Family
Education and
Heads up!
lifestyle
Top local head teachers give their views
What are your school’s values, goals and priorities? How do these translate in the day-to-day life of the students?
Andrew Webster, Headmaster
The Mead School, Tunbridge Wells Co-educational preparatory school for boys and girls aged 3-11 One family, limitless opportunity and a global perspective. A statement to summarise everything we are and aspire to be at The Mead. Every Meadite matters. They care for one another like siblings and we champion their dreams as a parent would. It is an ideal learning environment and a safe, fun and uniquely-wonderful place to spend and guide childhood. But it’s not comfortable. Knowing they’re safe and supported, the children are challenged to go beyond themselves and be risk-taking adventurers who see life as one limitless opportunity. Alongside this, we expect them to develop a healthy perspective and a global awareness. They must be adaptable, resilient and discerning as they head towards a future world beyond our recognition. The difficulty is often in transposing theory into reality. To make it more than some ethereal rhetoric. To combat this, we have kept our ethos as the fuel driving everything forward. Rather than have a development plan which is resource driven, we have dissected the ethos, highlighted key strands and made direct links to our aims for improvement. Everything we do,
from the way we conduct house meetings to the way we report to parents, must now have a higher purpose and a direct link to our values and identity. It’s an incredibly empowering process and one which is moving forward with great enthusiasm. A full overview of our ethos can be found on our website.
David Clark, Headmaster
Battle Abbey School, Battle Independent co-educational day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 2-18 Battle Abbey is the ultimate family school and our family ethos underpins everything we do. We want to ensure that each child feels as comfortable, as supported and as encouraged as they do at home and, once that is in place, then students tend to thrive within the Abbey walls. They also thrive because they feel that teachers believe in them and want them to do well in all aspects of school life. This gives them real confidence and belief when it comes to facing up to challenges that inevitably come their way. So our priorities always focus on student welfare and well-being so that students genuinely feel as though they can make the most of the many opportunities on offer at the school. These priorities are in evidence throughout the school day and are visible in the support given by teachers, by matrons, by the school counsellor or by peer listeners and mentors. Our students are very proud to be part of a supportive family structure and, in return, each of them is expected to promote the school’s ethos and to offer service and help to others in return. 74
LOV E EDUC ATION
KUDOS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018