Ambitious aims require a strong ethos

‘Whole child’ aims

We fully embrace the development of ‘the whole child’ and aim to equip, over the course of our five-year continuous provision, every one of our pupils with:

• a complete set of skills in all major domains of development, i.e. self-regulatory (executive functions), cognitive, social, emotional and physical;
• skills and interest in all core academic subjects such as maths, English and science, as well as a wide range of specialisms, such as music, sports, arts, French, drama, dance and woodwork;
• the ability to solve problems and find solutions both individually and collaboratively; and
• a moral identity, to ensure they become good citizens with sound moral values.

In addition, we place great emphasis on helping to shape:

• a sustained joy of learning, innate curiosity and creativity;
• self-esteem and self-confidence, balanced with humility;
• independence;
• a positive, ‘can do’ approach to life;
• perseverance and resilience to rebound from setbacks; and
• an appreciation of the importance of wellbeing, and strategies for achieving it.

Ethos and guiding principles

Our long-established and deeply engrained ethos of Love • Care • Excellence encapsulates our commitment to excellence and our conviction that love and care are prerequisites for a child’s optimal development. They are essential to awakening innate curiosity and establishing a positive cycle of learning, success, confidence and happiness.

This philosophy is manifested in our school’s caring, friendly and fun atmosphere, so that children can feel secure about themselves and their learning. At the same time, we champion achievement, respect and discipline, marrying academic excellence with the development of strong emotional and social skills and values.

Our nine golden rules help us live out our ethos on a daily basis. We introduce them from Kindergarten and continuously reinforce and deepen their underlying concepts to provide a moral and behavioural compass for everyone at the school.

At a more philosophical level, we identify with the beautiful poem “On Children” by Lebanese-American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran, and his view that children are individuals whom we may care for and guide, but not change.  As parents and educators, we are merely “bows from which our children… are sent forth”.