Happy, Healthy, High Achieving

At Caldecote Primary School, our vision is to nurture every child to be Happy, Healthy, and High-Achieving by maximising every learning opportunity within a positive, inclusive and inspiring environment. We are committed to supporting children to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically, setting high expectations that challenge and stretch each child from their individual starting points to achieve personal excellence.

 

The Caldecote Commitments

Our five commitments to enable us to achieve the vision: 

Commitment 1: Create an Inclusive Culture

We strive to celebrate every child’s unique qualities and differences to promote individual growth. We develop a culture rooted in mutual trust, respect, and inclusion, where children feel safe, valued, and enthusiastic about learning. Positive interactions between children, teachers, and peers underpin this culture, fostering a sense of belonging and high levels of wellbeing.

 

Commitment 2: Provide Opportunity and Choice

We work hard to continually deliver and develop a challenging and ambitious knowledge-rich curriculum, which is delivered in a memorable way that enables children to know more and do more. In addition, our diverse enrichment opportunities—sport, music, cultural activities— enable children to explore interests, develop skills, and make meaningful choices about their learning and personal growth.

 

Commitment 3: Deliver Purposeful Practice

We believe in the power of high-quality teaching that engages, motivates, challenges, and supports every child, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or with additional needs, ensuring they make sustained progress and thrive. We implement structured and well-planned lessons that:

• Introduce new material in clear, manageable steps.
• Explicitly link new ideas to previously learnt content to build on existing knowledge.
• Use modelling and scaffolding to make abstract concepts more accessible, and gradually remove scaffolds as pupils gain expertise.
• Use metacognitive strategies to teach pupils how to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning.
• Employ a range of questions to check prior knowledge, assess understanding, and stimulate critical thinking.
• Allow wait time for pupils to formulate more developed responses.
• Promote high-quality oracy by encouraging pupils to articulate ideas, justify answers, and extend vocabulary.
• Provide repeated, guided opportunities for pupils to practise new skills and knowledge.
• Use paired and group activities with clear guidance to enhance learning through collaboration.
• Combine verbal explanations with graphical representations or manipulatives.
• Use analogies, metaphors, and examples/non-examples to clarify abstract ideas.
• Set homework that directly supports classroom learning and is purposeful

 

Commitment 4: Grow Successful and Valued Children

Every child is encouraged to take on leadership roles and responsibilities, fostering confidence and a sense of pride. We celebrate successes collectively and individually, ensuring children feel valued and empowered to contribute positively to the school and wider community.

 

Commitment 5: Ensure Sustainability and Responsibility

We actively embed environmental awareness and sustainable practices into daily school life, preparing children to be responsible citizens who care for the planet and contribute to a sustainable future.