Aims & Ethos

At Astmoor Primary School we pride ourselves on being a very caring and nurturing community. We promote kindness and compassion through everything we do. We believe that this makes us a strong community where children can be secure in their learning and go on to become good, strong citizens.

The specific aims of our school are:

• To prepare the children of the school for life, encouraging and developing a flexibility and adaptability of thought.
• To give every child the opportunity to be successful at something worthwhile and be valued for this.
• To fully develop the potential of each individual within the school by creating the conditions in which effective learning can take place.
• To work together as a staff to provide an atmosphere of love and warmth where there is no fear.
• To deliver a broad and balanced curriculum appropriate to age and ability 

British Values Statement

At Astmoor Primary School we value the diversity of backgrounds of all children and their families. In fact diversity is something we celebrate in everything we do. The department for Education states that there is a 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."

Our school reflects British values in all that we do. We aim to nurture children on their journey through life so that they can grow into safe, caring, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British life and the world. We encourage our children to be creative, unique, open-minded and independent individuals, respectful of themselves, others, the school environment and the world they live in.

There are 4 strands through which we promote British Values. They are:

1. Democracy
2. Rule of Law
3. Individual Liberty
4. Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those with Different Faiths and Beliefs

Here are just some examples of how the 4 strands are promoted at our school:

DEMOCRACY

• All children vote to elect members onto the school council
• Children understand that our Head Boy and Head Girl are elected through a fair vote system
• Visits from Local Councillors and MPs such as Derek Twigg
• Children are given choices about the things they would like to learn about in class and homework tasks

RULE of LAW

• All children are taught about our school rules: Ready, Reaspect and Safe
• Each class decides specific rules for their teaching areas
• Children are taught about sanctions for when rules are broken and understand how following rules is beneficial
• We have strong links with the Local Community Support Officers

INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY

• From a very young age children at Astmoor are encouraged and given the freedom to make choices such as making snack choices or choosing from the lunch menu
• Lots of children have key roles throughout school such as register monitors, sports ambassadors and packed lunch monitors
• The school council is used as a means to harness children's ideas for improving the school community.

MUTUAL RESPECT and TOLERANCE

• Respect is a core value of our school
• Our rich and varied curriculum offers the children many opportunities to explore the lives of different people
• Visits to places of worship such as the local church and local Buddhist temple
• The Arts (music, art, dance and drama) are used positively to promote different beliefs and cultures