Values

At The Observatory School, we strive to create a learning environment which promotes respect, diversity and self-awareness and equips all of our pupils with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they will need to succeed in their future lives.  Our values are closely linked to British Values and our pupils work hard toward their values goals.

Throughout the year we focus on 7 core values. They are:

  • Respect
  • Kindness
  • Patience
  • Perseverance
  • Compassion
  • Responsibility
  • Enjoyment

The School Council decided that these were the most important values and our pupils work hard to achieve these. We have a badge system to acknowledge when a pupil has achieved these.  Our Values system allows pupils to take responsibility for their own behaviour and to make the right choice independently. The pupils value progress is measured on Sleuth and is discussed during their form time. Pupils can earn a values point each lesson if they have demonstrated it in their lesson.

We also have weekly reflection time every day to discuss our values and progress. We also use this time to set our pupils their weekly values targets.

Our values drive our school life and are embedded throughout the curriculum and the day to day running of the school. When a pupil has earned their badge this is celebrated in our weekly celebration assembly and posted on our Wall of Fame.

At The Observatory School, the pupils and their learning are at the very heart of every decision made. We aim to develop learners who are passionate, take ownership of their learning and are proud of their achievements.

The ethos of our school is such that all people who come into our school, whether staff, pupil, parent or visitor, are valued as individuals regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or other difference. They should set, and be entitled to expect from others, good standards of behaviour, marked by respect and responsibility.

The school will help pupils to develop an inner discipline and will encourage pupils to not just ‘follow the crowd’ – they will make up their own minds and be ready to accept responsibility for what they do. They will grow through making choices and holding to the choices that they have made. They will want to be honest with themselves and with others.

British Values

The DfE have reinforced the need ‘to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy. the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.’

The Government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent strategy and these were reiterated in 2014. At The Observatory School these values are reinforced in the following ways:

Democracy

Democracy can be seen as a state of society characterised by equal rights and privileges. It can also refer to our nations electoral systems.

In our school we promote democracy by:

  • Our School Council. We have regular council meetings to discuss important issues in our school. Our pupils gather the views of their form groups and bring them to the meetings to discuss. This is an important aspect of our school life and changes are often made as a result of our ‘pupil voice’.
  • Our School Council representatives are voted in by their form group.
  • Pupils are involved in our staff recruitment process.
  • Our afternoon tea with Mr Chiswell is an opportunity for pupils to voice their views on school life.
  • We hold Head Boy and Girl elections. We keep this as true to the real thing as possible. We hold a voting system with a real Polling Station. The votes are then counted by the pupils and the results revealed in our Celebration Assembly.
  • We have a fair and consistent Behaviour Policy which has rewards and sanctions.

The Rule of Law

All people and institutions are subject to and accountable to law that is fairly applied and enforced.

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school or the country are consistently reinforced throughout the school year.

In our school we promote the rule of law by:

  • The school rules and the Behaviour policy.
  • Every class clearly displays the school rules.
  • Our Sleuth monitoring system records progress on pupils ability to follow rules.
  • Pupils earn points for following rules.
  • Our values system enables pupils to reflect on their own behaviours.
  • Close links with the Police as part of our pastoral care.
  • Pupils are taught the value of law through PSHE, form time and in assemblies.

Individual Liberty

Individual liberty is the free exercise of rights generally seen outside of government control.

At The Observatory School pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. We educate and provide boundaries for pupils  to make choices through a safe environment and an empowering education.

We promote individual liberty by:

  • Opportunities to take part in events in and outside of school. These include local trips, sporting events, overseas trips, volunteering events, charity events and work in the local community.
  • The use of values in our school life.
  • A wide range of Lunch and reward time activities. Pupils are given the freedom to chose whichever activity they would like.
  • Participating in charitable events such as Comic Relief, Children in Need, NSPCC, RSPCA and many other charities.
  • Volunteering to be members of our Eco School, School Council, Lunch and Break Time Monitors.
  • Valuing and celebrating pupils work in our weekly Celebration Assembly. This is also shared with parents and carers on our website through The Wall of Fame.
  • Pupils earn badges and certificates such as our ‘Star of the Day;’ to reward them for making the right choices throughout the day.
  • Our Head Boy and Head Girl elections are an opportunity for our pupils to make choices about who they would like to represent the school.

Mutual Respect

The proper regard for an individual’s dignity, which is reciprocated.

Mutual respect is at the heart of our values. Pupils learn that their own behaviour has an effect on their own rights and the rights of others.

We promote mutual respect by:

  • One of our core values is respect. Pupils work on this throughout the school year. Pupils progress towards each area of respect is recorded in Sleuth and we also have a badge reward system for this.
  • Pupils respect each others achievements and work in our weekly celebration assembly which is held every Friday.
  • Pupils hold an annual Remembrance Assembly. We have guest speakers who have first hand experiences of the armed forces. This is an opportunity for our pupils to show their respect.
  • Our pupils work with other pupils from different countries. They have been involved in projects through eTwinning which has connected them to pupils from all over Europe. They have celebrated different cultures, languages and traditions through the use of digital media.
  • ESafety ad Anti Bullying events promote respecting other people.
  • A strong curriculum that promotes a range of life opportunities for our pupils.
  • Humanities and eTwinning promote a mutual respect for other countries, cultures and religions.
  • Pupils have opportunities to visit other countries through our overseas trips.

Tolerance of Those with different Faiths or Religions

A fair objective and permissive attitude to those who’s faith and religion may differ from your own. 

Our well established eTwinning curriculum allows our pupils to experience other cultures and religions in a unique and  diverse way. We have links with over 30 schools from all over Europe and we work with them each year on different projects. Our pupils work face to face through the use of Digital Media with pupils of different beliefs and religions to their own. Our RE curriculum also enables our pupils to understand more about other religions and how other beliefs have an impact on their daily lives.

We promote tolerance of those with different faiths and religions by:

  • Learning about other cultures and religions from all over the world.
  • Working with other pupils who have different faiths, beliefs and religions from their own.
  • Assemblies from others who have a different faith, religion or belief from their own.
  • Theme days around culture and diversity.
  • Trips to other countries.
  • Reflection opportunities in form and assembly time.
  • Learning about being British and understanding that Britain is a multi-cultural society.