These virtues give children the skills and thinking patterns to be happy, successful and connected.
Our PSHE and SMSC policy permeates every aspect of our school. Governors, management and teachers are crystal clear about the values children need to learn and practise.
We have developed four CORE virtues to help our children succeed: Caring, Open, Responsible and Elastic.
Caring for self by eating, exercising and sleeping the correct amount and caring for others by helping, praising, sharing and playing with them.
Open by expressing ideas, thoughts and feelings openly, by being tolerant and by being creative.
Responsible by following the rules, working hard and being respectful.
Elastic by bending and not breaking when things get difficult.
These CORE virtues are communicated in the curriculum, posters, lessons, assemblies and all interactions with children throughout their time at St James. Our unique CORE self-assessment system allows children and staff to see visible personal progress.
We expect children and staff to know and follow these British values whilst at school. Staff and children use democratic procedures to make decisions, adhere to school rules, are free to express how they think and feel, tolerate other beliefs or opinions and respect other people whatever their status, age, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation or disability, as referenced in the protected characteristics, under the Equality Act 2010.
We provide an imaginative and carefully balanced curriculum with bespoke PSHE and Philosophy lessons every week to encourage personal understanding and the most effective ways to think and behave. We use the outstanding SCARF and PLAN BEE curriculum for PSHE lessons, and use the P4C method in Philosophy discussions. These lessons improve the children’s personal and social intelligence to live full, healthy, safe and responsible lives. It gives them all the tools to flourish and reach their fullest potential.
The Pause
At St James, we feel it is important to introduce our pupils to stillness and allow them to discover how to be inwardly free and deeply at ease within themselves. A short period of 5-10 minutes at the beginning and middle of every day is allocated to quietude in which pupils may meditate, contemplate or simply be still – according to their own spiritual inclinations.