A member of Dales Academies Trust Growing compassionate and courageous learners; building successful futures.
Vision, Values and Aims
Vision Statement
With love and compassion, we nurture kind children who care deeply. Rooted in our community and valuing God’s world, we share a responsibility to the world around us. Everything is possible through our courage and determination to learn and achieve excellence together.
Theological Underpinning: Wise and foolish builders Matthew 7:24-7 The Wise and Foolish Builders
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Our School Values
Our school values are taken from our vision statement. They are love, compassion, community and courage.
Love: We value love at Oakbridge and are committed to a loving and nurturing ethos where pupils feel safe, loved and valued.
Compassion: We value compassion and will model and develop compassion in our children for each other, their adults, the wider community and the world around them.
Community: We value community as we are part of building a new community in North Northallerton. Our school is a hub for the local community, including for worship, community use and support. We aim to develop a sense of responsibility in our pupils to contribute to their community.
Courage: We value courage in our pupils and will encourage them to take risks in their learning and have courage to make the right choices in their behaviour in school and beyond.
These values will allow us to put God’s words into practice, like the wise man who built his house on the rock.
Oakbridge Aims
- To nurture each child so that they feel safe, happy and valued
- To create an inclusive setting where every child has the support they need to flourish
- To develop compassionate children who care about each other, their school, their community and are empowered to ‘make a difference’ in the world
- To teach an ambitious, inspiring, broad and balanced curriculum so that academic standards are high and children are prepared for their next stages in education
- To develop a lifelong love of reading in our children
- To have exceptionally high expectations for our children in all aspects of school life
- To be a hub for the local community, supporting community members and contributing to our local areaTo challenge stereotypes and celebrate diversity
- To provide a wide range of opportunities for our children so that they develop as well-rounded individuals and disadvantaged pupils leave us with language and experiences in line with their peers
- To guide our children to put God’s words into practice.
PSHE Curriculum
Our PSHE curriculum begins in Reception and builds each year until Year 6. Pupils are taught PSHE weekly and this is viewed by school as a core area of the curriculum. The SCARF curriculum scheme is used to ensure a rigorous knowledge-based offer. The curriculum includes strands that are revisited each year.
- Me and my Relationships
- Valuing Difference
- Keeping Safe
- Rights and Respect
- Being my Best
- Growing and Changing
These strands ensure that children learn about relationships and sex, equality and diversity, how to stay safe, respect and tolerance and how they change as they mature. British values are interwoven into the scheme as is an understanding of protected characteristics. Water safety is an important part of our PSHE curriculum due to the large soakaway area adjacent to the school site. As the school grows, other contextualised safeguarding issues may become prevalent. The KAPOW scheme allows school leaders to access additional resources to ensure our children stay safe.
There will be additional support for pupils with SEND to access the PSHE curriculum as we know some pupils with SEND can be more vulnerable in terms of safeguarding. School staff will regularly check pupils’ understanding and offer additional sessions where necessary.
Citizenship
Citizenship is a key part of our vision, values and aims. As a new school in a new community, we are committed to contributing. This will include working with local homes for the elderly, supporting local foodbanks and being a distributor for local families, raising money for charities and close partnership working with our church. We plan to be a hub for our local community.
As the school grows, we will use Smart School Council as a tool to ensure every child is involved in decisions around how we ‘make a difference’. Our children will see themselves as changemakers.
Our PSHE curriculum will teach children the knowledge they need to be active citizens. Democratic processes will start in Early Years, where pupils will vote for the book they read at story time and will develop to democratic elections for pupil leadership roles.
Respect and tolerance for other religions will be taught in PSHE and RE lessons as well as through school celebrations of major religious festivals, in line with our Equalities Objectives (please see Equalities page on the school website). Children will develop a deep understanding of British values through their curriculum learning, collective worships and the wider aspects of school life.
Development of Character
Our charity work outlined above will enable our pupils to grow as compassionate and caring individuals. In addition, our consistently high expectations for our children will instil a culture of pride. These expectations will be evident in the pupils’ behaviour and attendance, their uniform, their work and in our learning environments. At Oakbridge, small things matter, and all members of our school community will be proud to learn, work and grow at Oakbridge.
Wider Opportunities
There will be a wide range of after school clubs for our pupils as the school grows. We aim to offer opportunities that our pupils may not have outside of school and will be particularly focused on interesting and meeting the needs of our disadvantaged pupils.
Our Oakbridge Oath outlines the opportunities pupils will have will at school, including a range of educational visits to bring the curriculum to life, residential visits and experiences to ensure our pupils leave us as rounded individuals.
The school sports offer will be diverse and will ensure pupils experience a range of sporting opportunities, including competitions.
There will be an atelier in school for artwork. This space will allow teachers to focus on the children’s creative development in a space designed for this purpose. Pupils will visit art galleries during their time at primary school and will develop a strong knowledge around artists through our art curriculum. We aim to host art gallery events in school for the local community, so our children see themselves as artists.
Careers
Our curriculum will regularly reference careers. Our science scheme was chosen due to its explicit teaching around careers and celebration of the achievements of women and people of colour in science. Through each curriculum area, we will discuss career opportunities and ensure that our pupils are aspirational for their futures. As the pupils grow, links with the local secondary school and university visits will ensure they are aware of choices that are available to them later in their school journey.
British Values
The DfE have recently 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 with different faiths and beliefs.”
The Government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, and these values have been reiterated this year.
The curriculum at Oakbridge Church of England Primary School is planned to ensure that the teaching and understanding of British Values is embedded across the curriculum.
Democracy
Democracy is very important across the school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard. Children at Oakbridge know that there is always someone in school who they can listen and be heard, that their suggestions are valued.
At the beginning of every school year, the children are involved in the creation of their own class rules, choosing and voting for those that they feel are important and fair for all to adopt.
The Rule of Law
The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through collective worship. The school has four values that underpin the school vision. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the Police; Fire Service; Lifeguards etc. are regular parts of our school life.
Individual Liberty
Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make choices safety, through of provision of a safe environment and empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advise how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons. Whether it be through choice of challenge, of how they record, of participation in our extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.
Mutual Respect
Part of our school ethos and behaviour policy has revolved around the school vision and values. Respect is very important. All staff around the school promote respect for others and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning rules, as well as our behaviour policy.
Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs
This is achieved through enhancing pupils understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity. Collective worship and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.