Social, moral, spiritual and cultural development
Pupils behave with consistently high levels of respect for others. They play a highly positive role in creating a school environment in which commonalities are identified and celebrated, difference is valued and nurtured, and bullying, harassment and violence are never tolerated. According to The New Economics Foundation there are several key ways to well being and our unique Play Zone encourages and develops these:
Connect: Our Playzone encourages children to work together, with children of different ages. We specifically target children who struggle to interact with others and our play leaders work with them to help them develop these critical life skills in a safe and happy environment, where social interactions are structured and embedded.
Learn: Our Playzone encourages learning on all levels – our play leaders have meaningful roles to mentor the younger children. The younger children are learning from the behaviours role modelled by the older ones and all children learn constantly through the exciting games and activities provided.
Give: Our Playzone is a place of giving – older children give their time to help younger children and those with individual needs. Activities and games are specifically designed to encourage sharing, debate and teamwork. Children learn that other people’s happiness is as important as their own.
Pupils make a highly positive, tangible contribution to the life of the school as well as that of the wider community. The school goes beyond the expected, so that pupils have access to a wide, rich set of experiences. Opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests are of exceptional quality. All Year 2 pupils are trained Dementia Friends and regularly visit the Memory Café, mixing with elderly people with and without dementia. The Infant School has been given the Dementia Friendly Schools Status by the Demetia Action Alliance. They said: “Quilters Infants School has made a fantastic contribution to the Dementia Action Week theme of Billericay in Blue, inspired by United in Kind. Their wonderful forget-me-not art work, with such beautiful messages about kindness and special memories, have made a massive impact on the town’s blue windows this week. The School Council children and Year 2 have become Dementia Friends and are taking this very seriously. Children regularly join with members of Billericay’s Forget-me-not Memory Café for games and cakes!”
The school provides rich experiences in a coherently planned way, in the curriculum and through extra-curricular activities, and they considerably strengthen the school’s offer. The way the school goes about developing pupils’ character is exemplary and is worthy of being shared with others. Opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests are of exceptional quality. Hannah Grassham and John Hubbard, from the DfE’s Character Development Team visited Quilters and we were subsequently invited to a reception hosted by the Secretary of State for Education to celebrate our great work at developing character in our pupils. We believe in having a list of meaningful events and challenges that all pupils get to experience. Completion of each event in turn makes children feel special and unique, takes them a little out of their comfort zone on occasions, which builds resilience, confidence and character. The Infant Adventure is our pupils’ ‘greatest challenge’ and our guarantee that they will experience 15 school ‘highs’ over three years that boost their confidence forever.
The school consistently promotes the extensive personal development of pupils. “The implementation of subjects contributes strongly to the warm, inclusive community ethos of the school and supports the school’s aim of developing confident, independent, resilient learners.” SIP Visit, 7th July 2021. Forest School helps children to develop their confidence. Children learn to solve problems and be creative and imaginative at Forest School thus showing enterprising behaviour, thereby developing their cultural capital. The school enters many local sports competitions, sings in the local church and takes part in the Billiericay Infant Schools Music Festival.
In each year group, class books are selected carefully and coherently (in a progression grid) so that pupils learn about protected features in an age-appropriate way.
Every pupil has a Heart Partner. Every day, they find each other and say 'hi', offering a high five, fist bump, hand shake or even a hug. Pupils learn that just because someone doesn't look sad doesn't mean they don't need help or need some love and affection. Pupils learn about the importance of making time for one another. Pupils learn about the joy of giving to others and the joy of receiving love in return. This all culminates in 'World' Heart Partner Day on February 14th each year.