IN the 1990s, West Kidlington Primary School became the launchpad of a new ‘Values Education’ initiative designed to transform the way children learn.

Since then, the concept has been taken across the country by former headmaster Neil Hawkes.

In Kidlington, it still underpins everything the children are taught.

Each month, one of 22 values, including honesty, respect, happiness, peace, responsibility and love, is the focus of headmaster Eugene Symonds’ assemblies and included throughout the curriculum.

As a result, staff, governors and parents say children develop self-worth, respect for others and a sense of global citizenship.

Mr Symonds, who has been headteacher for eight years, said: “The values-led learning distinguishes us from other schools, and we have built on what was developed here 15 years ago.”

In 2008, West Kidlington was named a “change school” under the Government’s soon-to-be-defunct ‘Creative Partnerships’ initiative, designed to bring imaginative ways of teaching into the classroom.

The award has seen the school set up links with artists and introduce a more creative curriculum, to boost the pupils’ writing skills. Artists working around the school site have built an amphitheatre, and artworks are dotted around the school’s grounds.

Mr Symonds said: “We have had a story-teller, a wood-carver, a mosaics artist and all sorts of creative people in to work with both teachers and pupils.

“We have just completed a big assessment for the whole school, and the results show that the levels of writing are definitely improving. We are very pleased with that.”

In the final year of funding, staff have now embarked on the overhaul of the curriculum, using new, creative ways of getting the children engaged in their learning.

It has brought new ‘hands-on’ ways of studying topics.

Mr Symonds said: “We are really trying very hard here to make learning a direct experience.

“When they are learning about the Second World War we can try to get them to experience evacuation by doing it here.”

School leaders were shocked in March, when standards watchdog Ofsted handed them a ‘notice to improve’ over failings in paperwork relating to child safeguarding.

Inspectors said there were gaps in data surrounding staff Criminal Records Bureau checks, which led to the school being deemed ‘inadequate’, despite many aspects of the school being judged ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.

Inspectors have since said the school has made satisfactory progress in rectifying the faults.

ACTING deputy headteacher Julie Holland has overseen the school’s links with artists as part of the Creative Partnership initiative.

This year, that has led to the development of its new curriculum, embracing innovative new ways of grabbing pupils’ attention. It is epitomised by the investigation into crop circles carried out by her Year Five class this term.

Early in the year, pupils arrived to discover a circle had appeared in their playing field, with mysterious seeds scattered in the centre.

Since then, their science, English, and maths lessons have all been linked to trying to work out what had caused it.

Mrs Holland said teaching in this way had fired the children’s imagination.

She said: “Having in the artists and storytellers, or making things with the children, has really enthused them.

“We have been doing this type of thing for a couple of years, but this year it has really helped in rewriting the curriculum and making it work for the school.

“It is definitely more creative, but it is also very special to us. Everybody has a topic, and all their learning is around that.”

She added: “Teachers and pupils have both developed new skills at the same time by working with artists.”

Headteacher Eugene Symonds said: “The children really love learning like this. Julie has prepared all the bids for additional funding this year and worked with our creative partners to bring all this to West Kidlington.”