Ravenscote Junior School promotes high achievement and learning for life by working with children to:

• Set high personal standards in the way we treat each other, particularly showing tolerance, acceptance and compassion and a sense of responsibility for each other
• Develop high self esteem, self respect and confidence in their ability
• To be flexible, open-minded and adaptable for the challenge of the modern world and to be aware of the outside world as their future territory/domain
• To be able to work independently and collaboratively
• To achieve the highest standards to the best of their abilities in all areas of the connected curriculum
• To be healthy, safe and secure
• Celebrate their achievements and acknowledge all their skills: vocational, practical, communicational, academic and personal
• To acknowledge technological advances whilst retaining personal skills 

We believe that each child will succeed through experiencing quality in:

• Home and school relationships
• A broad and challenging connected curriculum which is flexible and creative and innovative
• A safe, secure and challenging connected curriculum
• Innovative teaching and an investigative approach to learning, particularly through ICT
• A rich and varied range of learning resources
• Accelerated learning techniques
• An ethos of support, challenge and encouragement to succeed
• An enriching choice of extra curricular activities and educational visits

We demonstrate our commitment by:

• Creating a welcoming and happy place to work
• Always striving for improvement
• Working collaboratively

Ravenscote Values

We want our children to experience the following values, to enable them to thrive in our learning community:

• Respect
• Responsibility
• Honesty
• Teamwork
• Excellence
• Happiness

What are the needs of children (and adults)?

In order for our mission to be effective and the above values to be meaningful to the pupils, an understanding of the basic needs of children are appreciated by the staff. To develop fully as people, children need:

• To be loved
• Security and knowing clearly what is expected of them
• To be valued as people
• A balance of experiences – active / quiet; sound / silence; communicating / reflective; taught skills / exploratory work
• Help to develop their own circle of friends and other supportive relationships.
• To develop self-awareness and a knowledge of the world outside of themselves
• Creative experiences including external exploration and internal reflection
• To be fully involved in the process of education

What we do to meet those needs?

Staff, both teaching and non-teaching, always attempt to be consistent in their behaviour and in their expectations of the children. They:

• Value all children
• Display great patience and listen carefully to children
• Focus on and emphasise the positive, in terms of work, habits and behaviour
• Face the reality of difficult and emotional challenges which may occur in their life outside school and help pupils to come to terms with them with compassion and support
• Only disapprove of poor behaviour, never the child!
• Try not to rush, and have time for each other
• Are mutually supportive
• Are all valued as equal partners in the school
• Speak quietly and avoid shouting
• Are valued by the governors and community
• Have a good sense of humour!
• Communicate openly with parents to build a common understanding and appreciation of the school’s values

Skills

Throughout the school the development of the following skills are encouraged which contribute to reflective thinking about our values:

• Displaying helpful politeness and good manners to all at school and visitors to the school
• Speaking quietly and politely to others
• Listening carefully and thinking about what others are saying
• Reflection
• Empathy and tolerance
• Using imagination
• Visualisation techniques
• Stillness
• Being able to express feelings constructively, thereby learning to manage feelings and resolve conflicts through discussion, understanding and practice
• Articulating thoughts clearly in order to enhance communication skills
• Walking quietly about the school building
• Developing positive attitudes to work and play
• Accepting personal responsibility for actions
• Care and respect of other peoples' property