Ethos and aims

Mission statement

Seva Education strives to ensure that "every individual has the right to learn and develop in a supportive environment that is committed to providing services that empower and promote each young person’s well-being, independence, learning and social skills."

Our aim is to provide a secure, caring and supportive environment in which all children and young people are valued individually and given equal opportunity to develop their full potential. We believe that by identifying individual needs and taking proactive steps alongside parents/carers and other statutory professionals or agencies, all children and young people should be able to play a full, active and equal part in the school’s and colleges activities. Children and young people with special needs are most likely to have their needs met where all staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of the individual needs of every child in their care. Our staff work together with parents and our partnering Local Authorities where required to organise the environment and plan activities to ensure all children and young people take part at a level appropriate to their needs.

Why choose Seva Education?

Our Schools are places where everyone is treated with dignity, respect and is of equal worth. Alongside focusing on achieving the very best outcomes, our schools and college support children and young people with special educational needs to fulfil their own unique potential through our inclusive approaches to ensure that our students are:

Provided with a safe and nurturing educational environments that meet the full range of children and young people’s needs
A broad and balanced curriculum, that is tailored around an extensive knowledge of children and young people’s learning difficulties
Well-equipped education facilities
Pathways that reduce the barriers and transitional difficulties from childhood towards the preparation for adulthood

Vision

‘To create a highly effective and inclusive learning community, that transforms barriers learning to potential’.

To achieve our vision, we aim to:

Treat all our students’ as individuals, ensuring a unique pathway to their individual goals.
Create a happy, safe and secure learning environment where all the students’ needs are met, where progress, achievements and success are recognised and praised.
Promote the students’ spiritual, physical and emotional well-being so that they are secure, confident and well-motivated.
Help students acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence, which enable them to lead as full, interesting and independent life as possible.
Develop the students’ personal responsibility and encouraging decision making and choice, communicating through whatever means appropriate.
Provide a wide range of personalised appropriate learning experiences, which are both exciting and challenging.
Listen, respect and value the students’ voice and their contributions.
Offer opportunities of working co-operatively alongside others, developing friendships and respect for others.
Foster positive relationships with parents and other professionals.
Ensure that all students can follow their individual academic and social pathways to success.

Effective and Collaborative partnerships are promoted with all stakeholders to develop outstanding SEND provision uniquely developed for our students.

British values

Seva Education has British Values at the heart of its ethos and curriculum. We are dedicated to ensuring that our students leave the school as independent and responsible citizens, meaning that our work supports and fulfils the school’s duty to promote British Values, as defined by the DFE document ‘Promoting fundamental British Values through SMSC in schools’. The document can be accessed here.

At Seva Education, we take every opportunity to promote the fundamental British values of:

Democracy
The rule of law
Individual liberty
Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

In actively promoting British Values, we also focus on and can show, how our work with students is effective in embedding fundamental British Values. Actively promoting also means challenging students, staff, parents or carers that may express opinions contrary to fundamental British values, including extremist views. Our school values encapsulate those of Britain. They are clear, unequivocal and phrased so that all our students can understand them. These are:

Equality
Aspiration
Respect
Humanity

These values are displayed in all classes and are at the heart of Seva Education, so that students can understand these better.

Promoting democracy

The school has an active School Council, made up of democratically-elected students, who meet regularly and inform decision making around the school. Surveys of students, parents and staff are carried out annually to gather opinions about all aspects of the school. The results of these help to shape the school improvement plan. The school operates a system of restorative practice to resolve conflicts in peaceful and fair ways. Every person involved has a voice in this process. As part of our SMSC, form time lessons, students are given general knowledge of public institutions and services and how these are held to account. In all lessons, students are encouraged to express, share and challenge their points of view in an atmosphere of respect.

Promoting the Rule of Law

Students are actively taught to distinguish between right and wrong and to make reparation as needed. Students are taught that there are positive and negative consequences to their actions, and that breaking school rules has clear and predictable outcomes, as with British law. When school rules are discussed, students can see how they are designed to protect everyone in the school community. We work in partnership with our police liaison officer, to give advice on personal safety but also to reinforce messages that some activities are illegal and what the consequences might be. We place an emphasis on sports and promoting the rules and laws of team games.

Promoting Individual Liberty

Our school aims to help each students achieve self-confidence, initiative and independence. We actively teach students to take responsibility for their behaviour as well as knowing their rights. We educate and provide boundaries for students to make informed choices, through a safe environment and an empowering education.

As a school, students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our e-Safety assemblies and tutor time. We challenge stereotypes in all areas of the curriculum and are truly inclusive, so that all students can participate fully in all areas of the curriculum, including opportunities where students develop their understanding of important issues and debates. Bullying, though rare, is taken seriously and addressed swiftly. We believe in freedom of speech and the responsibilities that come with this. This is modelled through student participation and the fact that we respect each other’s viewpoints.

Promoting Respect and Tolerance

The curriculum and ethos promotes respect for individual difference. Religious Education and PSHE for all students, along with other curriculum areas, help students acquire an understanding of and respect for their own and other cultures and ways of life. Each year the school holds Diversity days. We ensure that any prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour is challenged and recorded, with students made aware of the seriousness of such incidents.

Mutual Respect: Our school ethos and behaviour policy has revolved around Core Values such as ‘Respect’ and students have been part of discussions and assemblies related to what this means and how it is shown. Posters around the school promote respect for others and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning rules, as well as our behaviour policy. Pupils learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. Staff and students treat each other with respect.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs: The school has a multi-cultural and multi-faith positive ethos. We actively promote diversity through our celebrations of different faiths and cultures. Assemblies, Religious Education, tutor time and the skills lessons reinforce messages of tolerance and respect for others. Members of different faiths and religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.