able to live in a way that does not negatively affect others.
Children learn progressively about how the law works and how laws are created and also what happens when they are no longer required. They also learn how they can support changes in the law and they consider implications of laws being broken and if this can ever be considered acceptable.
Every school year, at the start of term, through our Personal Development Week, we have a major focus on citizenship, school rules and behaviour. Children learn about parts that we play in society and how our actions affect those around them.
Monday morning assembly sets the tone for the week in terms of our high expectations and, over the year, children work towards bronze, silver and gold awards for ‘consistent’ good behaviour. On Friday assembly we focus on Skillsbuilder skills that support them in thinking about how they present to others and also how they can develop themselves for their careers in future.
Individual Liberty
All children participate in PSHE lessons to understand equality and human rights, respect and dignity, rights, choices, consent and individuality as well as having values and principles. This learning is supplemented through our Personal Development Week each term when all aspects of British Values are taught and reinforced. Respect is also one of our core words and all children are able to work towards a ‘Respect award’ to show that they understand this value.
Some of the literature that we use in school supports the children in understanding aspects of individual liberty in terms by looking at fictional experiences (based on truth) of different time periods or other cultures.
Respect and Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs
Respect is one of our core values and children learn about respect for themselves and others. They understand that respect features in our daily school routines and also beyond.
Children need to learn how to show respect for others and understand that difference is not only acceptable, but welcome. Children know that everyone is welcome in our school.
We have strong links with St. Marks Church and the local Salvation Army. Children also have opportunity to visit St. Marks each term to see the workings of the Church.
Our curriculum ensures that each year group have to study Christianity alongside other religions and covers progressively more challenging ideas learning to compare and contrast. Year 6 have some very challenging conversations around respect and tolerance for different faiths and beliefs.
We invite ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ to do annual work with children around tolerance and respect. Assemblies, PSHE and class work also ensure that this message is constantly reinforced.
Any complaints about lack of tolerance or respect for others on school premises, are followed up stringently.
Children are encouraged to value the school building and contents and to see the link between finance and material possessions. They follow the school rules, which they see daily in the school hall.
Children learn about key figures in history who have contributed to positive changes to society and consider how they can emulate these ideas. Children have a lot of opportunities for learning about Great Britain and the wider world around us.
Older children are encouraged to support younger children at key times such as lunch times. They are also encouraged to volunteer in the community when possible for example, singing at the Church, helping at the Shiremoor Treat. Older children can apply for key jobs around school such as Sports Leaders, Anti-Bullying Ambassadors or Reader Leaders.
Children learn about careers each term starting in nursery and they enjoy visitors who speak to them about career prospects for the future. All KS2 children are encouraged to have a career in their head.
A huge variety of extra-curricular activities are available to promote a positive mental attitude and team spirit. Children learn about healthy competition and how working together can make us stronger.
Our Personal Development Week enables children to learn about finance and how they will need to budget and the value of money and the links this has to them requiring a future career.
Focus is given to our positive differences and how we all have strengths and areas to develop.
Cultural Influences
Children learn about our area’s mining heritage and, over their time in school, visit sites that reflect our mining culture.
The Shiremoor Treat is celebrated in school, as well as having the actual event on the first weekend in July, which is a long-standing tradition designed originally by the miners as an annual family picnic.
Our art curriculum and aspects of our music curriculum support learning about our heritage and our local area by using a range of modern and historic local artists and musicians and learning some typical north east songs.
Children also learn about the world wars and commemorate November 11th each year, both in school, and at local ceremonies by making poppies, watching clips, carrying out research, singing and reading poetry.
Artistic, Sporting and Cultural Opportunities
We have an extensive visits programme for children across school so that by the time they leave us, we have ensured that they have had key experiences such as visiting a museum, theatre, art gallery, sporting venues and areas that support learning across the curriculum.
In an extension of our art curriculum children display their own work twice a year at a local venue and at the Shiremoor Treat.
Children also perform musically at various venues and events in the local area throughout the year. We expect all children to be able to play an instrument by the time they leave us and to be able to read musical notation. We support children in this by providing musical instruments for KS2 children to take home daily for practise.
P.E. and sport are an important aspect of school life and across school and all children take part in competitive and non-competitive games each year across a variety of sports. We also have trips to support local teams, for example, Newcastle Falcons or Newcastle Eagles. Many children become ‘sports leaders’ and play an active part in supporting others. We compete annually in various sports at the Shiremoor Treat but also teams compete in other competitions as these arise.
All teachers plan a rich diet of opportunities across the year so that learning opportunities in all areas are maximised.
Spiritual Education:
Children participate in a daily act of collective worship that includes aspects of spirituality. Children understand that we should find awe and wonder in the world. We often start an assembly or daily act of collective worship with appreciation of aspects of the world around us.
Children are encouraged to care about nature and the world around us through activities within the Geography and Science curriculum but also in visits out of school. We also find spirituality in art and music.
Children are encouraged to understand that we can all have different beliefs and many of our beliefs will develop as we grow and learn.