Values and Ethos

Ethos and Values

Our motto - ‘to learn, to think, to act’ - enshrines a core tenet of our philosophy and that is that education in the classroom is only the beginning of a young person’s development and of education in general. Learning can only come to fruition once it is assimilated and an individual is able to think for themselves. In turn, thought must lead to action and practical application. 

A motto cannot just be a soundbite so those values and that ethos will apply to all we do and will be the foundation of the educational and extra-curricular opportunities offered to our students throughout the year.

Our students, boys and girls aged 11-19, deserve nothing less than an outstanding education and our aim is to make sure that our students of today are prepared for whatever challenges await them in the future. For that to happen, our staff must be experts in their field and must always encourage individuals to reach their potential. The curriculum is designed so that students, regardless of starting points, will thrive in an educational environment where the rigours and demands of the different subjects are embraced and taught in a supportive manner without compromising the academic challenges needed for success at all key stages.

We expect our students to be polite, mature, enthusiastic and demonstrate exemplary behaviour and they understand that we work together as a team. They also understand the role they play in the quality of the school and are as integral to our success as every member of staff. 

Although our exam results speak for themselves, at both GCSE and Sixth Form, we never rest on previous success and each year we aim to improve the quality of everything we do here at Harris Academy Purley. 

Our sporting, music, art and creative facilities are first class and after a difficult couple of years when many of our extra-curricular activities were necessarily curtailed, we are excited to once again offer a full programme of events and enrichment for all our students.

Statement of Intent

The HAPU curriculum aims to develop reflective and resilient learners and will offer students a breadth of learning experiences with an emphasis on meaningful and deep engagement within the subjects. The curriculum is designed so that students, regardless of starting points, will thrive in an educational environment where the rigours and demands of the different subjects are embraced and taught in a supportive manner without compromising the academic challenges needed for success at all key stages. An emphasis on links with other subjects will help develop a student’s contextual and intertextual knowledge and understanding of the curriculum.

Our Strategic Intent:

• Provide rich and varied contexts for students to acquire, develop and apply a broad range of knowledge, understanding and skills, to encourage a desire for lifelong learning
• Achieve the best possible progress for all by encouraging each subject to select and sequence their content in a way that enables our students to master the vocabulary and knowledge of their subjects from the foundation stages and onwards
• Enable all students to develop their creativity and talents to the full, including celebrating and being successful in learning a modern foreign language
• Personalise our curriculum ensuring it is flexible and appropriate, preparing students for the world of work
• Promote students' self-esteem, confidence, and mental and emotional well-being
• Enable students to understand and model fundamental British values/SMSC in their everyday lives and as a global citizen
• Ensure that no teaching or interaction with students promotes any particular political or preferred ideology.

The Key Values Underpinning Our Curriculum Intent:

• Meaningful and deep engagement with subject content
• Knowledge and vocabulary as the foundations for subject skills
• Personal development supports academic development
• Literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills are vital to personal and academic success.

These values will be achieved by:

• Students being fully involved in their learning at all stages and by engaging with their teachers to assess and improve their knowledge, vocabulary and skills
• Parents and carers being actively involved in working with the Academy to support their child's academic progress, through consistent and regular communication and full involvement in the advice and guidance process at all stages
• Teachers being experts in their subjects, planning and delivering their curriculum in line with expectations, meeting the individual learning needs of their classes
• Subject leaders ensuring high-quality and coherently sequenced schemes of learning and resources are in place to support lesson planning and delivery at all key stages 
• Senior leaders and governors leading the way in reviewing the curriculum and supporting everyone to experience an outstanding curriculum.

Strategic Intentions

• To have high expectations of all students, regardless of ability, ensuring exceptional progress
• To ensure high quality teaching and learning and encourage innovation and new ideas
• To provide a secure, caring and supportive environment which sets the highest standards of behaviour and personal conduct
• To celebrate diversity and difference in both students and staff
• To provide high quality safeguarding provision
• To provide high quality leadership and management throughout the school
• To provide an excellent governing body which reflects the school’s diversity and offers support and challenge to the school.

Strategic Goals

1. To ensure all students make exceptional progress throughout the school, regardless of starting points and backgrounds
2. To deliver a challenging and creative curriculum which is inspiring, nurturing and appropriate for all students
3. To provide an outstanding Sixth Form curriculum which will equip students with the knowledge, skills and outcomes to be successful in higher education or the world of work
4. To provide world-class resources and facilities which prepare students for life in a technological society
5. To ensure that staff receive the highest quality CPD in a learning community which enables them to attain excellent standards of teaching and provides career paths for both teaching and non-teaching staff
6. To set high moral and ethical standards to ensure that all our students become responsible individuals at the Academy and within the community and to provide an environment which is free from bullying and in which students demonstrate impeccable behaviour inside and outside the classroom
7. To maintain an outstanding senior leadership team, ensuring effective succession planning and an outstanding governing body with the requisite skills to provide challenge and support and guide the direction of the Academy in collaboration with the senior team
8. To work in partnership with parents and carers to enable the students to develop into happy, motivated, well balanced and tolerant citizens
9. Action Plans: These are the detailed operational plans for the year ahead and are produced at Academy, Faculty and subject level.

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British Values

The academy supports and delivers a firm commitment to developing and upholding British Values. 

Democracy
We have our own Student Voice made up of elected Form reps as well as Head Students. Students are taught in a variety of ways including tutor time, assemblies and in subject specific content about the importance of democracy.

The rule of law
The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the academy or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout all aspects of academy life. Students and parents are taught the value and reasons behind our rules, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. We have talks from the Community Police Officer team to students on the rule of law.

Individual liberty
Students are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. We educate and provide boundaries for students to make choices safely, through provision of a safe environment and empowering education.  Students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and tutor lessons. Whether it be through choice of learning challenge, of how they record, of participation in our extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Mutual respect and Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

Harris Academy Purley is situated in an area which is greatly culturally diverse and we place a great emphasis on promoting diversity with the student and staff body. Our RE, assemblies and tutor teaching reinforce this. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes.

In the Curriculum

Within the wider curriculum and its delivery we expect all students irrespective of gender, ethnic origin or beliefs:

• To participate in PE lessons.
• Female students in all years can be taught by male PE teachers
• All students are expected to take part in PE, Art, Music and Drama lessons
• Students will be taught in mixed gender groups in all other subjects
• To participate in wider activities and discussions, for example, during tutor time, that uphold British values
• To show tolerance of different faiths and beliefs, including Christianity.

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Radicalisation and extremism

The academy believes and actively supports the view that all students should be protected from radicalisation and extremism. Our approach to this is in line with the Government’s CONTEST strategy (the counter terrorist strategy) and PREVENT (stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism).

Radicalisation is the process by which people come to support terrorism and extremism, and in some cases participate in terrorist groups. Extremism is the vocal or active opposition to the fundamental British values described above.

Our 100% commitment to safeguarding student welfare means we are vigilant to monitoring vulnerability to radicalisation including:

• Family tensions
• Sense of isolation
• Migration
• Distance from cultural heritage
• Experience of racism or discrimination
• Feeling of failure

Any concerns must be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), who will make a referral using the “Channel” referral form.