Early Years Early Years Welcome | Page 10

ETHOS OF EDUCATION ETHOS OF EDUCATION THE WELLINGTON IDENTITY THE WELLINGTON VALUES The Wellington Identity answers the question: “What is the finished product of an education at Wellington?” Clearly, we are not working with the ‘finished product’ as our pupils will leave us for the remainder of their education at the age of five. However, these qualities are no less important for practitioners and educators to promote – if we start in the early years, we lay a solid foundation for the future. The pillars of the Wellington Identity are: The aim of a Wellington education is to allow pupils to develop themselves fully in every sense. The pastoral care and focus on pupil wellbeing at the Early Years Centre will value each and every pupil as a unique individual. The journey to individuality will also be reflected in the broad curricular and co- curricular opportunities we provide, where every pupil discovers and develops fully their talents, passions and interests, knowing that interested children become interesting adults. TO BECOME … INSPIRED INCLUSIVE INSPIRED We want our pupils to be genuinely excited by everything they do during their time at the Early Years Centre. They will develop a zest for life so that they go into the world ready and able to inspire others. This is the core pillar of the Wellington Identity. Our pupils will leave their Wellington education not in a bubble of elitism, privilege and exclusivity, but with the moral values and social conscience to serve others and do good in life. This inclusivity includes a strong pride in a global education for all, as well as an appreciation of the differences in life and diversity within society and our school and around the world. AT WELLINGTON, WE WANT OUR CHILDREN INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENT INDIVIDUAL INCLUSIVE INTELLECTUAL Our pupils must move into the world able to think critically and to engage in deep learning. They will be able to study beyond the bounds of any curriculum, to be inquisitive and ask questions of everything around them and be imbued with a lifelong love of learning. INDEPENDENT Our pupils will develop the personal, cognitive, social and study skills to enable them to cope with the challenges of university and their life beyond. They will adapt, cope and thrive within an ever- changing world. This will be reflected in our academic curriculum, our co-curricular programme, our commitment to the coaching philosophy, and our continued focus on character development and leadership. 10 INDIVIDUAL The Wellington Values are not empty words; they reflect who we are and how we believe others should be. We hold an expectation that our families believe in these values equally, that they wish their children to be educated in a setting which imbues such values to support a holistic education. We are different from many other early years centres, in that the values run through the very veins of who we are; they are part of our educational DNA. The Wellington Values underpin the conversations we have with pupils, the messages we give out in our daily communication and our interactions with the Wellington community. These values are who we are; they are how we behave, how we interact and how we wish others to conduct themselves. They drive our rewards and sanctions and they lie at the very heart of our educational ethos. The Wellington Values are: COURAGE KINDNESS INTEGRITY RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY When we act in the name of Wellington, we will uphold these five values above all others. COURAGE In younger pupils we see this when attempt a new activity for the first time. An example can be seen when children experience their first school swimming lesson or use new technology without support. RESPECT Within the early years educational setting, this value is shown in many ways. Pupils will follow the rules and expectations of their learning environment, always wishing their teachers and friends ‘Good morning’ as they pass them by and being polite to everyone in our school. INTEGRITY We often see younger pupils showing their determination to do the right thing; they are routinely helping each other to stay true to their feelings and beliefs in a variety of situations. For example, encouraging others to be helpful and kind even when someone has not treated them in this manner. KINDNESS Kindness, we hope, is displayed everywhere within our early years setting. The pupils will always help each other or their teachers with small tasks in class and outside. This can be shown in a simple gesture of giving their friends a guiding hand, encouraging them to play together or taking care of them when they are sad. AT WELLINGTON, WE WANT OUR CHILDREN TO EMBRACE THE CORE VALUES OF COURAGE KINDNESS INTEGRITY RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY RESPONSIBILITY We encourage and promote independence in all of our early years pupils. They will quickly begin to understand the importance and satisfaction in being able to complete tasks by themselves. Our curriculum helps pupils to develop greater self-care skills such as dressing without support. 11