Culture, Ethos & British Values

Culture & Ethos

"Our Academy has a can-do enterprising culture in which everyone is stretched, nurtured and encouraged."

By the time they leave the Academy, we want our young people to be happy and educated with the desire and drive to succeed.

This means:

• Each student gets the individual care and attention they need to thrive and achieve their personal best;
• Teachers bring learning alive and class sizes are kept as small as possible;
• Students participate in a broad range of after-school activities, ranging from robotics to set design and choir;
• All students contribute to academy life by taking on positions of responsibility. This may, for example, be through directing an academy play, captaining a sports team or playing in a band;
• Everyone works together to maintain a happy, safe and orderly environment. We instil mutual respect between students and staff and have zero tolerance of bullying in any form;
• We promote high expectations and set standards of excellence. Students will be encouraged to stay on at the academy for Sixth Form.

At Harris Academy Falconwood, our learning ethos is at the heart of ensuring the achievement and success of all our students.  Learning is highly structured in terms of the learning routines we expect our students to respect and engage in, every lesson.

This high level of structure ensures a consistent approach to how our students learn, and allows the inclusion of all learners, through a personalised approach to teaching, whilst at the same time creating the best possible environment which allows learning and teaching to thrive.

By focusing on the importance of independent as well as group learning, and developing both personal and thinking skills, students learn how to be resourceful, resilient, and reflective learners.  This ensures that students are leaders of their own learning.

British Values

Harris Academy Falconwood actively promotes and practises acceptance and engagement with the fundamental British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; the students develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.

We enable students and staff to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence as well as encourage them to respect each other and other’s opinions.  We encourage an understanding of right and wrong, taking responsibility, how we contribute to society and being tolerant of each other and our cultural traditions.  This is further promoted in our Academy Assemblies, Celebration of Achievement Evenings and Tutor Time Programme as well as across the Curriculum as a whole.