Head of School’s Comment

To Speak the Truth continues to be our focus this Term. One of the defining elements of John Colet School is that we explore and embed our values as a whole school. We approach the learning of our values in a developmentally appropriate way which will differ dependent on which age we are with, yet the core remains the same. Similarly as a staff we explore these areas in a focussed way either in our staff development sessions, morning briefings or personal communications. A key element of the education we seek to deliver to the children is to surround them with real examples of the virtues we speak of.  If we have lessons on Truth we need to back these up by being personally honest; if we discuss Integrity and Fairness then the children need to see the teachers acting with integrity and fairness.
 
Social situations can require tact and understanding, so truthfulness is not only the relating of factual information. In addition to being factually accurate, we should also be kind, caring and supportive. We encourage the children to speak the truth, to speak pleasantly; and not to speak unpleasant truth, or pleasant untruth. It is an area rich with everyday examples that can be explored and debated towards greater understanding.