Ethos

Our ethos can be summed up in three words: - Effort, Encouragment and Excellence.

Our greatest hope is that our school will be a place that children and staff look forward to working in. 

We hope children will look forward to arriving at our school each day for a number of reasons, but principally because it is a place where they feel valued and where the adults they come into contact with are caring and fair. 

They should enter school sure in the knowledge that the adults will help them to learn using a variety of methods and styles and that we have a curriculum that is stimulating, challenging and varied, from the effort the children put in to their work and the mistakes they will inevitably make, to the encouragement we give them through our marking and feedback and positive praise. 

Finally, of course, we aim to create excellence in all its forms, from the academic to the pastoral. 

The children need to know that their school has clearly defined boundaries of acceptable behaviour and this will, by necessity, involve creating a code of conduct that is clearly understood by all the children and constantly referred to by the staff.  The main thread of the code will be to encourage, and ultimately expect, mutual respect for other children, for adults and for their property; to demonstrate care, courtesy and consideration towards others; to treat others as they would like to be treated.

Every member of staff, teaching and non-teaching, should feel that their role in helping to realise these objectives is valued and appreciated by all other staff.  All staff should encourage the children to take pride in their school; to look after the building, its immediate surroundings and its resources.
It is in this climate that we hope children will realise the value of their school and of education in general, so that after their time at Hartford they will emerge as willing and able learners who are self-disciplined, self-motivated and well equipped for the next phase of their education.

At Hartford we are working together to enable each child to be the best they can be (academically and socially) and to develop a sense of security, self-worth, independence and responsibility.
We aim to achieve this in an atmosphere which fosters mutual respect and provides stimulating and relevant experiences.

Aims and Values

Our school aims to build a sense of respect for ourselves, for others and our surroundings is central to everything we do. We aim to promote this by:

• Celebrating the uniqueness and individuality of each person in the school community;
• Promoting a lifelong love of learning through an engaging and varied curriculum;
• Promoting positive relationships between all members of the school community and beyond;
• Establishing a safe, supportive and nurturing environment where everyone can succeed;
• Encouraging everybody to continually strive for improvement in all they do.

On a day-to-day basis we recognise how our aims and ethos are achieved by recognising the following values:

• Effort: Perseverance, Resilience, Self-belief
• Encouragement: Co-operation, Compassion, Trust
• Excellence: High expectations, Pride, Challenge, Reflectiveness, Resourcefulness

effort*encouragement*excellence