Village School Philosophy

Each child is Unique

Children are individuals with varied experiences. We acknowledge that children learn at different rates and in different ways so knowledge outcomes vary from one child to the next.
Click here to find out how we cater for these differences...

Each child is a worthwhile person, respected and valued for who they are. In our ever-changing world, children need to be able to adapt a wide range of skills, both social and academic to maximise the opportunities society offers.

Village School is a growth school. Learning is promoted as an exciting, enjoyable, real and ongoing life experience.

A good education should provide your child with more than just preparation for a successful economic life. We balance the academic program with many real life experiences. We access the local community and the resources available within it. We take children on camps, have school sleepovers and involve the children in real life problems and solutions in the Village School environment.

Academic & Life Skills

Everyone knows the 3 R's - Reading, Writing (Our interactive literacy program takes into consideration the various learning styles of young children, their differing rates of progress and prior knowledge. We therefore incorporate a range of teaching materials and have a focus on phonics.), and Arithmetic taught in all schools worldwide. These are the academic skills we need to survive in our society. However in order to be successful in a fast changing world our children are going to need more than that!

Village School offers your child the regular 3R's plus the 5R's for Character . . . Responsibility Resourcefulness Reliability Resilience Respect.

Curriculum

Flexible curriculum content enables themes to be selected for both their intrinsic value and their relevance. The selection criterion includes consideration of relevance to the children, the local community, the school community and the local environment as well as special events and opportunities.

Home Groups

Home Groups are multi-aged to enhance the educational and social needs of the children. Cross-age interactions and peer tutoring allow opportunities for developing cooperative and leadership skills. A multi-aged group is a less competitive and more stimulating learning environment. It provides a more 'natural' environment that allows children to form friendships beyond their year levels. This in turn enhances self worth and provides the basis for a variety of positive relationships in the wider community.

Learning

Whilst the teacher maintains the learning framework, the children are empowered to plan, structure, self-manage and self-evaluate their own learning. All children need time to reflect on information. This does mean less information is fed to the children and more discussion takes place. By asking well-structured questions we are teaching how to think not what to think.
Learning is a 24-hour activity. All children should be encouraged to enjoy finding out more about things that interest them. We aim to arouse your child's natural curiosity and to provide the environment that will foster learning through enquiry and experimentation. Knowledge and understanding are not the same thing; understanding comes from hands on experience. At Village School we want children to understand.
We believe that happy children learn and happy children develop the self-esteem needed to succeed in later life.
At Village School we recognize that this is the most important aspect of the child to develop. Children with low self-esteem cannot concentrate on learning, have difficulty relating to their peers, are too inhibited (or too aggressive) to be able to successfully communicate their needs and desires. In short, unhappy children do not learn.
We recognize that we also learn by making mistakes. Therefore, we encourage children to take risks in a non-threatening, caring environment in order to develop realistic, problem solving skills. We foster creative thinking and individuality in a cooperative, rather than a competitive environment.

Social Skills

We aim to create an environment that is warm and friendly - where children can feel happy and secure. Relationships based on acceptance and trust, develop naturally among children, teachers and parents. It's great when children can feel that they can have friendly relationships with their teachers.
We encourage children to feel that they are important members of the school community, and that their feelings and opinions are valued by others. Given this type of environment, children learn to work as part of a team, to respect the opinions of others and to be sensitive to the needs of those around them. Developing a child's social awareness and their ability to communicate with those around them is an important aspect of our philosophy.
We believe in unconditional acceptance of others, so children feel good about themselves. By fostering high self-esteem in children, we believe that they can develop in all areas of their lives. A child who is able to like themselves, is in turn more able to like others, set their own goals and pursue things in their day to day living with purpose and determination.
We know That children are complex and individual beings, whose needs differ greatly from one to another. With this in mind, we encourage children to take more responsibility for themselves. Every child is expected to develop skills that will ultimately lead him/her to become self-controlled, self-reliant and self-disciplined. How are we able to achieve this? By accepting that as adults, we do not need to "tell" children what to do all the time. They learn and develop through experience, understanding the consequences of decisions they have made.
We strive To develop personal initiative, creative thinking and problem solving abilities. As the children of today will become the adults of tomorrow, they must be encouraged to realize their full potential and utilise it in their day-to-day living.

Read entire document of Village School Philosophy.

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"The advantage of a growth school may be summed up in one statement: This kind of school is geared to the child's rhythm of development."
David Elkind, author of "The Hurried Child".

 

"The 5R's make common sense. Other schools have this in their publicity blurb, but make empty promises. We have found that Village School actually follows through on their philosophy."
Quality Assurance Survey (School Parent Body).

 

Responsibility: An important aspect of our philosophy is growing responsibilities as the child grows. This includes: becoming more responsible for one’s own learning, becoming more responsible for one’s behaviours and actions. The aim is for children to develop internal discipline. Through this a real sense of self-respect is gained.

Resourcefulness: Problem solving, creative thinking and initiative are commonly named as the tools for jobs of the future. Village School children are taught to look for answers and solutions rather than be given them. The school gives children time and ready access to computers, the library, telephone, other staff members and any other resources in their pursuit of answers and solutions.

Reliability: Interdependence is striking the right balance of co-operation and independence. It involves people relying on each other to do their individual parts. The whole school performance is just one important event at the Village School that fosters reliability and real community spirit.

Resilience: Resilience is all about picking oneself up after a negative experience or a mistake and knowing that you can go on. Village School’s discipline statement recognises that mistakes are valuable learning experiences and encourages children to see their own and other’s in this light.

Respect: The Village School farm animals play an important role in teaching. Lessons in respect for all living creatures, reliance and responsibility are taught in very real ways. Respect for and commitment to the environment is also encouraged through the wet lands project that is run on the school property. Adults and children address each other on a first name basis as a way of showing mutual respect and reinforcing that everyone is valued as a worthwhile individual. You’ll find our children are more forthright, expressive, honest and well spoken because we do give them a real voice in the Village School community.

e-mail: Village School Last updated 23 June 2008. Copyright © 2008 Village School Inc.