Ethos
We believe that education prepares children to make a positive contribution to the world around them. It instils a sense of respect for the values of truth, justice, honesty, trust and loyalty.
Our school promotes an ethos of tolerance and mutual respect which is rooted in Christian values. We aspire to see children valuing themselves, their families, the wider groups in which they belong, the diversity of their society and the environment in which they live.
As educators, we strive to work in partnership with parents towards a common goal of developing each child as an individual – physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially.
We want all children to show initiative in their own learning and we aim to ensure that each child is fully included, secure and valued.
From a child's perspective
Viewed from the perspective of the child, we have developed the following as a 'child-friendly' set of aims:
King's Hawford encourages me to:
- Be fully involved and enjoy school life;
- Find out as much as I can about the world in which I live;
- Explore my personal skills and talents, and discover new ones;
- Ensure that all of our school, children and adults, feel part of a community;
- Feel proud of my successes and take on new challenges;
- Value the achievements of others as well as my own;
- Treat others fairly and honestly.
Teaching and Learning
A number of principles underpin our teaching and learning. These can be summarised as being our desire to:
- Set high expectations and give every child confidence that they can succeed;
- Establish what children already know and build on this;
- Structure and pace the learning experience to make it challenging and enjoyable;
- Inspire learning through passion for the subject;
- Make individuals active partners in their learning;
- Develop learning skills and personal qualities;
- Develop teaching skills that respond to a rapidly changing world.
Independent learners
Young pupils are necessarily very reliant upon their teachers for initiating and supporting their learning. It is the policy at King's Hawford to help children achieve greater independence in their learning as they move through the School.
To this end, it is our policy to encourage children to strive for explanation and understanding and not to 'spoon feed' answers. This might typically mean that children would progressively be given pieces of the jigsaw until they reached a conclusion.