School Aims and Vision

THE PENNOWETH DNA

All of the actions in school are informed by our guiding principles that form the ‘Pennoweth DNA’.  There are 5 strands to the DNA.  These are as follows:

We are safe.

We feel loved.

We take responsibility.

We are always learning.

We are ready.

The strands are in the order for a reason.  We firmly believe that children, and adults, need to feel safe and loved before they are in position to take responsibility and progress well in their learning.

To give further clarity to why we have chosen these strands, we use key quotations to define our meaning.

We are safe.

“If children feel safe, they can take risks, ask questions, make mistakes, learn to trust, share their feelings and grow.” Alfie Kohn

We feel loved.

“A child must know that they are a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.” Pablo Casals

We take responsibility.

“The time is always right to do what is right.” Martin Luther King

We are always learning.

“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears and never regrets.” Leonardo da Vinci

We are ready.

“I’ll be ready.  I’m not sure for what exactly.  But maybe that’s what being ready really means.” Holly Goldberg

Our DNA strands are separate to, but integral to the delivery of, our vision.  We share the vision and values of our wider Trust family.  These are detailed below.  Our DNA defines the way that we operate and therefore frames our ethos and our strategic approach.

The DNA provides a shared language throughout our school to enable aligned understanding of our ethos for all our stakeholders; the language is also displayed through our school environment.

Pennoweth DNA