Core Values at NCPS
At Newington, we truly value our pupil’s personal development. We strive to help every child in understanding themselves, their beliefs and morals, their actions and relationships. Once pupils develop a strong sense of themselves, they can then begin to understand those around them, and can use this knowledge to strengthen their interpersonal skills.
We teach our pupils these skills through our termly core values: at Newington we have seven core values: morality, curiosity, grit, zest, collaboration, versatility and respect. Each term, the whole school focuses on a character trait (although each value is practised and enhanced each term). Our core values promote motivated, confident and supportive learners. Pupils are taught the meaning of the values, how to show these values and the benefits of using them in a variety of situations. As a result, our pupils will develop emotional and social intelligence and show a strong sense of self-awareness.
Morality – an awareness of making right choices. We develop in the children the awareness of understanding a situation and deciding how to respond in the correct way. This could be from how to play kindly on the playground to learning how to be a good partner in class.
Curiosity – Einstein was quoted as saying ‘I have no special talents; I am only passionately curious. Curiosity is driven by our own thirst to find out more, not only in the classroom but when experiencing the world around us. How do planes fly? Who invented the iPad? It’s not just about asking questions but finding the answers as well!
Grit – Keep going even when the going gets tough! Grit can be one of the more challenging values to put into practise. Sometimes we feel like just giving up but grit teaches us that if we keep going we will reach our goal eventually, we know for certain if we give up we never will!
Zest – Think Tigger! Zest is all about being passionately enthusiastic, especially in things that we particularly enjoy. Zest also teaches us that if we have a more positive approach to things that we find difficult, we have a better chance of being able to do them. Positive mind-set equals positive mind!
Collaboration – we are not born into the world to be alone but it can be tricky to learn how other people work so collaboration helps us develop these skills. Working in a group not only develops our social skills but prepares us for later life where we will definitely have to work with others, possibly people that we don’t even know!
Versatility – Being prepared to try something new! It can be scary to try new things but stepping out of our comfort zone can open us up to brand new possibilities. Not only does it prepare us for life but also how to cope if situations suddenly change and don’t go according to our plan.
The Core Value Lead at NCPS is Ms A Ditchburn