Aims, Ethos & Values
The best start in life for your child...
Here at Epsom Downs Community School & Early Years Centre, our ethos is that of ensuring children receive a high-quality education in a welcoming and professional environment, enabling them and their families to grow in learning and confidence.
Our Aims
We encourage everyone to:
- be happy, safe and confident
- realise their potential and challenge their personal expectations
- respect and show consideration in their behaviour to one another and the environment
- work hard to achieve and excel through creative learning opportunities
- experience quality learning beyond the classroom
- succeed in a nurturing environment where all views are valued
- be physically active and take care of themselves
- become resilient independent learners for life
- use ICT safely, in an innovative way
Our Six Principles of Nurture
- Finding our best ways to learn - We all learn differently; we learn when we are ready to learn.
- Reassuring classrooms - We like our classrooms to be safe, quiet and calm, with people who care about us
- Individual Wellbeing - We need to be understood and listened to; this nurturing approach supports our self-esteem
- Express Yourself – use your voice! Talking and listening is important so that we understand each other
- Noticing that behaviour shows how we feel - How we act is a form of communication
- Dealing positively with change - Change can be challenging but it is a chance to grow.
School Values
Our School Values are front and centre of our school. They have been chosen by our school community and reflect the values that we aim to develop in our pupils as they progress through Epsom Downs. They are referred to frequently in school as a reference point for behaviour choices, good and bad. This means that children do not have to memorise a whole group of school rules – instead, they can easily realise when they are doing the right thing, which will be when they a following our values. Here they are, with the characters designed by our very own children!
Promoting British values
The DfE have recently reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”
The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, and these values have been reiterated by the Prime Minister this year. At Epsom Downs Community School & Early Years Centre these values underpin the essence of all that we do, and are reinforced regularly.
Our commitment to promoting British values
