Vision, Values & Ethos

Vision

Bosworth Academy is consistently exceptional in its delivery of outcomes for young people in our community. Bosworth Academy is an unstoppable force for affecting social mobility.

Values

‘No student will underachieve’ means: outstanding outcomes for every child, of every ability, from every background, no matter what the barriers.

‘Be better than you thought you could be’ means: we understand that our role is to ensure students reach their potential, it is to help define that potential.

Ethos

We do this in an environment which is inclusive, exciting, varied and highly aspirational. The individual is recognised and celebrated. We strive for excellence and challenge in all that we do and seek out feedback and positive criticism. We believe in the capacity for continual improvement and appreciate the role of leadership. We never give up and never accept that our work is done. We enjoy, achieve and embrace our responsibility as a force for good. We can and will make a difference through the empowerment of learning.

Values at Bosworth Academy

The heart of our vision is that ‘no student underachieves’ with this not just limited to outstanding academic achievement but also developing outstanding citizens with a strong sense of identity and values. This is made clear by the vision at the centre of our wheel – ‘Character Building – Spiritually, Morally, Culturally and Socially’ and the words and phrases in blue round the outside of the wheel. We have also spent time developing a ‘Fourth Way’ approach which is about building a research-based learning community which provides the students with the opportunity to interact and learn about the local, national and international community.

It is important that schools promote values and Bosworth Academy has always had a strong commitment to having opportunities for students to develop their values. Students prepare for the wider world by demonstrating the ‘6 Cs’ of Global Competencies which provides a platform for them to be highly desirable for future employers. These 6 Cs, endorsed by the OECD, are the following:

Character	….	Proactive stance toward life and learning. Grit, tenacity, perseverance and resilience. Empathy, compassion and integrity in action.
Citizenship		Global perspective with a compassion for diverse values and world views. Genuine interest in human and environmental sustainability. Solves ambiguous and complex problems to benefit citizens.
Collaboration		Works interdependently as a team. Demonstrates interpersonal, team-related, social, emotional and intercultural skills. Manages team dynamics and challenges.
Communication		Communication is designed for audience with purpose and impact. Voice and identity expressed to advance humanity. Reflects to further develop and improve communication.
Creativity		Economic and social entrepreneurialism. Asks the right inquiry questions and pursues novel ideas and solutions. Demonstrates leadership to turn ideas into action.
Critical Thinking		Evaluates information and arguments. Makes connections and identifies patterns with meaningful knowledge construction. Experiments, reflects and takes action on ideas in the real world.

Students at the Academy have a wide variety of opportunities to explore and develop these values through lessons, tutor time, assemblies, extra-curricular activities, visitors to school and visits out of school.

British Values

In addition to the other responsibilities that schools have they are now tasked with the responsibility for promoting ‘Fundamental British Values’ which Ofsted list as democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Democracy – Pupil voice is significant in regards to life at Bosworth Academy. Pupils have a great amount of input in regards to what and how they learn, which promotes pupil voice. For example, the pupils decide as a class how they would like to learn certain skills in subjects and this is used to inform the teacher’s planning. Pupil questionnaires and interviews are also conducted throughout the year.
The Rule of Law – Our pupils will encounter rules and laws throughout their entire lives. We want our pupils to understand that whether these laws govern the class, the school, the neighbourhood or the country, they are set for good reasons and must be adhered to. This understanding of the importance of rules will be consistently reinforced through assemblies and our curriculum. The involvement of our pupils in the creation of the school rules helps them to understand the reasons behind the rules and the consequences if they are broken. We allow opportunity to debate and discuss the reasons for laws so that children can recognise the importance of these for their own protection. Throughout the year we welcome visits from members of the wider community. We believe that clear explanations and real life stories emphasise the importance of the rule of law for our pupils.
Individual Liberty – We invest a great deal of time in creating a positive culture in our school, so that children are in a safe environment where choices and freedoms are encouraged. In lessons, learning tasks are often left for the child to decide upon. We encourage children to choose the task that will challenge them, giving them more freedom to determine their own learning. We offer a range of clubs which pupils have the freedom to choose from, based on their interests. At the Bosworth Academy we believe that valuing choice and freedom in daily school life will foster a value for individual liberty as the children embark upon their adult lives.
Mutual Respect – Mutual respect is at the core of our school life. Students learn to treat each other and staff with great respect. This is evident when walking around the Academy and in the classrooms. Our Academy motto is “Together We Achieve” and this is seen throughout the various relationships between students and staff.
Tolerance of Those with Different Faiths and Beliefs – At the Academy we offer a culturally rich and diverse curriculum in which all major religions are studied and respected. At the Academy we strongly believe that tolerance is gained through knowledge and understanding. Through our curriculum and the routines of our daily school life, we strive to demonstrate tolerance and help children to become knowledgeable and understanding citizens who can build a better Britain for the future.

The summary that follows gives a flavour of the opportunities we provide for students to develop their character Spiritually, Morally, Socially and Culturally.

Spiritual

In lessons students are encouraged to reflect on the big questions – such as looking at the power of the world in Geography, the role of beliefs in History, origins of the world in Science and the idea of sacrifice and redemption in literature such as ‘Of Mice and Men’.
A comprehensive Assembly programme provides opportunities for students to reflect on a key question each week
Opportunities within the Assembly to think and reflect on ‘big questions’ such as ‘How can you make a difference?’ and ‘How can we be a lights?’
Discussion of the key question from the Assembly during form time.
Assemblies focusing on key religious festivals such as Diwali, Christmas, Easter and Eid – members of faith communities within the school have been involved in delivering these assemblies either through videos or face to face interviews as part of the assemblies.
A small group of Year 7s planned and led a Carol service at the local Church for the rest of the year group.
Inter-Faith Group. The group organised a multi-faith panel in March 2014 panel which was attended by 135 students who asked representatives of different faiths and world views what they believed about different issues.
A group of Year 12 students will be attending a Conference to look at how we can live together more harmoniously which will include feedback to the secretary of State for Education.
A group of Year 12/13 students visited Auschwitz in January and then a small group led Assemblies for Holocaust memorial week
Religious Studies
RS lessons provide key opportunity for students to reflect and think about the ‘big questions’ in life.
There are opportunities in the lessons to interview representatives of different faiths.
The RS department has been featured on BBC news

Moral

In lessons students are given the opportunity to develop their understanding of moral issues and how to make decisions by examining a wide variety of moral issues such as: drugs in sport in PE, Fair Trade and Ethical trading in Business studies, Racism and Prejudice in English, History and RS, Mental Health in Psychology and PSHE etc.
Assemblies provide students with opportunities to reflect on key moral issues such as: ‘How can we help others?’ and ‘How can we challenge discrimination?’
The Year group PSHE programme provides students with the opportunity to reflect on a wide variety of moral issues such as relationships, how to deal with domestic violence etc.
All tutor groups have taken part in the ‘Adopt a Charity scheme – over the year they have learnt about the charity and run their own fundraising activities.
We have a close link with Open Hands (A local charity in Leicester City who support needy and vulnerable people) – this link means we do the regular Christmas collection, the Open Hands Tour of Leicestershire (a 76 Mile cycle ride to raise money) begins and finishes at Bosworth and a large team of staff and students entered last year and it will take place again on 10th September. Open Hands Student Ambassadors are crucial in promoting this work
The Richard 111 Rose sculpture which was created last year raised the profile of Missing People in Leicestershire with students and staff.
The ‘skype’ link with a Polar Scientist provided students with the opportunity reflect on different aspects of Climate Change.
The Academy subscription to ‘The I Newspaper’ provides students with the opportunity to find out about moral and social issues within the news.
Year 8 students will be visiting Beth Shalom – Holocaust Memorial Centre in Nottingham to reflect on the issues that the Holocaust raises.

Social

Classroom teachers actively promote social skills by ensuring students work effectively in groups, pairs and as a whole class which creates a very positive climate for learning.
Post 16 students are involved in variety of mentoring activities – reading with Year 7 students, mentoring Year 10 students and working in lessons alongside lower year groups.
The Student leadership scheme provides students with the opportunity to develop their leadership skills
Over 250 students have been involved in Open Evenings and Open days over the last year as student ambassadors and guides.
A large number of students supported the Primary Taster days
Many visitors to the Open Evenings and Open Days make special comment on the high quality of the student ambassadors and how they are such strong advocates of the Academy.
All students take part in a team building day as part of the transition programme.
Rewards evenings provide an opportunity to celebrate outstanding progress and achievement by students with parents and the wider community.

Cultural

Lessons at the Academy provide students with a wide variety of opportunities to explore different cultures such as The PE department run a variety of sports teams including Football, rugby, basketball, netball, cricket, table tennis both competitively and for leisure.
There have been a variety of high quality music performances in assemblies and Excellence and Award evenings.
More than 1 in 5 KS4 students have performed in a concert, play or dance show in or out of the Academy.
A large number of students took part in the school production Bugsy Malone in July 2015
Students in Year 7 and 8 have the opportunity to go to London to watch The Lion King this summer.
Students have the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of activities through the extra curricular programme, PE department curriculum, School performances. Lunchtime activities etc.
Students have the opportunity to take part in a World Challenge event – Yr 7 + 8 will be going to Iceland in 2017.
Trips to experience the staging of drama texts studied in English: Yr10 Macbeth; Yr11 Blood Brothers; Yr 12 ‘Street Car Named Desire’
There are regular visits to the Theatre and Music performances for example visiting authors such as Bali Rai and Jess Green.