Shaw Cross Infant and Nursery School

Democracy

Pupils contribute to and decide on own class rules and the rights and responsibilities associated with these.

A school council is elected for each class in KS1 as role models and a pupil voice for their class. They are involved in meetings with the head teacher and in decision making regarding general day to day issues which may affect them and their peers. 

Assemblies address the role of members of parliament and how adults have the choice to elect representatives. Children are taught about current affairs and the role of politicians.

Pupil voice is collected in the form of questionnaires or pupil interviews and results are used to guide policy and practise e.g. selecting new books of interest for class libraries, identifying sports clubs they would like to have, equipment they would like outside etc.

We create regular opportunities where a class vote is required to make decisions such as their class name, storybook choice, choices within their learning, or the nature of the rewards they receive in recognition of achievements.

The Rule of Law

Our children are exposed to rule of law from the onset of their time with us. We support them in understanding that the laws govern the class, school, community or country, and they are set for the good of all and need to be adhered to.

We teach children the rule of law in assembly and focus on the rule of law the weeks theme pertains to. E.g. when learning about AI children are taught that the DFE are responsible for education and the government set policies and rules about how and what the children learn.

Children work collaboratively to help to set class rules and understand the reason for school rules. We focus on the need for these to be fair and reasonable, and to understand that consequences can occur if these rules are broken.

All children follow ‘Golden Rules’ which have an assembly focus throughout the year. The golden rules are; we are gentle, we are kind and helpful, we listen, we are honest, we work hard, we look after property.

Throughout the school year we welcome visitors from members of the wider community to share their experiences of rules and law, such as the police, fire brigade, church and mosque representatives.

Individual Liberty

Pupils are actively encouraged to make choices and decisions within their learning. The importance of this is evident in the EYFS characteristics of effective learning, and also through our school vales of Respect, Reflect and Resilient.

We educate our children to enhance their awareness and understanding of the wider world, but then enable them to make their own choices within the boundaries of a safe and supportive school environment. Such example are our E-safety rules, making decisions about how to negotiate play and PE apparatus, and in providing opportunities where they can challenge themselves within their own learning.

Pupils have the chance to take lead roles within school and class, such as monitors, playtime leaders, and happiness heroes and are expected to make the right choices of behaviour and attitudes to learning within these roles. They become ambassadors for this role.

Within some lessons, children are encouraged to take ownership of their own learning and make their own choices as to how to approach challenges. In the EYFS curriculum this is prevalent throughout the continuous provision where children have the opportunity to choose where to work, how to approach a range of task and how long they will remain focussed and engaged on any one activity. In Key Stage 1 this is enhanced by children considering how to approach learning, e.g. problem solving in maths, research tasks in science or literacy, and how to present their findings. Children in year 1 also have the option of an enhanced provision whereby they need to organise their own learning.

In extra-curricular opportunities, we have a range of options which children have the freedom to select from, based on their own interests, these range from Music club, Choir, Recorder club, Lunchtime games, Construction club, Arts & Crafts, Computing, Gardening club and a range of sports clubs.

Mutual Respect

Mutual respect is at the core of our school life with everyone, adult or child, being expected to treat each other with upmost regard.  This is reflected in our school aim of ‘working together to value and nurture children’ whereby we strive to form positive relationship between everyone in our community for the good of our children.

Respect forms part of our golden rules, and stories and moral issues are addressed through assemblies and class-based work where children are asked to reflect on how to behave in certain situations and how to show positive attitudes towards each other.

Within class-based learning, children are taught how to work together with partners, groups and their class as a whole. We have a clear philosophy which encourages participation and appreciation for any contributions made. Our ethos of ‘no idea is a bad idea’ encourages children to listen to each other and build on each other’s contribution towards a common goal.

We have a weekly assembly in which children celebrate each other’s achievements. During these children demonstrate pride for their class peers. We also work hard on creating a supporting ‘team’ within classes where they are able to work together towards common achievements, such as Kind heart awards, certificates for upholding school values and a star pupil award for performing over and above either in work or character behaviour.

There are a number of situations where children are asked to evaluate the work of a peer and provide feedback in a constructive but positive way. This is modelled to children, scaffolded and positive praise given to desired outcomes. This may be when talking about how to enhance the quality of a sentence, to suggest a more efficient maths strategy, to add detail to a piece of art work and so on.

Being a good sport is something that we work particularly hard on during PE lessons, playtimes and in clubs. We teach children how to be gracious winners and to use defeat as a motivational tool for self- improvement. We teach children to respect the achievements of others including those with protected characteristics. E.g. Paralympians.

Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs

Shaw Cross is a diverse school and we actively promote this through teaching children about celebrations from different faiths, such as Christmas, Easter, Eid, and Diwali. Children are encouraged to share their own faiths and experiences, and do so with enthusiasm and pride. Through RE lessons and assemblies we compare and contrast different faiths and in doing so develop children’s understanding of their own ideas/beliefs as well as an acceptance and appreciation of others.

We strive to provide a rich environment in which our resources, teaching materials and displays reflect a range of diverse cultures.

As part of our curriculum we make every effort to make links with representatives of different faiths in the community. At intervals throughout the year we invite visitors into school from different faiths, and similarly make links through external visits to places of worship.

On an annual basis we take part in the Jo Cox ‘Great Get Together’ to celebrate different faiths and cultures with families from our community. During this event children learn key messages of the ‘more in common’ campaign and appreciate similarities and differences while enjoying outdoor activities and a picnic together.