Houses

A system to help foster independence and friendships.

Our house names were chosen by the children and are Paddington, Mowgli, Simba and Nemo.

In order to foster independence, a ‘family’ feel at lunchtime and wider friendship groups, our pupils go to lunch in mixed age house groups. The children are expected to keep an eye and ear out for their house being called and are responsible for taking themselves upstairs. The pastoral care team and support staff make sure children know what is expected of them.

A house identity is also developed through house competitions at lunch times, house teams on Sports Day, and grouping children in Houses for our yearly visit to the seaside.

Children can earn house points, in the form of tokens, by demonstrating good behaviour, including learning behaviours.

House Captains

Each house has four house captains – these are children who were selected by an application process. The house captains work alongside the pastoral care team to support the smooth running of all house activities – suggesting new ideas and making improvements.

Buddies

Younger pupils and pupils newer to our school benefit from the buddy system whereby older or more established pupils support younger and newer pupils in their house with the routines of the day, especially at lunch time. This system helps children to develop independence and also fosters strong friendships between children of different ages. The older pupils demonstrate high levels of care for the younger ones.