We are often asked why Brecknock Primary School is ‘a lighthouse of learning’. Our school was built in 1905 around the time when Arthur Conan Doyle, speaking through his alter ego, Sherlock Holmes, likened redbrick Victorian board schools to lighthouses. He said,

“Beacons of the future! Capsules with hundreds of BRIGHT little seeds in each, out of which will spring the wise, better England of the future.”

At Brecknock Primary School, our knowledge & skills based curriculum, our safe and inclusive learning environment, and our focus on teaching mutual respect, tolerance and thoughtfulness will develop the bright little seeds which will spring a wise, better England – and World – of the future.

THE BRECKNOCK ETHOS

We pride ourselves on being a community school with the needs of the local community at the very heart of our practice. Our collective vision is to provide an aspirational, inclusive, and stimulating learning experience where everyone can succeed and thrive. As part of this, we will:

• Work in partnerships to support all children to achieve their full potential, both academically and personally;
• Develop an ambitious curriculum that equips children with the knowledge and skills they need to embrace opportunities and challenges;
• Provide high quality teaching that is designed to spark children’s curiosity and offers opportunities for them to take risks, learn from mistakes, and discover, explore, and develop passions that they will take into adulthood;
• Ensure children are exposed to a range of rich, engaging arts and cultural experiences that are fundamental to their well-being and holistic development;
• Place the values and principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of our policies and practice as part of our Rights Respecting agenda, teaching children about their own rights and the rights of others.

In doing so, we will strive to develop confident, articulate, and resilient children who understand how to live a responsible, safe, and healthy life and are ready to embrace the opportunities and challenges they encounter at each stage of their lives. We want every child at Brecknock to shine BRIGHT.

OUR BRIGHT VALUES

Our whole school question is ‘Who do I want to be?’ This is addressed through each year group’s implementation of the core BRIGHT values, alongside the Rights Respecting focus. The use of the ‘Values Bar Model’ used in every classroom reinforces a positive behaviour structure that provides positive reinforcement for children’s attitude to learning. Our core values underpin daily life. We teach our children to be innovative, ensuring that they are able to use their curiosity and imagination to solve problems. We also teach our children to be giving and help them to understand the importance of looking after each other, our school and the environment.

To shine bright, we promote, encourage, and model the following core values: