WHAT CHARACTER EDUCATION IS
Character is a set of personal traits or dispositions that produce specific moral emotions, inform motivation and guide conduct. Character education includes all explicit and implicit educational activities that help young people develop positive personal strengths called virtues.
Character education is about helping pupils grasp what is ethically important in situations and how to act for the right reasons and to be reflective. This involves knowing how to choose the right course of action in difficult situations and it to make choices through growth and wisdom.
Crucially, character education also requires aspiration and memorable experiences. High aspirations encourage pupils to look beyond their current circumstances, stretch their capabilities, and strive to be better. Through a program of diverse experiences, both inside and outside the classroom. pupils encounter the very challenges, responsibilities, and cultural perspectives that test and shape their virtues in real time. Enrichment activities support the development of character and build the four school values of: Compassion, Perseverance, Responsibility and Thankfulness.
The ultimate aim of character education is not only to make individuals better persons but to create the social and institutional conditions within which all human beings can flourish.
KEY PRINCIPLES FOR CHARACTER EDUCATION
- Character is educable and its progress can be assessed holistically across academics, experiences, and enrichment.
- Character is important, as it drives individual aspiration and fuels wider societal flourishing.
- Good education is good character education, as it pairs the academic with rich, character-building experiences.
- Character is largely caught through role-modelling - school culture and ethos inspire pupils to set high aspirations.
- A school culture and enrichment programme that enables pupils to develop positive relationships, competence, and self-determination - the acquisition of good character.
- Character should also be taught - direct teaching of character provides the rationale, language and tools to use in developing character elsewhere with experiences in and out of school.
- Character should be developed in partnership with parents, and other stakeholders to unite and support a child’s aspiration and experiences.
- Character education is about fairness and each child, through high quality enrichment opportunities, has a right to character development.
- Positive character development empowers pupils and builds confidence.
- Good character demonstrates an open mind and a readiness to learn from diverse cultures and experiences.
WHICH VIRTUES CONSTITUTE GOOD CHARACTER? (The building blocks of character)
Good character is a collection of traits that help individuals respond to life's challenges in a positive and appropriate way. These character traits enable people to live, work, and learn with others peacefully and justly. Character education aims to cultivate these virtues, driven by high aspirations and developed through a rich programme of experiences and enrichment, which are generally categorised into four main groups: moral, civic, intellectual, and performance. Our four school values of compassion, thankfulness, responsibility and perseverance, are linked to these virtues.
Intellectual Virtues: The character traits that guide our quest for knowledge and information. They enable us to learn from diverse experiences and make us deep thinkers. Perseverance is a key intellectual virtue that encourages us to remain tenacious in our pursuit of knowledge and understanding, even when facing a difficult learning challenge, fuelling the academic aspirations needed to unlock a lifelong love of learning.
Moral Virtues: The character traits that enable us to act ethically and compassionately. They dictate how we treat others and make morally justifiable decisions. Compassion and Thankfulness are key moral virtues that promote empathy and an attitude of gratitude, which are actively practiced and tested through enrichment activities and community engagement.
Civic Virtues: The character traits that are necessary for engaged, responsible citizenship. They help pupils understand their ties to society and their responsibilities within it. Responsibility is a central civic virtue that teaches accountability within a community, while Compassion as a civic virtue is about showing solidarity and care for the wider society. We cultivate these virtues by giving pupils real-world experiences that broaden their horizons and teach them to embrace diversity and culture.
Performance Virtues: The personal traits that enable us to manage our lives effectively, aim for high aspirations, and achieve our goals. They are distinct from moral virtues but are crucial enablers of them. Perseverance is a core performance virtue because enrichment opportunities, such as sport, art, music, provide the environment where pupils learn the determination needed to stick with challenging tasks until they are completed.
Adapted from ‘Integrating Character and Wellbeing Education in Schools’ University of Birmingham.
HOW VIRTUES ARE CAUGHT, TAUGHT AND SOUGHT
Virtues, while they can be divided into the categories of intellectual, moral, civic, and performance, are not meant to exist in isolation. They form a coherent, mutually supportive whole in a well-rounded life. The core of character education is all about the integration of these virtues. This holistic approach to character development is not a single subject but a pervasive part of a school's daily culture. It operates on the principle that a child's character can be 'caught’. 'taught' and 'sought' through a variety of educational activities, supporting high aspirations through a framework of experiences and enrichment.
Virtues can be:
- Character and Wellbeing Caught: The school community of both staff and pupils provides the example, culture, and inspirational influence in a positive ethos that motivates and promotes character development. Children observe and internalise good character from the adults and peers around them. For example, a teacher will calmly handle a difficult situation with a pupil, modelling self-control and respect for everyone to see. A member of SLT might acknowledge and praise pupils in assemblies for their acts of kindness, reinforcing a culture of gratitude and compassion. Likewise, an older pupil helping a younger child demonstrates kindness and service to a peer.
- Character and Wellbeing Taught: The school provides educational experiences that equip pupils with the language, knowledge, understanding, skills, and attributes that enable character development. This involves explicit lessons or discussions about character traits and values, often integrated into different subjects. For example, a teacher might use a storybook to lead a class discussion on empathy, asking pupils how they would feel in the characters' shoes. Children may act out a scenario where they must resolve a disagreement over a shared resource, practicing fairness and compromise. The class could also work together to create a plan to keep the school playground clean, promoting a sense of responsibility and shared ownership.
- Character and Wellbeing Sought: The school provides varied opportunities that generate the formation of personal habits and character commitments. These help pupils over time to seek, desire, and freely pursue their character development. For example, a pupil serving on the primary leadership team, where they must listen to others and make decisions, is actively practicing citizenship and civility. In a sports club, pupils learn teamwork by supporting each other and resilience by bouncing back from a loss. Furthermore, at the end of a project, the teacher may ask pupils to think about a time they showed perseverance or helped a teammate, encouraging self-reflection on their actions and character growth.
SCHOOLS ETHOS BASED ON CHARACTER
Our Ethos, Vision and Values are values driven and demonstrate academic, professional and social success. They are committed to developing the character of all pupils. The school ethos is the collective character of everyone and links to the Character Virtues.
Ethos Statement
Moorfield School is a welcoming school where everyone is valued highly and where tolerance, honesty, co-operation and mutual respect for others are fostered. We are committed to the development of the whole person within a supportive, secure and creative environment.
A broad, balanced and appropriate curriculum provides equal opportunity for all pupils to maximise their potential regardless of disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender or sexual orientation.
We endeavour to promote positive relationships with parents, governors and members of the wider community.
Mission Statement
Moorfield is an inclusive school community where children are encouraged and supported to grow, thrive and be their best.
This happens through the provision of a nurturing and challenging environment, which provides rich learning experiences that allow children to show their qualities and skills both inside and outside the classroom.
Vision
‘Inspiring Creative Learners for Exciting Futures’
We aspire for the children of Moorfield Primary School to have the skills to be resilient, independent, confident and motivated in this ever changing world to take full advantage of all future opportunities.
Values
At Moorfield we have four core values at the heart of all that we do:
- RESPONSIBILITY Giving our children the expectation to behave appropriately, make responsible decisions and have a role in their school and community.
Our children make informed ‘good’ choices as not only to become skilled learners in their learning journey but also well rounded citizens with spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness.
- PERSEVERANCE Giving our children the self belief to be determined individuals that value hard work, have skills in investigation and problem solving and a responsibility for their own progress.
Our children set goals to do their best and they are proud of all their achievements
- COMPASSION Giving our children the humility to share in the lives of others, identify human suffering and take action to help, improve and transform it.
Our children recognise their own uniqueness and respect the uniqueness of others
- THANKFULNESS Giving our children the reminder of gratitude, good manners, being appreciative and thankful for those things we often take for granted.
Our children are excited by their learning with all their talents being developed. They are appreciative and motivated to become life long learners and are able to take full advantage of the next stage in their learning journey.
As a school, we have developed an ‘Aspirations and Character Charter’, to highlight explicit examples of Moorfield activities that support academic excellence, participation and competition, leading and serving and diversity and creativity. Alongside this sits our ‘Experience Charter’, developed by staff and the Primary Leadership Team, which ensures children are provided with a wealth of cultural capital opportunities.
Together, these frameworks ensure that character development and high aspirations are the direct result of the rich experiences and enrichment we provide for every child. By explicitly teaching, catching, and seeking these virtues through a vibrant, creative curriculum, we empower our pupils to broaden their horizons, discover their potential, and build the resilience needed to flourish in an ever-changing world.
