Educational Approach

We aim to create a co-operative teaching and learning environment that is relevant, purposeful and challenging. We believe students need support to take risks and become independent learners.

We place a strong emphasis on the core areas of literacy and numeracy, but also recognise and value the importance of all the essential learning areas and skills.

We encourage and recognise effort, progress and achievement and value creativity, innovation and fun. The diagram below is based on the “Four Pillars of Education” as presented by the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century Report to UNESCO, “Learning: The Treasure Within”.

Learning to know:

by combining a sufficiently broad general knowledge with the opportunity to work in depth on a small number of subjects. This also means learning to learn, so as to benefit from the opportunities education provides throughout life.

Learning to do:

in order to acquire not only occupational skills but also, more broadly, the competence to deal with many situations and work in teams. It also means learning to do in the context of young peoples’ various social and work experiences, both formal and informal.

Learning to live:

by developing an understanding of other people and an appreciation of interdependence, carrying out joint projects and learning to manage conflicts in a spirit of respect for the values of pluralism, mutual understanding and peace.

Learning to be:

to better develop one’s personality and be able to act with even greater autonomy, judgement and personal responsibility. In that connection, education must not disregard any aspect of a person’s potential: memory, reasoning, aesthetic sense, physical capacities and communication skills.

Great value is placed on the importance of each student’s self-esteem and self-appraisal. Personal responsibility and pride are values we hold strongly. With professional guidance, students are helped to take increased responsibility for themselves and their decisions.

Education is a life-long process. Opportunities are provided for children to develop their curiosity and interests. Learning that happens at school is transferred and vice-versa. We are fortunate that our children receive a wealth of experiences on which to build their knowledge, values and attitudes. We endeavour to work closely with parents to maximise every opportunity.

The Four Pillars upon which our learning community is constructed, learning to know, do, live and be are embedded in a foundation of shared values and core beliefs about teaching and learning. These values and beliefs provide a common language of expectations to achieve our vision, whilst acknowledging the importance of individual initiative and creativity.

Reporting
We report in a number of ways and at different times over the year.

Key times in the year are:
Day one of the year – Starting the school year meet the teacher
Week eight of term one, review goals and the start of year 3 Way Conference – small written report provided in advance of the meeting
Week seven of term two, Mid Year 3 Way Conference – small written report provided in advance of the meeting
End of term four, a larger written summary report.

In addition, we will be sending home digital examples of your child’s learning.

When your child starts school as a five-year-old, their teacher will meet with you regularly and in particular after 6 weeks and after one year at school.

Our aim is to ensure reporting gives a clear picture of your child over time. We intend to show progress, identify the next learning steps and highlight ways that you, at home, can support your child’s learning. We view reporting as a two-way avenue to share information that can inform learning. As the students progress through the school, they will take greater responsibility for managing their own learning.

Teachers use a range of school-based and national assessments to inform their judgements about student achievement. These include formal assessments such as Progress and Achievement Tests (PAT’s), eAsTTle, Gloss, Numpa, JAM, running records, rubrics and criteria for more informal assessments such as writing samples of work and observations.

By the beginning of Term 2, all students, who started the year at Seatoun School will have at least two posts reflecting some of the work that has been covered this term. The core curriculum areas of reading, writing and maths will be covered in Term 2 along with either science (Year 7/8) or physical education ( Years 1-6) and a summative comment which reflects the key competencies. This will be supported at the end of Term 2 by conferences involving the student, caregivers, and teacher. The core curriculum subjects and remaining areas will be covered over the second half of the year.

This year, the Year 1 to 4 students will continue the process of self-reflection through the use of the goal folders. The older students in Years 5 to 8, are moving towards recording their reflections digitally.

We will continue to share and celebrate your child’s learning of many of the more intangible aspects of school through the myriad of informal ways such as; hui presentations, arts festivals, performances, sports days, speech and poetry competitions, before & after school “chats, Steeple Rock Challenges, camps & trips, presentations, displays, and parent information sessions.

School Values

• Respect – to treat self, others and property with consideration and care
• Responsibility – accepting to conscientiously fulfil a task or duty which one is entrusted
• Positivity – being optimistic and concentrating on what is good living with gratitude rather than entitlement 
• Perseverance – to persist; to maintain an effort and stick to a task until it’s done
• Empathy– show compassion and understand that we are all different and unique. Can consider other points of view and perspectives. 
• Giving – to make available to another; kindness and sharing  provided freely without asking or expecting anything in return
• Self-control – being able to control your own feelings and behaviour, to live within the limits mutually agreed upon and established personally
• Honesty – being truthful in words and actions, honouring the trust others place in you
• Courage – even when afraid , being brave to do what you think is right