Dear Parents and Carers
At Myton School all our strategies and efforts are to fulfil our school values which are:
Preparing all our students for lifelong success through:
- Developing self-assured learners
- Removing barriers
- Working together
- Investing in staff
Myton School Governors decided on these values after a great deal of evaluation and discussion on what our students must achieve. One of the key points kept in mind when establishing these values was the potential retirement date of our children; for example, a Year 7 student today can plan to retire around 2075. Who knows what the world will look like then and of course the jobs people will be doing at that time are highly unlikely to even exist at the moment and, if they do, they will very different and hence the emphasis on lifelong success. Grades are vital, but learning skills and an open mind are the qualities which will keep our current students successful all the way to that retirement party. Another driver for the emphasis on lifelong success is the worrying state of employment for 18-24-year olds. It has been said, with increasing frequency, how poorly equipped for the workplace young people often are. This was exposed recently in a news report which stated that one in five 18-24-year olds never intend to work due to feeling that the workplace is hostile or the same number will be signed off work due to mental health issues. This is, of course bad news for these young people but also for the rest of us who will rely on their earning potential to pay our pensions and fund public services. Society needs to push back on this and particularly education. Our way of doing this is through these four values which we see as the key to lifelong success and I will explain these further over the coming weeks. However, as a summary, each value can be explained as;
- Developing self-assured learners – students who know how they learn best and understand what they are good at and what they must improve. Furthermore, self-assured learners are students who can adapt the way they think and learn to solve problems and be successful. They are able to plot a route through their learning at school and their desires for after school and can also articulate this with confidence.
- Removing barriers – intervening with students who are not as successful as they may be. This could be due to learning needs, lack of resilience, socio-economic circumstances, attitude and any number of other reasons. We will always intervene and try to support the student in removing these barriers, not always something the student (or occasionally their parents/carers) responds well to but morally the right thing to do.
- Working together – collaboration throughout for the good of our students. Collaboration between staff, with students, with families, with staff across the Stowe Valley MAT, with local business and with anybody else who can add value to our students’ education.
- Investing in staff – always focusing on training and development for staff so they are able to meet the ever-increasing demands of ensuring young people are successful both here and in the future.
As I said, I will explain these in more detail over the next 4 weeks. Being part of Myton School means committing to these values, please do use the language of these values at home as we do here and we can all look forward to those 2075 retirement parties (well at least you can, it’s not a date I am making bookings for!).
Best wishes
Andy Perry
Head Teacher