Values & Ethos

Values & Ethos

Our Vision

At Burdett-Coutts, we encourage our learners to be ambitious for themselves, and for others, by challenging and supporting them in questioning the world and in finding solutions.

Our Christian vision is deeply rooted in our theological understanding of St Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength”.

Our vision is lived out through our exploration and teaching of the Christian values of friendship, compassion and service. We want our learners to be ready to learn, respectful of each other and to feel safe so that they can flourish in today’s world, knowing that they are loved and cherished by God. For it is through Him, that they are given the strength to encounter each day and live life in all its fullness.

Our Aims

The governors and staff of Burdett-Coutts and Townshend Foundation Church of England primary school are committed to providing an excellent education within the context of a Christian school. We aim to:

  • Foster within each child a joy and passion for learning.
  • Promote a caring Christian ethos in which everyone is equally valued and respected.
  • Prepare our children with the skills of grit, resilience and the ability to solve problems so that they may willingly navigate this new age of unknown technology with confidence.
  • Embrace Christianity while promoting tolerance, respect, understanding and sensitivity towards those who belong to a different religion or culture.
  • Maintain a safe and happy environment in which all children have the opportunity to develop personally, physically, socially, academically and spiritually.
  • Teach a creative, stimulating, meaningful and relevant curriculum with a wide range of learning experiences to meet the differing needs of individual children.
  • Coach children to be aspirational, independent learners who want to do their best and are proud and aware of their progress and achievements.
  • Provide an education of the highest quality which prepares today’s children for tomorrow’s challenges.
  • Create a partnership with parents where they are actively engaged with their child’s education.
  • Encourage children to experiment, make mistakes and have the confidence to try again.
  • Ensure that every child has equality of opportunity to develop his or her potential.
  • Demonstrate that education is a lifelong process that is required in order to make a full and rewarding contribution to the community.

Our British Values

We are a diverse school community with pupils of 34 ethnicities and speaking over 40 languages. We benefit enormously from our rich cultural community and irrespective of our many nationalities; pupils, staff, governors and parents are proud to actively and unashamedly promote British values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Equality and Mutual Respect and Tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.

At Burdett-Coutts school, we promote British values through our:

School Councils: Every class in the school has two elected school council members and they represent their classmates during the year of office. As the pupils progress through the school they are able to adopt a more influential role in the decision making.

Teaching & Learning: Pupils are supported to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence e.g our curriculum allows pupil to explore the right to liberty through learning about modern day and historical slavery with Just Enough UK. Our teaching challenges stereotypes. We have a strong anti-bullying culture – as enshrined in our policies for Anti-Bullying and Positive Behaviour. Pupils learn about anti-bullying strategies through the anti-bullying week working with Kidscape and how to keep safe through mutual respect online (using the Think U Know materials).

Curriculum: PSHE (Personal Social and Health Education) is taught in every year group and democracy is included at relevant points. The curriculum explores the advantages and disadvantages of democracy and how it works in Britain – e.g. considering periods of history where democracy was not as fully developed as it is now. Our RE (Religious Education) units of work enable pupils to learn about the fundamental rules and beliefs of all the major religions and we look to understand the common areas that overlap in these, in addition to looking at the diverse differences and an understanding of them. We are an inclusive school – we value all faiths, religious beliefs and people who have no faith.

Behaviour: Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility for their behaviour, as well as knowing their rights. Through our work as a Rights Respecting School, pupils gain an understanding of the UNICEF rights of the child charter and know that every child has the right to an education irrespective of their gender, class, and race.

Assemblies & Educational Visits: Pupils visit a range of establishments e.g. City halls, temples, mosques, churches and synagogues.

Equality Plan: This is rigorously monitored by the governing body to close the gaps between the achievement of boys and girls. Any incidents of intolerance based upon perceived discrimination are dealt with and addressed in PSHE (Circle Time). The Governing Body and LA also monitor any reported racist or homophobic incidents.

Staff Training: Our staff have received Prevent training by Westminster’s PREVENT team. The training involved clear definitions about extremism, British Values, radicalisation and offered practical help and actions in order to safeguard vulnerable children from being drawn into terrorism. Senior staff have also had online Channel training.