Parkend Primary School

The Future of Education and Skills - Education 2030:

“The future is uncertain and we cannot predict it; but we need to be open and ready for it. The children entering education in 2018 will be young adults in 2030. Schools can prepare them for jobs that have not yet been created, for technologies that have not yet been invented, to solve problems that have not yet been anticipated. It will be a shared responsibility to seize opportunities and find solutions. To navigate through such uncertainty, students will need to develop curiosity, imagination, resilience and self-regulation; they will need to respect and appreciate the ideas, perspectives and values of others; and they will need to cope with failure and rejection, and to move forward in the face of adversity. Their motivation will be more than getting a good job and a high income; they will also need to care about the well-being of their friends and families, their communities and the planet. Education can equip learners with agency and a sense of purpose, and the competencies they need, to shape their own lives and contribute to the lives of others.”

Aims and Vision:

At Parkend School, we aim to foster a love of lifelong learning.  We strive to create a stimulating and happy learning environment, where confident pupils have the skills, knowledge and resilience to flourish and achieve their full potential.

Our vision, through our ‘School Drivers’ - Stronger Me, Future Me, Articulate Me, Creative Me and Knowing Me, will open children’s eyes to a brighter future.

Our Moto:

“The small school with BIG ideas”

Our Values – ‘PACE’

• Pride in ourselves
• Achieve the best we can
• Curious thinkers
• Everyone together

Our Drivers:

Stronger Me

Our children need to become resilient to be able to deal with different challenges across the curriculum and in the wider world. They need to develop the ability to solve problems without giving up.  Developing the skills to work independently and become resourceful will be key to this. It is important to us that all members of our school community are healthy - physically and mentally. Throughout life, our children will face many difficult challenges and need to have the mental and physical strength to be successful and happy. We recognise the importance of promoting healthy lifestyles in school and want our pupils to develop an increasing understanding of the many different factors that contribute to keeping healthy. Our curriculum provides opportunities for our pupils to learn about their physical health, what constitutes a balanced diet and about how exercise benefits the body. In addition, we want our pupils to have a developing understanding of how to maintain good mental health. Our curriculum, therefore, teaches an understanding of emotions, promotes resilience and encourages an open approach to discussing worries or concerns. Our curriculum also includes opportunities for our pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe in all areas of life. An important element of this includes safety on-line and when communicating using technology.

Future Me

We want our pupils to grow up with a secure understanding of the local community, our national context and the wider world. Through a growing appreciation of different cultures and traditions, we want our children to develop respect; we want them to embrace and celebrate diversity and know what it takes to be a good citizen. We also want our pupils to have an awareness of global issues and to take responsibility for the environment. Our curriculum helps our pupils to improve their understanding of how the world works, as well as developing their morality whilst appreciating the importance of their role in taking care of our planet. Through links with local and national organisations, including businesses, cultural organisations and faith groups, we want our children to broaden their horizons and have experiences they may otherwise not have. We recognise that trips and visiting speakers significantly enhance this aspect of the curriculum.  We can allow ourselves to change and grow, we can become the best version of ourselves and achieve whatever we want.

Articulate Me

We believe our children need to develop the skills to work well with other people. Children need to know how to speak and listen with respect in a variety of different situations. Communication skills are vital for both success and confidence in many areas of life and therefore we want our pupils to develop the ability to express themselves clearly and effectively. We recognise that both listening and speaking are important when communicating and opportunities to practise and develop these skills are provided. We want our pupils to be able to offer their opinions and reason articulately whilst also being able to debate a topic or viewpoint and disagree respectfully. We know that having a broad vocabulary aids both understanding of language and self-expression. Therefore, our curriculum is language-rich, involves the use of high-quality texts, promotes an inquisitive approach to language and provides opportunities to practise new vocabulary. We also recognise the importance of being able to express emotions verbally. In all areas of their lives, we want our pupils to have the skills necessary to have a voice.

Creative Me

We would like our children to engage and express their ideas in a variety of creative forms.  Through creative teaching approaches we will give the children opportunities to be imaginative, to use experiences and observations to make connections in their learning and appreciate that learning can be accomplished in different forms.  We want our children to ‘learn through doing’ by being actively involved and engaged in their learning through the investigation of key questions to deepen knowledge. Children are given the opportunity to develop their curiosity and ask questions about their learning and the wider world around them. Through providing opportunities to collaborate with other pupils, with staff or work independently, we aim to develop their understanding that different responses and solutions are possible.

Knowing Me

As a school we are incredibly fortunate to be based in the heart of The Forest of Dean. We are situated in the centre of a beautiful area of natural beauty with the most amazing school grounds, that include a large field and our own forest school area. Parkend village itself provides us with opportunities to visit a church, train station, nature reserve as well as lots of other fieldwork opportunities.

We ensure that our curriculum celebrates these local resources to help the children have rich first-hand experiences. This secure knowledge provides a basis for their learning so that comparisons and links can be made as the children widen their experiences of the world in all subjects.

At Parkend, we promote the British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance. 

Below are some examples:

Democracy:  Children allowing others to learn.  Listening to each other and showing respect towards each other, e.g.

• Voting, applying for monitor/ school council roles
• Play leaders/buddy roles
• House captain roles and responsibilities
• Voting within P.E lessons is linked to effort and behaviour.

The Rule of Law:

• Our School rules – understanding there are sanctions/consequences for not following rules
• Cycling Proficiency
• Codes of conduct within our policies
• Behaviour, Rewards and Sanctions (Golden table, house points, star of the week, effort marks, head teacher and deputy head stickers, Governor Awards).
• Working with the local community which includes charity work, the police, fire service, local council, etc.

Individual liberty:

At Parkend School pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, e.g.

• Pupil's voice undertaken by leaders within the school
• Participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs 
• E-safety / online safety 

Mutual respect:

The motto of Parkend School is “The small School with BIG Ideas”

Introduction of our 4 values = PACE

• School Council
• Wellbeing Champions
• Behaviour and Rewards Policy
• Anti-bullying week / Hello Yellow Day/NSPCC Speak out Stay Safe Campaign 
• Open the book assemblies
• Inter-house competitions
• Working with the local and wider community, including outside agencies

Tolerance of those of different faiths:

• Through assemblies
• R.E curriculum
• PSHE curriculum
• Themed weeks
• Visits and visitors