The Dell Primary School

[EduCativ]

All schools are not the same. It’s a bit wordy but year after year, conversation after conversation you get to see that, because no two children, adults, classes, or teams of people are the same, every school is unique. Each school has its own quite distinct culture and ethos as a result of both its constituent parts and the agreed approach to doing what it does. To be clear, it’s not as simple as good or bad, better and worse and it’s not about league tables it’s about what a school stands for and what its culture looks and feels like and the impact it has on every child. We believe that every child is different and each has his or her interests, aspirations, strengths, understanding of the world, and ambitions. While ‘national’ programs of learning and yearly expectations of ‘normal’ are never going to go away, we try to recognize and encourage each child to be themselves and to find what they’re good at. National initiatives and curriculum frameworks change every few years values and the core purpose of schools are pretty much cast in stone. Rightly, literacy and numeracy will always be at the core of any good school without these vital life skills, children will become disadvantaged adults and never have the chance to reach their potential. However we believe passionately that to thrive, humans need care, support, guidance, mentoring, exposure to role models, and a sense of ‘wow’ about the amazing world around them, near and far.
Our school is ‘all about learning but it’s also all about leadership. Our successes as a school are down to the adults who work here and no single person. The old days where headteachers had all the power and made all the decisions in schools are thankfully long gone, at least at The Dell. Good schools can’t become or stay 'good' like that. We share leadership amongst some great people and the mixture of skill, experience, passion, and opportunity means that the school runs like (an incredibly busy) well-oiled machine. All the people who work at The Dell are ‘teachers’ and they all see the part they play and the difference they make to the children who leave us at the end of Year 6. Teamwork is a strong feature of The Dell and the camaraderie and peer support are palpable. It's full-on and fast-paced but we believe that driven, passionate staff create happy, driven learners. Whether we're talking about the children or adults in our school, our focus isn't on compliance but community.
Every school and organization has aims and many have a list of values things it cares strongly about. At The dell, we were a bit worried that there can often be a gap between what you say you believe in (people put a lot of time and energy into deciding this) and what our school looks and feels like for everyone who comes into it every day.
Schools, and any group of people, are defined by their culture, the way things happen, the way people interact, and the way you feel just by being in them. A lot of ‘culture’ is about how things feel and look because of the way people act so it’s quite hard to put a ‘culture’ in writing but you can describe it and you can say what you want it to be like...the trick is making sure it feels that way all the time and for everyone.
In 2015, the School Council was asked to review over sixty different values. We gave them a list of values along with a brief description for each and asked them to choose what they felt were the eight most important behaviors in our school. They agree that if we all, children and adults, show these behaviors every day in all we do, our school will be a happier place and each of us will be closer to fulfilling our potential and role within the school. So part of it is what it looks and feels like already and part of it is writing it down to make sure it stays that way as well as giving pointers for each of us to check ourselves against.
Through a comprehensive process of teamwork and consultation with every child in the school, staff, parents, and governors, the School Council came up with the following behaviors and definitions which shape and define The Dell.

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