At Waltham, we take the well-being of our children, parents, staff and wider community very seriously.

The Children’s Society recognises well-being in its simplest term as the quality of life, how we perceive ourselves to be coping with situations and how well our lives are going (www.childrenssociety.org.uk/). However, well-being is much more than the quality of life, it also recognises how an individual recognises their own ability to deal with a situation and then to progress with their day after it; there is a mental health capacity towards well-being that can make lasting impressions on children which can move with them throughout their lives.

Our children demonstrate exemplary behaviour and as such learn to make sensible choices that promotes a healthy mind as well as healthy relationships. These are fundamental to positive well-being. We have been been awarded the GOLD AWARD in the Leicestershire Beyond Bullying Award programme which demonstrates our commitment to supporting children's well-being. This is a whole school, whole school community approach and we are proud to be recognised as beacons of excellence; please see the criteria document below for further details. 

As a school family, we promote the following charter:

• SPEAK OUT: say “STOP! I don’t like that because…”
• SPEAK OUT SOME MORE: Start Telling Other People.
• Support staff to identify and tackle bullying appropriately, making sure everyone follows the ‘CONSEQUENCES’ poster.
• Ensure that pupils are aware that all bullying concerns will be dealt with sensitively and effectively.
• Get help for the victim and help for the bully if needed.
• Report back quickly to parents/carers regarding their concerns on bullying.
• Encourage parents to support the teachers in eliminating bullying.
• Seek special advice and work with others from anti-bullying agencies when appropriate.

Through our curriculum and pastoral support we are committed to ensuring we acknowledge these needs and do our best to support children and families. The following provides an example of how we might do this.

• Lessons will lend themselves to addressing matters of immediate significance to groups or classes of children, for example, children disagreeing about the rules of a playtime game which leads to upset.

• Medium and long term plans reflect emerging and known factors that are likely to impact on children's health and well-being in the future, for example e-safety and healthy eating; PE will incorporate aspects of health and fitness; lessons such as yoga will be scheduled to help children learn how to relax.

• Collective Worship will link to Christian Values and modern day comparatives to Biblical stories, for example the story of Noah and the Ark teaches children about Hope, friendship, trust, preservation of life and sustainability.

• Our transition and induction programmes help prepare children and families for next stages of their education.

• Letters/newsletters and information for are sent home to support families.

• Our programmes of Forest Schools, educational trips and After School Clubs, for example, supports children's independence, application of life-skills, developing friendships in a less formal setting.

When our children make a choice which causes upset or conflict (which is a normal part of learning and life for children and adults alike) they are encouraged to think and reflect on their actions so that they can make more sensible choices in the future. An important part of reflection and recovery is:

• to apologise 
• take responsibility
• decide on a resolution and
• seek forgiveness.

We find that this approach supports everyone's well-being.

Our goal is inspire a love for learning and that includes learning about ourselves and others.

At our school, guided by Christian and British values, we maintain that learning should be an exciting and enjoyable experience for everyone (adults and children); it should be fun and interactive, challenging and celebratory so a love for learning deepens.

Our Christian values support our spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as we grow and learn together in a happy, safe, aspirational environment. Through God’s example, we celebrate the uniqueness of each individual and endeavour to unlock their full potential. We inspire and enable our children to contribute to and thrive in a diverse society through promoting the following core values: 

Friendship, Love, Perseverance, Respect and Compassion

In so doing, our vision is that our whole community will actively demonstrate: “Let your light shine" so that all are able to flourish and succeed.

This vision helps to prepare children to live life and flourish in all it's fullness.

Route to Resilience

Children starting school in 2021 will not retire until 2085 at the earliest!  There is a growing recognition of the need to equip pupils with a set of personal characteristics that will help make them successful in all occupations and go a long way to making them happy and healthy adults.

Through 'character education' we help children in recognising, understanding and developing the character traits that make us unique and then using these ‘character muscles’ to allow us to be the best version of ourselves.  At the heart of character education is creating a culture in and out of school where pupils are given every opportunity to rehearse and strengthen their sense of themselves. 

We promote the character muscles vocabulary in our everyday work: when we teach, when we resolve problems, when we celebrate, when we have fun. Reminders about how special we are keep us strong during difficult moments in our lives; recognising and being proud our uniqueness develops our confidence and helps us celebrate difference.

Examples of the character muscles vocabulary

Meta-cognition is the ability to be aware of the way you think, it’s thinking about

thinking!

Self-efficacy is the belief you hold that you have the power to change things both in

your life and the world around you.

Positive Behaviour Champions

Each year, we appoint Positive Behaviour Champions to support the school staff and governors in ensuring children understand what forms of bullying there are, ensure our school remains a bullying-free zone and to maintain the principles of the Beyond-Bullying Award.

Positive Behaviour Champions need to be:

• Responsible and reliable
• Friendly and approachable
• Good at listening to everyone
• Honest and sensible
• Hardworking and confident to share their ideas.

These are the things the Positive Behaviour Champion do:

• Be a good role-model for anti-bullying and demonstrate exemplary behaviour.
• Create a child-friendly behaviour policy and anti-bullying policy and help everyone to understand it by teaching lessons and leading assemblies.
• Help children to problem-solve and reflect.
• Share ideas to raise awareness of different types of bullying and strategies to deal with bullying if they should ever experience it in their lives.
• Attend a weekly meeting with the lead adult.
• Represent the school at local meetings, e.g. with other schools, with our governors.
• Be a peer-mentor to help support children.