Joydens Wood Junior School

Vision and Values at Joydens Wood Junior School

Our Vision

At JWJS, we want every child to be caring, positive and happy.  We aim to provide our children with a creative and tailored education to meet their individual needs.  We will nurture and encourage every one of our children so they reach their full potential. 

We plan learning, so all our children can grow in self-confidence, think and solve problems independently and develop respect for people and their environment.

We want all our children to enjoy school and have the desire to be lifelong learners.

At JWJS - "Together we Journey With Joyful Success. We inspire determination, celebrate success and keep moving forward".

Our Values

Alongside the British Values and our values curriculum we;

• Nurture a warm and neighbourly Junior School where children feel secure and confident in their abilities.
• Believe everyone has a voice and will be listened to and supported.
• Are passionate about helping every child to reach their potential whilst shaping them to be reflective, responsible citizens.

In accordance with the Department for Education we aim to actively promote British values in schools to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain.

Pupils are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance and understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law.

The Key Values are:

• Democracy
• Rule of Law
• Individual Liberty
• Mutual Respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs 

At Joydens Wood Junior School we take very seriously our responsibility to prepare children for life in modern Britain. We ensure that the fundamental British Values are introduced, discussed and lived out through the ethos and work of the school. All curriculum areas provide a vehicle for furthering understanding of these concepts and, in particular, our RE and discrete PSHE lessons which provide excellent opportunities to deepen and develop understanding. At JWJS our children embrace these concepts with enthusiasm and demonstrate a good understanding of their application to their own lives. The school makes considerable efforts to ensure our children have exposure to a wide experience beyond their local community during which these concepts are shown, through for example, sporting events, a range of visits and external visitors. Their strong rooted values-based understanding gives them an excellent platform for embracing difference.

British Values are embedded in our curriculum which is made up of the core and foundation subjects and is planned around themes and contexts which is inspirational and meaningful to children instilling a sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them, encourage use of imagination and creativity in their learning and develop a willingness to reflect on their experiences.

At Joydens Wood Junior School these values are reinforced regularly and in the following ways:

Democracy

Democracy is embedded within the life of the school. Our children have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our School Parliament, Pupil Voice and the through the ‘mini election’ of our School Parliament. Class Expectations are agreed with the children as a class at the beginning of the year.

The Rule of Law

The importance of Laws, whether they be those that the class and the school abide by or the rules of our country, are consistently reinforced by all during every school day. Children are taught the value and reasons behind laws and rules and with this comes an understanding which is reinforced of the consequences of these rules being broken. Visits from pillars of the community such as the Police and Fire Service are part of our curriculum and help to reinforce this message.

Individual Liberty

Within school, Children are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for the children to make safe choices, through the provision of a safe environment and empowering education.  Children are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advise how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons. We provide a safe platform from which children can express their views about a range of issues, knowing that these views will be respected and listened to.

Mutual Respect

Part of our school ethos and approach revolves around kindness towards all by developing a range of skills and following our golden rules.  An ethos of mutual respect between all aspects of the school community resonates throughout and is developed at any given opportunity.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs

This is achieved through enhancing Children understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity. Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.

Values Curriculum

Since 2013, our school has embedded Values-based Education into our curriculum. Through this work, our children are exposed to a range of values and principle behaviours that support them in their learning and life-long journey. We celebrate our values regularly through assemblies, in class and throughout the school.  Our approach to teaching values is based on Values-based Education (more information can be found here: https://www.valuesbasededucation.com/).

We moved to a four-year termly cycle in September 2018.  We feel this approach allows for more learning opportunities, experiences and time to discuss and apply the values in our school community. Each term, we learn, explore, understand and apply the values. The values are closely linked to British Values. Every child who joins JWJS at the beginning of Year 3 will have the opportunity to be nominated for each of our 24 values.

2023 - 2024

1. Tolerance   
2. Caring
3. Pride
4. Integrity & Honesty
5. Courage & Determination
6. Unity

2024-2025

1. Friendship 
2. Freedom & Independence 
3. Understanding
4. Humility
5. Responsibility
6. Love

2025-2026

1. Simplicity       
2. Hope 
3. Appreciation
4. Quality      
5. Happiness
6. Co-operation

2026 - 2027

1. Respect
2. Peace & Patience
3. Thoughtfulness 
4. Trust
5. Justice
6. Creativity

At the end of each term, we have a special celebration assembly where every class has two pupils nominated to receive the value star badge and certificate. The recipient of the star badge is someone who has gone above and beyond in understanding and applying the value.  Mums, dads and carers are invited to this assembly, but our children do not find out they have been awarded the value until the actual assembly when they see their parents/carers in the audience.  The reasons why they are nominated are shared in front of the whole school, and their photograph and certificate are displayed in our Values Hall of Fame for the next term.