Love to Learn

Our school motto was developed in partnership with our school council, staff and governors. Key elements of our school charter were presented to the school council for their approval and the children were asked to vote for a new school motto. It was decided that our motto should be, “At Neville’s Cross, we love to LEARN!”

Our school ethos and expectations are lived through our charter. Children at Neville’s Cross genuinely care, are respectful and understand the value of education for both themselves and others around them. From the very youngest children in school to our oldest, our children understand that they have a responsibility to themselves and their peers in order to make our school a happy and vibrant place to learn.

School Council

Our children are at the heart of everything we do here at Neville’s Cross and we strongly believe that our children have the right to a voice and to be heard. We are very proud of the work of our school council and they have been involved in several key pieces of work, including: the creation of the bucket lists, our school motto, introducing a Buddy system and the creation of an Eco Club and a Gardening Club. Each year in September, we host a democracy themed week in school, which includes school council elections. Children are invited to stand for election to represent their class, hustings are held followed by a secret ballot. School council meets several times a year and are currently focusing on becoming a more eco-friendly school and the steps we can take to do this.

House Captains

As well as voting for class councillors, our UKS2 children vote for Year 6 children to be House Captains and Vice House Captains. All children in school are allocated to one of four houses, which are named after local bridges in Durham City: Kingsgate, Prebends, Elvet and Framwellgate. Our houses form a key part of sporting events and wider school events. House points are awarded for many reasons, including rewarding both individual and team efforts in: Tidiest Classroom, representing school at an event offsite, for inter and intra-school sporting events and demonstrating our ‘Love to Learn’ charter. House Captains and Vice House Captains are responsible for totalling the number of housepoints earned each half-term and wherever appropriate are the representatives for their house, including our annual Sports Day. Each term, the house with the highest total receives a collective treat overseen by their house captains.

Sports Leaders

Each year, children in Year 5 receive training from the SSP to become Sports Leaders. They support school staff at inter-school events, including leading warm-ups and demonstrating activities as well as providing games and activities at breaktimes and lunchtimes. Our Sports Leaders have done a sterling job in recent events such as the Summer Fun Run and inter-house Cross Country event.

Buddies

In Key Stage 1, a group of children from each class are chosen to take on the role of Buddies at playtimes and lunchtimes. This was identified by School Council as a solution to an issue that was raised. Although the majority of children at Neville’s Cross have very happy playtimes, some children may find themselves alone and in need of a friend. Our Buddies are always on the lookout for others who might need somebody to play with. In warmer months, our Buddies help to organise games with our outdoor toys.

Librarians

Here at Neville’s Cross, we have an amazing team of Junior Librarians, who are passionate about sharing their love of reading with others. Supported by Mrs Christie, they help to organise our newly revamped school library and oversee the borrowing and returns of library books when classes visit. Furthermore, they work closely with their peers and school leaders to make suggestions for the purchasing of new books based on recommendations from the children.