At the Old Vicarage School the community likes to follow ‘The Three Rs’!
Respect
Based upon the Christian ‘Golden Rule’, to treat others as you would wish to be treated, our whole philosophy is to create an environment based upon mutual respect for one another. The children and staff work together with care, understanding and consideration. We see it as essential to a child’s development that they are taught virtues and moral values. This can be done by the example we set on a daily basis, but also more formally through the balanced curriculum.
We respect each other’s opinions. We respect each other’s right to learn in a meaningful environment. We respect each other’s talents and aim to feel as pleased when our neighbour achieves as when we do ourselves. We respect ourselves and most of all we try to respect each other’s right to be happy, especially during childhood.
Responsibility
We encourage the children to understand the responsibilities they have as human beings from an early age. By the time they leave us, we hope they will have a sense of social justice, feeling some responsibility for the needs of others and wanting to be part of a society that is based upon shared responsibility for the common good.
We encourage this in small ways during their early years, building up through experience during the latter parts of their primary school career. The children become involved in many schemes to help build a culture of responsibility. These range from personal organisation, responsibility for their own actions, through to environmental issues and dealing with charitable organisations or endeavours.
Reflection
Life is frantic, every hour is filled to the brim with activities, noise, distractions, endeavours and there is little time to pause and reflect. We want our children to develop spiritually as well as physically, mentally and socially. The key to becoming a good human being is to always be ‘inward looking’. Always searching for ways to improve oneself means that we will always strive for the best, not only in developing our own talents but also in developing our relationships and treatment of others. This is not possible without personal renewal and evaluation during times of reflection. This reflection can take place more formally for example, at Assembly or by assessing one’s own achievements at the end of a studied topic.
