Ethos and Values

Maple Cross School is a unique and progressive learning community that prioritises professional trust.

We believe all children and adults in our community can develop and grow in a safe and supportive environment. We believe that the ability to reflect, lead and aspire is at the core of the learning experience.

• All lessons are carefully considered and prepared based on prior learning and broader curriculum objectives.
• All pupils experience a range of opportunities for reflection.
• All learning is introduced in a purposeful, engaging and exciting way.
• All lessons have high expectations for all pupils through a differentiated and scaffolded approach.
• All lessons are varied in structure using a range of teaching strategies and providing rich learning opportunities.
• Regular and robust assessment inform ongoing learning.
• All learning is extended and depended through quality dialogic feedback approach.
• Learning environments are accessible, relevant and represent a richness of learning
• Children experience a breadth of quality questioning aimed at challenging and deepening existing knowledge to enable a higher level reasoning.

We share achievements in assemblies, within classes and weekly in ‘Tea with Mrs T’. Each week pupil’s classes share their learning with our headteacher, Mrs Trickett, over a cup of hot chocolate.

Our ethos and attributes have been crafted with staff and children to support them become effective learners. This approach is called metacognition and it gives our children the language to discuss their learning. Metacognition is, put simply, thinking about one's thinking. More precisely, it refers to the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one's understanding and performance. Metacognition includes a critical awareness of thinking and learning and oneself as a thinker and learner. This is also evident within our marking and feedback approach which places children at the heart of this process.

The language we use to discuss learning is shared below under the three key attributes of reflect / lead / aspire. We associate pictures with key themes to support children to remember language.

Promoting British Values at Maple Cross JMI and Nursery School

Please see our British Values section, under curriculum, for full details of how the British values are taught at Maple Cross.

Our attributes: REFLECT / LEAD / ASPIRE

At Maple Cross, everything revolves around our three attributes. They permeate all aspects of our curriculum and shape the opportunities pupils have.