Our Ethos
Southcott is a school where everyone matters. We believe that every member of our learning community – whether adult or child – should feel that they are safe, important and valued. We believe that schools should be inclusive communities that welcome and celebrate differences. Full and meaningful partnership with parents – and the active involvement of other members of the local community – is also very important to us.
We expect all members of our school community to treat people and property with consideration and respect. We value good manners and the development of a strong moral code. It is important to understand that rights come in partnership with responsibilities. We believe that members of our community should demonstrate pride in our school in their appearance and behaviour. Our school is a place where all members of our community want to be.
Our Educational Philosophy
We believe that every child is entitled to an exciting and stimulating curriculum. The learning experience and environment we provide should be creative, challenging, relevant and forward thinking. Children enter Southcott positively with natural enthusiasm and curiosity. It is important that we harness and nurture this excitement and appetite for learning so that they take this forward in their lives and become lifelong learners. Essentially, children need to feel a sense of achievement and enjoyment every day in school.
We value high standards in teaching and learning and believe that children should be motivated to take an active role in their own learning. Children should know how to learn as well as acquire knowledge and skills. We celebrate achievement, in all its forms, and have high expectations for all children. Whilst we value academic progress and we aim for the highest personal standards, we also believe that it is our duty to support and promote children’s spiritual, social, emotional and physical development which are central to their good mental health and well-being.
We believe that children must feel secure and well-cared for in order to learn effectively. As well as valuing themselves they must feel valued, to feel that they can achieve so that they can move on to the next phase of their education ready, excited and motivated to learn. We value effort and believe that children should feel safe to make mistakes and to accept errors and misunderstandings as a positive part of the learning process. At Southcott, developing a growth mindset is central to our educational philosophy.
We take a holistic view of children’s development. It is important to us that our children grow up to be kind, resilient members of society, to understand the world they live in and to learn what it is to be human. We guide our children to respect and consider the views of others, to develop a moral compass and to care for others. It is our duty to actively promote health, fitness and personal safety.
Our curriculum should focus on providing children with quality and depth of knowledge and skills alongside opportunities to practise and apply these in meaningful ways so that children meet their full potential. It is our duty to provide equality of opportunity to all, to promote inclusion and accessibility so that the knowledge and skills we prioritise in our curriculum reaches and shapes all our children.
Southcott has a strong sense of community and is located in a town which places great store in community spirit. Children should experience how community members support each other by taking responsibility and showing care and determination to collaborate. It is important that our children experience and understand diversity in the world within Southcott, Leighton Buzzard and beyond in terms of its human and physical characteristics. We believe that we have a responsibility to promote environmental awareness and corporate responsibility for our world. It is our moral duty and social duty to ensure our curriculum supports children to find their place in the world, contribute effectively and make meaningful connections with others.