Aims and Ethos
At Castle Hill Primary our aim is to:
- Lead to improvements in all areas of school life
- educational
- environmental
- social, cultural
- health
- Be realistic and achievable, in our context
- Involve everyone who ‘plays’ a part in school life
Raise standards through improving:
- Standards of teaching and learning;
- Standards of pupil attainment and progress.
Our professional responsibility through professional development is to:
- Enlighten
- Improve understanding
- Help us lead and manage
- Motivate us
- Give us due credit for our effort and achievements.
Evaluation has always been an important part of school practice. It is robust and ongoing:
- Using numerical and statistical data (e.g. Analyse School Performance (ASP), FFT, Optional Test Data, internal school data);
- Valuing ephemeral data (e.g. listening, talking and making subjective judgements);
- Internal Assessment Folders – a key tracking document
- Pupil Asset - the school MIS
Aiming for Excellence
Thank you for your interest in Castle Hill Primary School. Our motto “Aiming for Excellence” and “Manners Matter” captures the essence of our school's key aims. We wish to provide the very best for your child in a disciplined, hardworking and, most importantly, happy environment.
Manners Matter
Our ethos has continually been cited as “outstanding” by numerous external assessors. This is due to a dynamic, productive and very close relationship with our school community. If you value high expectations, manners, school uniform, competition and hard work as highly as we do, then come and visit us.
Vision
"Quality is a journey not a destination"
Our intention is to provide an environment that allows all members of Castle Hill Primary School community to thrive. The priorities are agreed by and supported by all.
We hold fast to what we hold dear and although always open to constructive input we seek your partnership in the true spirit of progress for all.
British Values
We are committed to serving our community and embrace the belief that at the heart of a modern, ever-changing community is the acceptance of key British Values. As a school, it is our responsibility to ensure that our children understand and follow the British Values, so that they are prepared for life in modern Britain.
At Castle Hill Primary School we promote ‘British Values’ through our spiritual, moral, social and cultural education which permeates through the school’s curriculum and supports the development of the ‘whole child’.
We recognise that such development is most successful when those values and attitudes are promoted by all the staff and provide a model of behaviour for our pupils.
Current guidance states that:
“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 continue to drive and impact school practice.
These values are embedded into the Castle Hill ethos in the following ways:
Democracy:
Democracy is extensive within the school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our pupils including, Student Senate and Eco-warriors. Elections in year 6 take place in order to elect our Head boys, Head girls and leadership team to give our older pupils more senior roles of responsibility to aspire to. These elections are based on a democratic voting process in which the whole school community takes part.
The Student Senate positions are re-elected each year with care given to ensure that the senate is representative of a range of all pupil groups. These pupils meet regularly with staff and drive school improvement at a pupil level. This is then fed back into class to ensure that all pupils have a voice.
The Rule of Law:
The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently revisited throughout the school year, through assemblies and our PSHE and RE curriculums. 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 etc. are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message.
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 our pupils to make choices within a safe and empowering school community. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and follow advice on how to do this safely.
Mutual Respect:
We are committed to ensuring that pupils behave in a way that is at all times accepting, open and respectful. Through our diverse and thematic curriculum, explicit teachings through personal, social, health and emotional (PSHE), religious education (RE) and our assemblies programme, we address the core ideals of mutual respect within modern Britain, whilst challenging those that contradict them. We also offer focused opportunities for pupils to reflect on the importance of respect and its significance to us in Britain through student senate, pupil leadership roles and house days.