- Myton School

Dear Parents and Carers

As you may already be aware, age-related expectations are the basis for new methods of assessment in education. It is a structure which defines how a child should be performing in a given subject based on their age, and has been in place in primary schools for some time.

It is a methodology which is being increasingly applied to behaviour. My own child, last September, began his reception year with a list of habits and behaviours the school expected him to have mastered by the age of four to consider himself ‘Reception Ready’. It was a clear and reasonable set of expectations and included at number 4: “Your child must understand the word ‘no’ when it is applied to poor behaviour and react appropriately.” I was highly encouraged to see it on there. It is a word he was hearing at home and set the scene for a safe environment for him to learn in. The list also covered things like being able to dress himself and conduct himself properly when eating at a table.

Over the next week, we will be clarifying our basic rules which I consider are essential for a child to be ‘Secondary Ready’. None of them are new but we will be making them clearer. At their most basic level, they echo the idea of understanding the word ‘no’. They also echo the list my son was given in other ways, such as wearing the correct uniform, respecting the personal space of other children, being able to listen, etc. However, they also reflect the mature age of our students and our firm expectation that all children understand they are here to learn. This involves sitting where they are told (seating plans are a key learning tool), having a clear idea of what an hour’s work looks like in each lesson, and reflecting on their learning to ensure it sticks.

In an organisation with 1,700 students, good order is vital, as is a shared idea that learning is always our priority. The posters below set out our basic rules. They don’t replace our 10 learning habits which are all about developing character, but they do create the safe environment that all schools must have in order for students to learn.