Schools across the country will spend a great deal of time analysing the measurable outcomes of children: assessment scores, progress measures, work in books, in-class contributions and conversations, but schools do so much more than that which can be measured. Whilst we are very proud of the high level of outcomes achieved by our children, we place great importance on developing the type of culture that allows children and adults to thrive.

Visitors to our school often tell us that our school has a ‘special feeling’ or a ‘buzz’ when walking around - something which cannot be measured but has to be experienced. We believe that this is created by many reasons, but can be summarised through the explanation that, at Ryarsh Primary School, there is a commonly held view that we are not just a community of learners – we are a ‘family’ of learners. Our community of learners is brought together by circumstance, whereas our family of learners is brought together by relationships.

When you become part of Ryarsh Primary School, you become part of a family which we all take great pride in being part of. In our view, communities are brought together by location, circumstance or shared characteristics. We define ourselves as a family as we are bonded by relationships.

At Ryarsh Primary School, our valued relationships (and principles underpinning these relationships) are a massive contributing factor in the ‘culture of trust’ that we have in our school. A combination of strong relationships and a culture of trust allow our school values (integrity, determination, compassion, unity and respect) to permeate throughout the school and impact on all of our decisions and actions.

Our school is a place where staff are highly valued; empowered to research and try new things; nurtured to support their mental health & wellbeing and challenged to continuously improve.

Within our Ryarsh family, every person, no matter their age, is a learner. As part of our community of learners, we help all minds flourish because every single person is provided with the opportunity to learn, develop and grow. At our school, we are knowledgeable, research based and investigative as this helps to shape our innovative, reflective teaching practices and our continuous drive for improvement.

We take actions that are considered and measured as we listen and empower all stake-holders to be involved in the decisions that matter to them. We appreciate that every single person involved in our school plays a crucial role in the magic weaving that is experienced at Ryarsh Primary School.