Character Counts

Our mission is to ensure the pupils in our care leave Eastfield ready for secondary school and the wider world.  We want to help them become good citizens playing a positive role within the school and local community as well as understanding the role they play in shaping the world at large. We have 10 core characteristics that we wish to develop because we know that ‘character counts.

I am ambitious

I am compassionate

I am confident

I am courteous

I am creative

I am happy and healthy

I am kind

I am resilient

I am respectful

I am tolerant

In 2021/22 Mr Gilbert added an additional characteristic as we returned to school after a turbulent time.

I am brave

We also recognise that to succeed in life our pupils must develop key characteristics, these are characteristics that underpin all areas of the curriculum and life in school.

In order to develop these characteristics in pupils, we will ensure that teachers plan to give pupils opportunities to develop these characteristics across their week in all areas of the curriculum. We also encourage pupils to work towards developing these characteristics by rewarding them when they have demonstrated these, For example through the use of house points and certificates in celebration assemblies.

Key Skills

The key skills we want the children to develop by the time they leave Eastfield include:

  • Focus and Self-Control: How to lead a healthy lifestyle (physically and mentally)
  • Perspective-taking: How to manage their carbon footprint and look after the world
  • Communication: How to interact with people
  • Critical Thinking: How to ask questions and how to solve problems
  • Being able to take on challenges
  • How to manage self-esteem and sustain mental health
  • How to improve working memory
  • Being self-directed and engaged learners: How to use feedback to self-improve 
  • Developing teamwork: How to do jobs that contribute to the school community and complete them

We will do this through: 

  • A whole-school approach – All staff will take responsibility for developing the children’s character traits.
  • The experiences that the children will be given, each year at Eastfield (see below)
  • Clear and effective modelling and referring to positive character traits in the way pupils interact with their peers, teachers and the community.
  • Time devoted to the characteristics through specific lessons.
  • Celebration assemblies promoting the characteristics.
  • Ensuring that staff are trained to deliver the characteristics.
  • Placing the approach at the core of the school’s ethos.

To ensure that children are on track to achieve these skills by the time they leave Eastfield, we have created a series of I can statements which compliment the skills we want the children to develop. These are as follows:

  • I can achieve
  • I can communicate
  • I can show initiative
  • I can be a leader
  • I can share
  • I can be truthful in situations even when it is difficult
  • I can forgive others and myself
  • I can listen to others
  • I can show empathy
  • I can work in a team

Commando Joes

As part of our school curriculum, our children participate in Commando Joes sessions each week. Commando Joes is an education provider, whose goal is to inspire children to develop their character and build their resilience.

Their RESPECT programme engages children with their development of the characteristics highlighted below.

Resilience

Empathy

Self-Awareness

Positivity

Excellence

Communication

Teamwork

Each week the programme delivers activities that support children to work in teams to solve problems, think critically and be open-ended in their approach to tasks. Along the way they learn new ways to communicate better with their peers and build their resilience and perserverance when faced with a challenge.