Looking After Our Pupils
The welfare of our pupils is extremely important to us. In our small school we pride ourselves on knowing each child as an individual. Pupils know that they can confide in and talk to any adult within the school. Our vision is not just about growing academically but developing socially and emotionally too. Curzon children grow in confidence and happiness, feeling safe and secure in their environment. The ODBST grades the school’s personal development as outstanding.
Older children take on roles of responsibility to help younger children, such as reading buddies, house captains and sports leaders. Curzon is often described as one big happy family.
On the playground there is a buddy bench where pupils can sit if they don’t have anyone to play with. Whenever pupils see someone on this bench, they go over to help them. Such acts of kindness are encouraged and celebrated in our weekly Golden Books of Kindness.
Each class has a ‘Worry box’ whereby children can post a note if they are unhappy about something. Classes often talk about matters which may bother them in a ‘Circle Time’. Circle Times, a key part of our PSHE curriculum, are also used for enabling the class to work together as a team.
The curriculum is designed to give opportunities for personal growth. From team projects in Forest school to talk partners and peer editing, children grow emotionally and socially during their time with us.
The behaviour of our pupils is of great importance to us. One of our key values is respect towards everyone, whatever their age. All pupils sign a school contract promising to
- Attend school regularly and on time;
- Dress myself properly in my school uniform and bring all the equipment I need each day;
- Show I am working my hardest at all times;
- Read every day at home and do any homework my teacher sets;
- Be kind and not hurt others;
- Respect teachers at all times, offering to help and support them and other pupils;
- Help care for the school, my classroom and the environment;
- Share my school day with my parents/ guardians;
- Make my teacher, my class and my parents / guardians proud of me.
The school does not tolerate bullying of any kind and has an anti-bullying policy written with the children. Whereas every child makes and breaks friends on what can seem like a fairly regular basis, if a child perceives an action of another child’s is bullying, it is important to us and time is spent fostering positive friendships and repairing any temporary fall-outs.
Two children from each class represent their class on the School Council and two on the Eco Council. Here, pupils talk about any aspect of school life that they may wish to discuss. They plan and undertake projects such as a sponsored skip to buy PE resources for our linked school in Kirongo and litter picks. Teachers, the Headteacher and Governors often use the School and Eco Councils as a sounding board for new ideas or to get feedback on different topics from each class. Surveys are sometimes undertaken by School Council or by staff to gauge interest or information on a topic.
Keeping our pupils safe is a key priority. We have mapped out how safeguarding is taught across the curriculum: Safeguarding across the curriculum.
