School Values

Our school values are at the core of everything we do. They underpin our teaching and learning, and provide an environment which prepares our students as confident, happy citizens.

Safeguarding Communities - Building Resilience

Great Oaks Smalls School recognises the importance of providing an ethos and environment within school that will help children to feel safe, secure and respected; encourage them to talk openly; and enable them to feel confident that they will be listened to.

 

We begin this journey with our school vision, where our students grow and learn together, developing their understanding of their community locally, nationally and internationally. Building resilience will enable our students to use a clear voice and help them to recognise when they are in vulnerable situations. The teaching we focus on in Personal, Social, Health Economics (PSHE); Relationship, Sex Education (RSE); and Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural studies (SMSC) encourages the development of emotional intelligence which is critical for emotional well-being and life success.

 

Our safeguarding practices enable our team to cascade their knowledge and vigilance beyond the school walls and our families to share confidently information with their children tightening the links between school and family liaison; thus, highlighting the importance of reporting all events that raise a concern.

 

We take safeguarding from school to home by distributing information packs and give opportunities to parents/carers to attended open afternoons and further ask questions relating to information given. This takes our safeguarding into our student's home and communities further promoting their safety in the wider world.

 

Embracing Difference - Promoting British Values

Embedded throughout our school culture, delivered through SMSC, we promote our vision as follows:

 

We follow Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to enable our students to leave school as well- rounded, well-grounded individuals with a valued place in British society and the wider world.

 

Supported by British Values we encourage democracy with our regular school council meetings, which are run by our students, guided by staff. These meetings are based upon respect for different opinions in addition to a mutual understanding that it is okay to express what you think and feel. PSHE teaches the Rule of Law in relation to students as individuals and how this law changes as they get older. Underpinning this, we teach about the rights of the child and encourage responsibility for behaviour and actions.  

 

Unlocking Potential – Progress and Achievement

Celebrating success is to publicly praise and honour the fact that an effort has been accomplished and brought to a successful conclusion or desired result. This promotes a positive atmosphere within the classroom, school and home. In celebrating success our objectives are to:

 

• Build self-esteem
• Motivate individuals
• Act as motivation for others
• Value what the student has achieved
• Raise expectations
• Encourage academic achievement; personal -growth and development

We measure and celebrate success through tools such as the Boxall and PASS. Well-being refers to feeling at ease, being spontaneous and free from emotional tensions and is crucial to ‘good mental health’. Well-being is linked to self-confidence, a good degree of self-esteem and resilience. Involvement refers to being intensely engaged in activities and is considered to be a necessary condition for deep level learning and developments.

The Boxall profile provides a framework for the precise assessments of children who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and are failing at school. It helps teachers to plan focused intervention for those children whose behaviour appears to make no sense. The profile provides the teacher with insights and suggests points of entry into the child’s world; it makes people think about what lies behind the behaviour.

Our students have an opportunity to study a wide range of qualifications:

 

GCSE’s

• A levels
• Certificate of Personal Effectiveness
• Functional Skills
• CACHE
• BTech

Success is celebrated every day within the classroom and around the school through our rewards system, visual and verbal praise. Irrespective of starting point, we ensure our students’ progress and achievements are celebrated across the school promoting positive attitudes and confidence of self, others and collectively.