The Pastoral Care dimension of our school is of paramount importance and involves all children and adults who participate in the daily life of the school.It is our belief that Pastoral Care is not only at the heart of the working ethos of the school but that it should be at the forefront of all levels of decision making. It is not a timetabled subject but, rather, permeates all aspects of school life.
As a team, we place strong emphasis upon creating a nurturing, positive and supportive environment where all children are encouraged to “Motivate their Potential to Shine’.
Our School Ethos At Macosquin the pupils are at the heart of our school. Our team of dedicated staff provide a positive, caring and child-centred environment which recognises uniqueness and celebrates success in every child.
We firmly believe that our approach will self-motivate, aiming to inspire a love of learning, unlocking the potential that lies within all our children; preparing them to be happy, successful and responsible citizens now and in the future.
Our school vision for every child is:
‘Together as a school family, we are committed to nurturing and motivating our children, enabling them to reach their full potential and shine- today and in the years ahead!
Parents are always welcomed and encouraged to contact their child’s teacher or the Principal if they have any concerns or worries. We encourage parents to share concerns about home circumstances or medical matters which may affect their child’s work or behaviour in school. Any discussions are held in confidence if desired or necessary. An early interventionist approach will be adopted when a problem is affecting the welfare or progress of a child. As a school, we maintain a close working relationship with the various outside agencies involved in the care of children.
At Macosquin Primary School we recognise and value the importance of health and well-being in child development and the need to encourage healthy lifestyle habits from an early age, to help children reach their full potential. Thus it is embedded in our school ethos, vision and core values.
'Positivity and Well-Being...Ensuring self-esteem, health and happiness are at the core of our pupils’ education and that our pupils gain the strategies needed to maintain their well-being throughout their lives.'
Health, happiness and Well-Being
It is important we consider all elements of our work to ensure that awareness of healthy living and emotional well-being is promoted to all members of the school and wider community.
Our school not only promotes but teaches health and well-being through a broad and balanced curriculum, nurture programmes, school assemblies, pupil participation, shared education, extra curricular activities and dedicated celebration events.
We believe that the school, in partnership with parents and carers, can make a major contribution to improving children’s health and well-being by increasing their knowledge and understanding of what a healthy lifestyle is and helping them to make healthy choices.
Roots of Empathy (ROE) is an evidence-based classroom program that started in Toronto, Canada. The program consists of guided observations of an infant's development and emotions by elementary school children. The project began in 1996, and was established by Mary Gordon, a Canadian social entrepreneur and educator. The project has since expanded to 11 different countries.
The programme consists of weekly classes with a Roots of Empathy instructor throughout the school year. The program consists of a classroom visit from a neighbourhood baby and parent every three weeks. The curriculum is divided into nine themes, with three classroom visits supporting each theme (a pre-family visit, family visit and post-family visit) for a total of 27 classes. Each of the nine themes is further broken down into four age ranges in primary schools.
Babies are between two and four months old at the beginning of the programme.
The children are sat around the parent, baby and instructor. The baby's development and growth, along with the verbal and non-verbal interactions between the parent and the baby, are observed. Students are asked to complete both classroom curriculum tasks, such as measuring the height and weight of the baby and reading with the baby, and tasks designed to improve emotional intelligence, such as reflecting on their feelings about the interactions and on their classmates' displays of emotions.
We are fortunate to have two teachers trained to deliver Roots of Empathy to different Key Stages in our school.
