Values & Ethos

Our School Vision

At Florence Melly Community Primary, we are committed to providing inspirational and innovative teaching and the highest quality learning experiences for all our pupils. We aim to create an environment which promotes a love of learning and empowers our children to become independent, lifelong learners. Our children are the ‘jewels in our crown’ and we ensure every child is valued and encouraged to achieve their full potential.

Our Aims

1. To skilfully support and guide our pupils to become independent, resilient, motivated learners and challenge them to take responsibility for their learning.
2. To provide a safe, secure and stimulating environment which celebrates cultural diversity. An environment where everyone is valued and their efforts appreciated.
3. To develop learners who value themselves and their achievements and respect others and the environment in which they live.
4. To provide a balanced and broad curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of the pupils in our school and community. A curriculum which prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
5. To offer rich, personalised and unforgettable learning experiences which inspire the children.
6. To recognise the full potential of our children, encourage them to be ambitious and value the progress they make.
7. To provide a safe physical and emotional environment that reflects the cultural diversity of the school.
8. To foster a mutually supportive partnership between home, school and our community.

Our Core Values – DREAMS – if you can dream it, you can do it!

We have six simple school values which permeate all aspects of life at Florence Melly Community Primary. These values are centred round the acronym: DREAMS. We believe that if you can dream it, you can do it!

D is for Determination. We believe that a dream doesn’t become a reality through magic, it takes sweat, hard work and determination. At Florence Melly, that is reinforced everyday through our ‘if first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again’ attitude. Our children are taught that determination is key to success and our equally determined staff work tirelessly to ensure that all of our pupils achieve the best outcomes possible. If you can dream it, with determination, you can do it. At Florence Melly Community Primary, we are DETERMINED.

R is for Resilience. At Florence Melly Community Primary, we value resilience and promote the importance of perseverance and courage when faced with a dilemma. Ensuring our children are resilient is an important priority at Florence Melly Community Primary. We ensure that our pupils are fully equipped to take on new challenges and confidently take risks to improve their learning experiences. They understand that to become independent learners they must develop strategies to cope with adversity and thrive when faced with a challenge. Our pupils don’t give up at the first hurdle, instead they keep going and try new ways to overcome the barriers. At Florence Melly Community Primary, we are RESILIENT.

E is for Empowerment. We firmly believe that with support and encouragement, the children of Florence Melly Community Primary can achieve great things. We never settle for second best! We set high expectations for our children, staff and governors and encourage them to be the best they possibly can. We develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes of our pupils to promote ambition and a strong drive to succeed. We firmly believe that if you can dream it, you can do it! We want our pupils to be ready for a competitive world after their school lives. We want them to invest in their education and learning. All skills, strengths, interests and levels of ability are celebrated and built upon at our school, which helps ensure that all of our stakeholders feel empowered. Children are given the opportunity to discuss their views on a range of issues. They are regularly consulted on new developments within the school and have opportunities to express their opinions. After all, it is their school. At Florence Melly Community Primary, we are EMPOWERED.

A is for Appreciation. Ensuring that all members of the Florence Melly community feel appreciated and that they appreciate others, is fundamental at our school. Mutual respect is at the heart of our school’s values. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. Our pupils are grateful for the opportunities they are given and they appreciate the hard work and commitment of our dedicated staff, volunteers and governors. They are empathetic towards others and we place a great emphasis on promoting and celebrating diversity. Our children are thankful for what they have and recognise that they have to take the opportunities presented to them and not waste their talents. At Florence Melly Community Primary, we are APPRECIATIVE.

M is for Motivation. At Florence Melly, we want our children to attend school, everyday, motivated and enthusiastic to learn. We achieve this by providing exciting, engaging activities which stimulate their curiosity and instil a love of learning. Our pupils’ don’t coast through lessons, picking up the minimum they need to learn, they strive to be the best they can be and challenge themselves. They recognise that they are responsible for their own learning. Our staff understand that each individual is unique and that they need motivating in different ways. That’s why we personalise our pupils learning experiences to inspire them, so they feel motivated to learn and reach their full potential. At Florence Melly Community Primary, we are MOTIVATED.

S is for Safety. Keeping our children safe is our number one priority and everyone at Florence Melly is committed to ensuring we achieve this. Our children learn in a safe, caring and enriching environment. Our teachers and teaching assistants plan activities to ensure that the pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, to develop positive and healthy relationships and how to avoid situations where they might be at risk including by being exploited. We offer expert workshops to pupils and parents on topical safeguarding issues to provide them with the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to deal with these issues. Our Governors monitor and challenge school leaders and staff to ensure that the highest standards of safety are constantly maintained. At Florence Melly Community Primary, we are SAFE.

British Values at Florence Melly

The DfE have reinforced the need for schools to “promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs”. At Florence Melly these values sit at the very heart of everything we do. You can find out more about our obligation to promote fundamental British values by clicking this link which will direct you to the latest Department for Education guidance: Fundamental British Values

At Florence Melly Community Primary, we are committed to providing inspirational and innovative teaching and the highest quality learning experiences for all our pupils. We aim to create an environment which promotes curiosity, a love and thirst for learning and empower our children to become independent, lifelong learners. Our children are the ‘jewels in our crown’ and we ensure every child is valued, challenged and encouraged to achieve their full potential.

Our aim is to equip our children with not the minimum statutory requirements of the curriculum but to prepare them for their role as active, responsible citizens. Our wide range of enrichment activities provide the opportunity for our children to learn from other cultures, respect diversity, co-operate with one another and appreciate what they have. We offer a rich curriculum, a curriculum which is based around our six core values. These sit, with the fundamental British Values, at the very heart of everything we do at Florence Melly and help prepare pupils at our school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Democracy at Florence Melly

Democracy is an important value at our school. We have a school council which meet regularly with our Pastoral Support Officers to discuss issues raised in class and around the school. We value our school council and they are genuinely able to effect change within the school. Every child on the school council is voted in by their class and this is repeated annually to give as many pupils as possible the chance to represent the school as a councillor. Recently, our school council worked with Chartwells, our school dinner provider, to test the new school menu and give their opinions.

We also have two Head Boys and Girls, as well as Deputies who were voted in by their peers. They represent the school in a multitude of different ways and act as positive role models for pupils across the school. They were instrumental in the development of our new school rules.

Additionally, we take part in School Parliament which is run by the local council, as well as having an active relationship with many local councillors who regularly visit school. Last year, one of our pupils successfully acted as Junior Lord Mayor for the city.

We actively encourage pupils to become involved in decision-making processes and ensure they are listened to in school. Our pupils are consulted about important changes occurring across the school, for example our new school core values and Class Dojo reward system were developed by our pupils during class and assembly time. The pupils loved choosing the prizes they wanted for the Dojo cabinet in our reception area.

Bully Busters, Learning Ambassadors and Playground Leaders are just some of the additional responsible roles our pupils hold at our school.

The Rule of Law at Florence Melly 

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern each class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced at Florence Melly. We have six simple school values which permeate all aspects of life at Florence Melly Community Primary. These values are centred round the acronym: DREAMS. We believe that if you can dream it, you can do it!

Our six core values sit at the very heart of everything we do at Florence Melly and help prepare pupils at our school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind rules, values and laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message.

Individual Liberty at Florence Melly

At Florence Melly, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, in the knowledge that they are in a safe and supportive environment. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our online safety and weekly SMSC lessons.

Mutual Respect at Florence Melly

Mutual respect is at the heart of all we do. Our children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community treat each other with respect. Incidents where children are not being respectful are dealt with in line with our Behaviour Policy.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs at Florence Melly. 

Florence Melly is becoming an increasingly diverse school. We actively promote diversity through our celebrations of different faiths and cultures. Religious Education lessons and our weekly SMSC assemblies and lessons reinforce messages of tolerance and respect for others. We have a commitment to exploring our diverse school community and city and are firmly committed to providing enrichment activities for our pupils beyond the curriculum. For example, our pupils have explored places of worship that are important to different faiths by visiting Princess Road Synagogue and the Diamond Way Buddhist Temple. Our pupils have participated in a Holocaust Memorial Service at St George’s Hall and regularly support our local church, St Aidan’s in a variety of ways from Harvest Festival to Operation Christmas Child. Recently, our pupils visited China Town in the heart of the city and spent time soaking up the culture and sampling the food on offer.