How do we prepare our young people for life in modern Britain at Da Vinci Academy?

Values:

The government places responsibility ‘on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.’

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

Democracy is embedded in the Academy. Students are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard. Students also have the opportunity to air their opinions and ideas through our elected year group representatives and pupil voice opportunities. The elections for the school council are based solely on pupil votes, reflecting our British electoral system and demonstrating democracy in action.  Additionally, students are encouraged to engage in local democratic activities such as Youth Parliament and the Derby Youth Mayor elections.

At Da Vinci Academy, students learn about the importance of freedom of speech and of the responsibility to speak kindly of others.  They also learn about what happens when such freedoms are denied.

Parents and carers have the opportunity to share their opinions through questionnaires at all our parent evenings.

Rule of Law – The importance of laws whether they are those that govern the class, the Academy or the country, are consistently reinforced. Our students are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Students and families are communicated with regularly with regards to Academy rules and expectations.

All of our academy rules can be captured within the 3Rs which are known by all students – Ready, Respectful, Responsible.

When issues arise, we seek to adopt a restorative approach to fixing things through restorative conversations and/or restorative learning. 

The academy works closely with the local authorities, including the police service.

Individual Liberty – Within the Academy, students are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As an Academy we educate and provide boundaries for our pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and an empowering education. Our students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely; examples of this can be clearly seen in our Life lessons. Whether it is through choice of challenge; of how they record; of participation in our numerous extended curriculum activities; our students are given the freedom to make choices. 

The academy has a strong anti-bullying culture and we seek to value and understand students’ individual characteristics and attributes.  We provide opportunities for students to explore their personal identities and beliefs, and others are called upon to respect these in the context of individual rights, multi-culturalism, community cohesion and harmony.

• We have a strong anti-bullying culture
• We provide opportunities for individuals to express their personal identities and explore their beliefs – others are called upon to respect these
• We learn about human rights and responsibilities

Mutual Respect and Tolerance of others of those with different faiths and beliefs – We challenge prejudice or discriminatory behaviour and actions. We learn about, discuss, and appreciate that different people have different faiths, ethnic backgrounds, genders, sexualities, abilities and disabilities.

Mutual Respect – Respect is seen as an important value in our Academy. Students know and  understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have and to everything, however big or small.  The value of respect at Da Vinci Academy underpins much of our work every day both in and out of the classroom. We are proud of our inclusive culture and strong belief we are “One Team, Changing World”

Tolerance of Those With Different Faiths, Cultures and Beliefs – The key value of respect ensures tolerance of those who have different faiths, cultures and beliefs. Da Vinci Academy enhances pupils’ understanding of different faiths, cultures and beliefs through assemblies, visits and visitors and the wider curriculum, as well as studying a range of faiths and belief systems in RE.

Employability Skills:

At Da Vinci we place a strong emphasis on ensuring our students are not only qualified but equipped for the world of work. The success of this strategy is evidenced in our year-on-year NEETS figures. Our programme includes:

• Prioritisation of development of literacy and numeracy skills, in English and Maths lessons but also applied and re-enforced across all aspects of the taught and hidden curriculum. Students for whom English is an additional language (EAL) receive extra support from our EAL HLTA.

• Broad balanced curriculum with good range of guided options at KS4 allowing students to pursue aBroad balanced curriculum with good range of guided options at KS4 allowing students to pursue appropriate courses including full range of traditional academic (EBACC), vocational and skills based qualifications.

• Work experience for all students in Year 10.

• Mock interviews for all students in KS4 with local employers.

Life Skills:

Whilst preparation for work is important, much of our life is spent away from work and at Da Vinci Academy we believe it is important to prepare our young people to make good use of their leisure time and to be able to live healthy, safe, confident and independent adult lives. We prepare our young people for life beyond work through:

• Personal, Social, Health & Citizenship Education educates all students about personal safety, health and hygiene, sex, relationships, drugs, alcohol, careers, politics, money management, equal opportunities, discrimination and the law.

• All students are taught about basic food preparation, hygiene, diet and nutrition and the skills to cook healthy meals.

• A rich cultural programme including music and art are taught within the curriculum and extensive extended -curricular cultural activities including theatre and gallery visits and trips abroad and residentials.

• All students have physical education timetabled and a full programme of extended-curricular sports are offered with a number of teams and individual entered into local, regional and national competitions, plus an annual Academy sports day is held.

• Promotion of reading for pleasure through events such as World Book Day and through reading as part of the English curriculum.

• The EAL HLTA supports students who are new to Britain with the support they need to become confident and positive British Citizens.