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South Dartmoor
Community College

Vision, Mission & Values

Our vision statement articulates where we want to be. Our mission statement sets out what we are going to do to get there. Our values set out the manner in which we will achieve our aims. Rather like a recipe for success, the vision determines what we are trying to make (the product), the mission is the recipe (method) and the values are like the ingredients.

Who we are:

We value well-being, in terms of both happiness and health, building trusting relationships and working hard, together. For students in particular, the environment is also really important. We endeavour to build these considerations into everything we do. Further to this we have a vision, mission and several shared, common values, which shape and influence every aspect of our curriculum.

Our vision: Every child fulfils their potential.

Our mission: Empowering everyone to be the best that they can be.

  1. Truth – We will pursue truth open mindedly, seeking to help students to enquire, question and challenge, helping them to be well-rounded, resilient, confident, independent learners with a love for learning.
  2. Respect – We will create a safe community that has at its core an understanding of deep respect for self, for others and for the environment; strong relationships are key.
  3. Equality – We will provide high quality teaching and learning, delivering a broad, knowledge rich curriculum, where high aspirations are the norm and success is celebrated, to all students regardless of their background, ethnicity, religion, gender, educational need.
  4. Excellence – We will provide students with opportunities in which to excel, to empower them to make free choices as a foundation for the best possible future; with outcomes in line with or better than their peers nationally.

Our values (have been cross-referenced with the four main strands of British Values as shown in the document attached below):

Key Principles of Our Curriculum Design:

  • Everything we do and provide is of the highest quality and worth.
  • There is opportunity for each student to achieve and succeed.
  • Every outcome has a worth and is valued.
  • Life chances are maximised as we strive to open doors for students’ futures.
  • Relentless pursuit of an ambitious curriculum underpinned by four key moral arguments.

Cognitive: If we can give pupils an education that is rich with well-chosen knowledge, we can help them to become better thinkers, problem solvers, and future learners with all the benefits these attributes bring.

Socioeconomic: Pupils who have studied a strong curriculum will be better equipped to gain excellent qualifications, pursue careers that demand such qualifications, and access the socioeconomic rewards of these careers.   

Democratic: Pupils who have studied a powerful curriculum will be better equipped to read and understand news and commentary, to question and challenge ideas, and to participate in a healthy democracy. Democracy depends on the populace being well-educated to keep a check on threats such as fake news, propaganda and extremism.

Intellectual: It should be the social entitlement of every child, from every household and every background to learn about the best of what has been thought and said and to have such knowledge passed on so that the fires are burning brightly for them when it is their turn.

Key Drivers:

  1. Literacy.
  2. Raising student aspiration (fostering ambition and promoting independent learners).
  3. Cultural capital.

What do our values look like in practice?

Truth

  • Honesty (truth creates freedom).
  • Autonomy (to achieve, create, explore and make informed decisions).
  • Knowledge is power.

Respect

  • Integrity.
  • Kindness and compassion.
  • Fairness.

Equality

  • Inclusivity (barriers create conflict).
  • Celebration of individuality.
  • Respect for all.

Excellence

  • Purposefulness (ready to learn, ready for work, ready for life).
  • Resilience, reflection, responsibility.
  • Ambition to do one's best.

Everyone within our organisation has contributed to our vision, mission and value statement.  We all understand and adhere to this, as they are the foundations of our institution and underpin everything we do.