Our Philosophy and Core Values

At Bletchingley, we promote three core values that underpin all aspects of school life: Always be caring, always be respectful, and always use your self-discipline. These values provide the foundation for our Star Learning Behaviours, which characterise every Bletchingley learner:

• Curiosity (Cat): Developing a strong desire to learn and understand the world.
• Pride (Peacock): Aspiring to excellence and aiming higher in all endeavours.
• Independence (Hedgehog): Building the resilience and confidence to take ownership of learning.
• Determination (Tortoise): Developing the stamina to achieve mastery and reach long-term goals.
• Collaboration (Bee): Building cooperative and interpersonal skills through positive social interaction.
• Challenge (Mountain Goat): Embracing demanding tasks to extend thinking and deepen understanding.

Our Aims

In partnership with families, we aim to develop happy, confident individuals who possess a secure foundation for lifelong learning.

We strive to:

• Achieve mastery across the National Curriculum through carefully sequenced progression.
• Appreciate human achievements and respect the diverse beliefs and experiences of others.
• Support children in making informed choices regarding their health, safety, and wellbeing through a robust PSHE, Citizenship and Well-being framework.

 

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Curriculum Delivery and Implementation

We deliver our curriculum through a broad, balanced, and inclusive approach, underpinned by clear subject progression and explicit teaching. Learning is structured around clearly defined knowledge and skills, with teachers explicitly modelling new concepts and making connections to prior learning. Pupils are given opportunities to practise, apply, and consolidate their understanding in a range of meaningful contexts.

Our teaching is grounded in Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, focusing on:

• Daily, weekly, and monthly review to promote long-term retention.
• Presenting new material in small steps with clear modelling and scaffolding.
• Checking for understanding through high-quality questioning, including cold calling and targeted probing.
• Achieving high success rates through guided practice before independent application.

To ensure every child succeeds, we use metacognitive strategies, including explicit strategy instruction and structured reflection. Our adaptive teaching includes:

• Pre-teaching key vocabulary to support pupils with additional needs.
• Using visual timetables, scaffolds, and well-paced transitions to maintain engagement.
• Structured discussion routines to encourage collaboration and active participation.
• So that all lessons are accessible to every pupil, we use a structured approach to lesson design that begins with a practical, hands-on element, moves to a pictorial representation, and, when children are ready, progresses to abstract understanding.

 

 

The Learning Environment

  We provide a nurturing environment that promotes social, moral, spiritual, and cultural (SMSC) development. This is       supported by:

• A language-rich environment to strengthen comprehension and communication.
• A wide range of extra-curricular activities designed to build cultural capital.
• Ongoing professional development to ensure staff deliver the highest quality teaching.

 

 

Impact: Why We Do This

 Our ultimate goal is to develop active, responsible citizens who are:

• Motivated learners equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to navigate modern life.
• Confident individuals capable of looking after themselves and contributing positively to their communities.
• Secure in their numerical understanding, reading fluency, and knowledge of the wider world.

 

 

• "The teachers are really kind"
• "We get to do lots of outdoor learning because we have loads of outdoor space"
• "I like using the laptops" 
• "We have lots of grounds to play in" 
• "The teachers give you lots of support" 
• "We have fun lessons" 
• "We do lots of different activities" 
• "We get to do a lot of PE" 
• "The games are really fun" 
• "The food is really nice" 
• "We have a great selection of books" 
• "I really like the teachers" 
• "I like cooking things on the fire in forest school" 
• "I like eating lunch outside"
• "I love doing gymnastics with Chris" 
• "We get rewarded for good behaviour"