Values Education

Values Education

Schools have always been interested in three kinds of outcomes: skills -what our students are able to do; knowledge—what they know; and character—the kind of people they become. With the launch of the new National Curriculum, maintained sector primary and secondary schools are in no doubt about what must be taught and how. Independent schools however are in the luxurious position of having more flexibility when it comes to how and what they teach. Careful and strategic prioritising of the outcomes we are striving for is a critical element of our continual success.

Recent documentation published by the Department of Education demands that schools in England actively promote fundamental British values, both in lessons and through extra curricular activity, with similar guidance for independent schools being simultaneously published. In our school community it is not fundamental British values we concern ourselves with but values as a much broader concept. The dictionary definition of ‘values’ is: the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. Our values show what we tend to do with our life and energy and every individual, family and organization holds its own unique collection of values.

I believe that values education is a way of doing everything in our school. It's not one particular program or focus; it's everything we do, which influences the kind of human beings our pupils become. This year I took the decision to be more explicit about our values education; developing a comprehensive framework and a purposeful dialogue. Following a period of consultation in the summer term, we identified a set of eight values, which over the coming academic year, we will explore through a weekly values assembly and follow up discussion and activities. It is our belief that schools should take the development of values as seriously as the syllabus and our enthusiastic and insightful pupil responses assure us that we are right. In addition to our comprehensive timetable, we consider exercises based on a “values-centred” pedagogy to be a worthwhile investment, which bring even more worthwhile dividends. Teaching becomes more enjoyable and has more impact; the pupils become more focused, more active and more independent.

The first headmaster of Stowe school, JF Roxburgh, declared his goal to turn out young men who would be "acceptable at a dance and invaluable in a shipwreck." A mixture of courtesy and courage used to be considered essential to character. British citizens were the sort of people who knew both how to survive a Blitz and queue politely.  More recently, the concept of good character has begun to be considered by some as old-fashioned but it is character which matters over and above resources in improving life chances for our children.

    courage ∞ patience ∞ happiness ∞ perseverance ∞ love ∞ respect ∞ honesty ∞ peace

Oh the thinks you can think if you only try

Most people who know me will tell you that I have got quite a lot to say. This is not a new thing. Any of the poor, long suffering teachers who had the pleasure of teaching me would quite likely have said the same. It is for this reason that I have included only a selection of the things I have to say in this particular post.

In my defence, I would like to say that some people have a lot to say, of which they have not given much prior thought to and I am not often one of those people. This is because, and here comes the overarching theme of my post, I think a lot. I start thinking the minute the alarm goes off in the morning and am bombarded until the minute my brain finishes working on the day’s events- usually about 3 and a half seconds after my head touches the pillow. Most recently I have been thinking about my thinking (I told you, I think a lot) and I realised that among the bizarre (I won’t share this with you) there is some really good stuff going on up there and, like I said, I have a lot to say so many people are often lucky enough, whether they like it or not, to hear what I am thinking about. This means that when I am driving to school in the morning thinking about report cards and assessment or something equally exciting, the teacher bestowed with the privilege of taking care of this particular issue in school is about to hear what I have to say. It means that the caretaker gets to hear what I have to say about the litter on the playground and that Year 5 get to hear what I think about the presentation of their English books!

So when I started thinking about my thinking, I suddenly thought- yes it really is that exhausting- Do the parents know what I am thinking? Do the parents have any idea about the two hours I have spent thinking about this wonderful new initiative that I would like to consider for the coming academic year? Do the parents know how much I care about pupil progress, school development, governance & leadership, marketing, the financial health of the school and the dreams & aspirations of their children? And it occurred to me that you might not know!

So I am going to tell you about just three of the big things my brain has been working on most recently:

Think 1

Now think 1 might not initially set you alight and you might consider it to be awash with politically correct buzzwords but the most important thing about Think 1 is our utter commitment to it, as opposed to a lip-service approach. Think 1 is a complete re evaluation of the school principles & values. The principles and values of our school are what make us the charming & wonderful community that we are. They are the absolute foundations on which we build our practice and grow our children and adults. So you can expect to see and hear a lot about this because it is my intention to consult with teachers at inset, with pupils in class and in assemblies and with parents and other stakeholders, most likely through a good old fashioned survey, to understand exactly what we are all about. Because it is only when we understand ourselves fully in this way that we can truly maximise our potential.

Think 2

Think 2 is something that has been borne out of some of the fabulous Heads’ training and conferences that I have been lucky enough to attend this year and is about the individualised and personalised nature of the education we offer our pupils. In our small classes and with the individual attention that we so freely give to your children, I have begun to think about how this could be developed into something even more educationally meaningful. This line of enquiry has received hours and hours of my attention and has driven me to consult with some very fine Heads of some very fine schools. To give you a sense of how this might look; I am talking about a standard and formal record of children’s abilities, progress & aspirations, which travels with them throughout their school career and informs a tailored education for each child. If it is that your daughter dreams of becoming an astronaut, then it is for us to provide her with the opportunities to find out more about pursuing this. If it is that your son has a gift for maths but a heart-stopping fear of public speaking then it is for us to respond to this in a highly focussed way. Of course we are all aware that this week’s big ambition may fall by the wayside, change or grow and that this is an essential part of growing so our individualised plans must be flexible, responsive and current. This is a big ambition but one that I hope very much, through consultation with you all, will become a fantastic reality.

I am sure some of you will be grateful to hear that we have reached Think 3 and I am not in the least bit offended that you might prefer to be chatting with your friends than listening to the teacher (Believe me- I have been there!)

Think 3 has been a much more introspective one so please forgive me if in sharing it I am less than eloquent. In recent months, there has been an overriding sense of transition in school as the guardianship of the school is increasingly and gradually entrusted to me. I am aware that this transition is one which everybody will feel in a variety of ways and that along the way most of us will be doing our own thinking, some of which will be about me.

Now I am not suggesting that you will awake at 6.30 in the morning and immediately think about me in quite the same way as I leap from my first waking thought of my own children (I had to include that for legal reasons) to swift consideration of the refurbishment of the boys’ toilets at school. But what I know is this:

Being entrusted with the Headship of a school is a big deal. It carries with it the weight of responsibility for every child’s happiness, wellbeing and education. Some of you will have wondered whether I am up to the job, whether I have what it takes, whether I am worth my salt and any other idioms you can muster. I myself am aware of the enormity of the role and know that there will be days when I am required to dress up in a onsie & a wig, days when I am required to solve several problems within the first half hour of the school day; of which these might range from a lost football sock to a distraught child who has just lost their family pet, who was also their best friend. Inevitably, there will be times when one or other of you comes to me because you are disappointed or angry and I hope that there will also be many occasions when we come together to celebrate and enjoy our wonderful community.

The success of any school is the sum of its parts. We will be successful if we work together, communicate with each other and share our principles and values. It is not inconceivable that we will disagree over certain matters. Some of you will question some of my decisions or indeed find that there are parts of me that you do not like; maybe you hate my shoes, maybe you hate my blog post but you should know this:

What I care about is this school. What I care about is the people in this school; your children, their teachers and you. I will do whatever I can to take us from our current success to even greater brilliance and I will strive tirelessly to maximise potential- to maximise the potential of your children, their teachers and our school. Becoming a Head does not come with any oath swearing so you will have to trust that what I say is genuine and you will have to trust that I can ‘come up with the goods’ and I appreciate very much your trust because I understand that what is at stake for you is also the most important thing in the whole world to you. If I could begin to think about the oath a Head might swear upon their appointment it might go like this… Ahhh, but I am in danger of running into Think 4 so I had better stop. I suspect that such an oath might reveal itself through our school values so watch this space.

I thank you all for reading; for demonstrating your support of me and for absorbing so patiently what I have to say. I share these thoughts with you not for my own self-indulgence but because I genuinely feel that a line of communication such as this is so very valuable to your understanding of the direction of the school and of all the exciting potential we have. Now I am off to do some more thinking. ‘Oh the thinks you can think up if only you try.’ Dr Seuss