Ethos

School Ethos

The ETHOS of the school describes its character and the important values and behaviours which underpin our work and are shown through everyday life at the school.  At Northenden, we have three overarching ethos statements which illustrate the important things we value in our school.  They are:

• Respect for Each Other
• Quality and Success for All
• A Caring Community

Respect for Each Other

We believe that RESPECT for each other is very important.  It is at the heart of how we treat each other, talk to each other, respond to each other and have regard for each others’ feelings, abilities, backgrounds, family life,  cultures, differences and needs.  At our school, we aim that pupils, staff, parents, governors and visitors treat each other with respect at all times and that the relationships between these stakeholders in our school are always of the highest quality.

Being respectful in our school means:

• speaking to each other in a nice way;
• acknowledging and understanding each others’ differences, circumstances and needs;
• respecting diversity, including people with different or protected characteristics;
• not using hurtful or unkind words to anyone, particularly because they are different;
• behaving appropriately at all times;
• treating each other with kindness, courtesy and good manners;
• treating the school and our belongings with care.

Quality and Success for ALL

We believe that we should strive to bring the highest quality to everything we do.  That means that we aim for the best it can be.  Quality and success at our school means that we aim …

• for every child to achieve success, produce quality work and make excellent progress throughout the school;
• to create and implement a well-designed and knowledge-rich curriculum;
• for the quality of our teaching to be at least good if not outstanding;
• for our learning environment to be of a good standard;
• to provide our children with the best possible resources and materials within our means and budget;
• for our staff to develop high-quality practice and receive excellent support from senior leaders, governors and each other.

A Caring Community

We believe that caring and nurturing relationships between all stakeholders and our relationships within the school, local and wider community are very important.  This means that we:

• aim to give children the best of care, guidance and support during their time with us;
• aim to support parents through a caring and supportive partnership;
• care about the opinions, thoughts and ideas of pupils, parents, staff, governors and community stakeholders;
• make a positive contribution to the school, local, wider and global community.

Our Values

At our school, we aim to promote human values and qualities and stress the importance, among other things,  of …

These values are promoted through everyday lessons and activities, our behaviour policy, our PSHE, Citizenship and Rights Respecting School programmes, and our assemblies.

School Aims

At Northenden Community School, we aim to:

• prepare children for the next phase of their education, ensuring that they have the skills, knowledge and  understanding, and excellent attitudes to learning to continue to succeed at secondary school;
• have high expectations of all children and enable them to achieve high standards of attainment and make good progress;
• encourage our pupils to become good and respectful citizens who know how to make a positive contribution to society;
• offer an enjoyable, balanced and varied curriculum underpinned by the National Curriculum;
• provide lots of opportunities for pupils to achieve personal growth and development, including through Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development;
• provide high-quality engaging teaching, including opportunities for personalised learning;
• offer lots of opportunities for all children to learn about and appreciate the arts, humanities and sports, and take part in a range of extra activities;
• provide excellent care, guidance and support and promote healthy and safe lifestyles;
• demonstrate high quality leadership, management and development of staff at all levels;
• work in consultation and partnership with all who have a stake in the future of the school and its community, including other schools.