One of the things I am most proud of at John Taylor Free School is our rich and diverse community. We have over 35 different languages spoken, over 20 different nationalities, 6 key faith groups in addition to students/ staff with visible and invisible disabilities, and other protected characteristics within our community. This makes us special! We are and always have been an inclusive school. Our approach to Personal Tutor groups lies at the heart of this: with small tutor groups of mixed ages, everyone soon gets to know each other. Year 7 particularly find it supportive when they join the school as they immediately have a network of people in other year groups that they can rely on.
Our work on diversity and inclusion has continued this year and now we are proud to announce our inclusion statement: Everyone Welcome, Everyone Respected.
We want everyone in our community to be nice to each other so that everyone is welcome and everyone is respected. As with “Turn Up and Work Hard”, this is a very simple principle to live by.
Alongside their academic outcomes (succeed), we also want our students to grow into young adults who can make a positive difference to the communities in which they live. We want them to be happy, confident and secure in their own identity and sense of self (thrive).
Students have been hearing in assemblies this week about the 3 areas of their life that they control:
As kind and compassionate people in society we do not have to like everyone we meet, neither do we have to always understand other people’s experiences but what we do have to do is show respect for difference and respect for each other. And if we want respect for ourselves, then it follows that that we must demonstrate that respect to everyone in our community. We can do this by carefully planning our words and taking care over our actions to make sure that we are not being discriminatory, unkind or disrespectful.
As a relationships-focused school, we pride ourselves on taking time to break down barriers, to listen to each other and celebrate success. In our school, making mistakes can be a helpful part of the learning journey and when we change what we do for the better (as a result of a mistake) then we move forwards towards a better version of ourselves.
A sense of belonging is a fundamental part of emotional security and a sense of wellbeing. If we feel welcome within any community, we are more likely to feel that sense of belonging. At JTFS, we talk about our “family feel” and being part of the “family” of JTMAT schools. This word suggests a community where you feel safe, recognised, seen and heard. We want everyone in our community, from different backgrounds and experiences to feel that sense of belonging. Only then, will we truly be able to “thrive”.
…my friend, it’s time to be more kind. How do you start the year after a summer which has seen such discord? Kindness is surely
To our wonderful JTFS Community, I would like to thank you all for your support during what has been an incredibly challenging term at JTFS.
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