Values and Ethos | Woodpecker Court

Values and Ethos

At Woodpecker Court we believe that there are three core values that are at the centre of everything our community represents. They are Relationships, Respect and Resilience.

Relationships - Many young people arrive finding relationships difficult. We support young people at the earliest stage to develop good and positive relationships with both peers and staff, so they feel comfortable, happy, and ready to learn. Good, positive relationships are the key to being healthy and happy. They give you the confidence to live a full life, and enable you to be successful in the workplace and at home. Therefore, we think they are so important.

Respect - This is a two-way thing. We do not have a hierarchal approach to students and staff. For us to trust each other we need to respect each other. As relationships develop this will come. We are on first name terms with our students and consider you to be equal members of our community. If we respect each other, we can get over problems quickly and easily. You can express how you feel more easily, and we can celebrate our success together.

Resilience - Many students arrive with us low on self-esteem and stamina from finding life and education difficult. The rhythm of the academic year versus the calendar year helps us here. We have a gentle start in the Autumn, then the Winter bites. We live outside to eat and socialise under our parachute in January as well as July. We work outdoors to underpin our learning in February and June. As a result, resilience is a core value that we build in students that enables you to be ready for your next steps in life.

All of this is underpinned by Routine. We do the same things at the same time every day. Human beings are creatures of habit - we survive through routine and rhythm. Sometimes for our students there has been a lack of healthy routine, which is why we strongly believe that our routine underpins it all.

Woodpecker Court Values and Ethos

Building aspirational learners equipped for their future.

Woodpecker Court is reflective of the needs of the student. Its bespoke nature enables a degree of flexibility to ensure that we remain holistic and focused upon the student learning journey. Many of our students have had a fragmented previous education. Our envisaged end point for them is when they are deemed to be resilient, reflective, responsible as well as respectful while being academically functional for both life and an onward destination.

We encourage our students to be reflective every day throughout their learning journey. We achieve this by implementing opportunities where students can reflect on their day by running a morning and afternoon briefing based under our parachute. From a teaching and learning perspective, it is essential lesson planning includes the use of starter and plenary activities to highlight key points of learning, which will encourage students to retain knowledge. Students who embark on a learning journey at Woodpecker Court will become flexible in their working nature. The curriculum offers opportunities to learn new skills within our bespoke environment working closely with our animals, caring for the woodland, and learning how to be take responsibility for the provision and greater community.

We build resilience in all of our students, whether that be working in a range of challenging weather conditions, to being taught how to overcome mistakes with woodwork projects in our workshop or undertaking a range of sensitive PSHE qualifications. Students will be given guidance to see positives in every challenge they face. The curriculum aspires to set “there is no ceiling…seek the stairs” approach for every student and any barriers they face are seen as an opportunity to learn. The curriculum provides opportunities for students to stretch and challenge themselves, no matter how big or small the outcome. Some may be given leadership roles, others more challenging work to complete, but most importantly, students will be given the appropriate steps to succeed in building their skills, qualities and to leave Woodpecker Court with confidence as they step into the next chapter of their journey.