Pocklington Junior School; where every child gets what they need!
All children are different, unique, special, valued.
At Pocklington Junior School we invest in the time to find out what makes
your child individual.
Our caring, specialist staff welcome every child into our community
and take extra time and energy
to get to know their individual strengths and learning characteristics ,
to find out what excites them and remove their barriers to success,
enabling them to achieve outstanding outcomes.
Pocklington Junior School is a place that stimulates curiosity, that feeds young minds,
that builds independence and excitement in learning about the world.
It is a school that develops resilient, self-assured, respectful and principled young people who are aspirational in their own futures and have the confidence to pursue their goals through achieving academic success.
It is a school where no child is left behind and all children fulfil their potential.
Pocklington Junior School; where every child gets what they need!
Read our testimonials:
‘Pocklington Juniors has been a great choice of school for our daughter. We’ve seen her thrive academically but also in terms of developing those key life skills and self confidence that will support her as she moves to secondary school. The staff genuinely care and it’s evident in any contact we’ve had with school that they really do know our daughter as an individual. Most importantly of all she’s happy at school and has been since she started.’ Year 6 parent
Our School Values
At Pocklington Junior School we pride ourselves on teaching our children values that will equip them for life. These values are an integral part of our school and form the language of learning, heard in every classroom, in every lesson, in every aspect of the school day. Our values are a focus for celebration, with every small achievement being seen as a step on the journey towards adulthood.
Confidence is, in part, a result of how we have been brought up and how we’ve been taught. We learn from others how to think about ourselves and how to behave – these lessons affect what we believe about ourselves and other people. Confidence is also a result of our experiences and how we’ve learned to react to different situations. It is not a static measure; it can change according to what we are faced with but the important thing is that children are taught to recognise this and not connect lack of confidence with failure.
We understand that without an inner confidence and self- belief, children cannot fulfil their potential as learners. They will be reluctant to try new things for fear of failure or disappointing others. We allow children to understand and accept their capabilities and then develop them through practice so that they are not afraid to make mistakes as they see them as part of the learning process.
“It is important to be confident because if you have confidence in what you are doing, it will be much easier to get it done. It has helped me to grow as a person because I have had the confidence to do what is needed in my life.” Patrick Year 6 
“Confidence is important as a school value because if people did not have confidence they would not try new things such as using new vocabulary or punctuation in their writing. Growing confidence has improved my life because I would not have had the courage to make new friends.” Lorelei Year 6
Testimonial:
“Our daughter made her way through Pocklington Junior School and while she held her own academically, the school still supported and developed her to achieve her best. This was perhaps something that we took for granted.
It’s seeing the outstanding support that our son has received during his years at this school, that we realise how incredibly fortunate we are to have such an amazing school and team of teachers, who truly care for our boy and have been an invaluable support to us, as parents, as well.
It’s “easy” to get kids who are confident and academic to achieve, but it takes a truly special team to build confidence, make a child believe in themselves and to put their wellbeing and emotional stability into the core of their activities.
I cannot praise Pocklington Junior School enough for their exceptional support and for the culture of caring, nurturing, encouragement and safeguarding; not only at an academic level, but right down to the specific needs of the child, to overcome their challenges.” A Year 6 parent.
Everyone understands the importance of motivation to learn. While it’s possible to get children to learn by encouraging them to be compliant or by giving out rewards, the most powerful learning occurs when children take ownership of their learning because they aspire to achieve the best that they can. We build aspiration in our children through developing their understanding that there is no limit to what they can achieve in both school and life, if they are prepared to work hard and hold onto their dreams.
“Aspiration is needed in our lives because sometimes we don’t get a second chance and we all need to go after what we want the most. Even if we fail at what we love, at least we tried and that’s what counts! A speech I like is, ‘We only get one life, so we have to choose how we spend it.’ This makes me think that we should all go after our dreams even when things get tough and you are starting to quit. We just have to believe, then achieve!” Holly Year 6
Resilience is an important quality for children to develop; it helps them to overcome difficulties and challenges that they will meet not only in their learning but also at home and in life in general. Situations such as moving to a new school, moving house, a death in the family are some of the difficulties that children face. The phrase, “Children are resilient- they always bounce back,” assumes that it is a quality that we are all born with, however it is a quality that needs to be learnt.
At Pocklington Junior School we understand the importance of resilience and develop skills in school to help children become more resilient. By helping them recognize their strengths and what they are good at, helps empower them so they can make their own decisions, from choosing what they want for their lunch at registration time, to deciding on whether they are ready to move on to the next level of challenge in maths. We help children to know how to make the right choices so that they understand that actions have consequences; that if they make a mistake, it is a natural part of developing their moral character and they can own it, accept it and move on in the knowledge that it was their choice that was wrong not them as a person. In doing so they develop emotional resilience.
“Resilience is an important value because if no-one was ever resilient and everyone just gave up straight away, no-one would be successful and achieve things. It’s also all
about being brave enough to try again. Resilience has helped me in school when, for example, I haven’t understood the work and I’m finding it difficult, because if I keep trying and don’t give up, I will have a better understanding of the work and will know how to do it.” Sophie Year 6
“Resilience is a great value as it shows how if you keep on trying, anything is possible in your life. This is very important to me because when I first started swimming, I wasn’t good at it at all, but now after training and not giving up, I am a lot better.” Luke Year 6
Being an independent learner is an important skill; it enables children to begin to think and assess how to approach tasks, to plan their work, to gather the resources that they need without waiting for an adult to provide them and to become less reliant on others in order to progress with their learning. Independent learners develop good organizational skills, become more self-motivated and resilient over time.
We believe in developing this vital skill through giving children more opportunities for decision making within their lessons, though encouraging them to apply the skills they have been taught to creating independent pieces of work, whether this is through writing, art or physical education. We also ensure that our classrooms are well resourced and encourage children to use these resources to support their learning, whether it is through using an example on the board, asking a buddy, looking back at previous learning in their book, working through this process helps children to recognize that they are able to develop an independent approach towards problem solving.
“To me independence is important because it can turn difficult situations into a learning experience and this makes you more independent. It has helped me in school by teaching me to do things on my own- it has made me a better person by preparing me for things in the future.” Cianna Year 6
“I think independence is important as it teaches you how to work by yourself and not expect others to always help you. It also means that you are not going to give up on your work. By being independent, it has made me feel better since it feels like I’ve accomplished something that I would have found a bit tricky.” Harvey Year 6
One of the most important values that we aim to instill in our children is that hard work comes with many benefits; it builds perseverance and a feeling of satisfaction when a piece of work has been completed, it enables encouragement and praise for the effort that has been put into the work and so leaves children with a sense of satisfaction, of self-belief and raised self-esteem. We believe that it is important that children grow up recognizing their own skills sets and develop an understanding that even if they find something challenging, through working hard at it, they can usually find success.
At Pocklington Junior School, hard work, like all of our values is looked for and celebrated both in and out of the classroom. We celebrate not only the exemplary work that children produce, but also that which exemplifies a child’s best efforts; in this way, all children can feel that they are able to succeed if they are prepared to work hard.
“Hard work isn’t that easy to do! You have to work your way up, like climbing the stairs of a tall building. Every day things that you might want to buy all come from working hard –it can help you to achieve things that you never thought you would be able to! Without hard work, our world would be very different!” Evie Year 6
“If we didn’t work hard, we would not be able to get the job that we desire. Hard work has made me a better person because it makes me complete more work in school; doing more work means learning more and learning will help me to get the job that I want when I am older.” Timmy Year 5
Respect is one of the most important values that a child can learn. Respecting other people of all ages can lead to positive relationships being developed which ultimately will help our children grow up to lead happy lives in which they treat people around them well. Learning the value of respect brings with it other skills, such as becoming an active listener which in turn enables children to listen to the ideas and opinions of other people in a considered way. This in turn develops a wider understanding of different religions, cultures and beliefs, helping children to become open minded and tolerant of other.
At Pocklington Junior School we understand that one of the most powerful ways that children learn respect, is by being exposed to and observing respectful behaviour around them. In our school, we expect all members of the community to demonstrate and model respect, from greeting every child with a warm and personal conversation every morning or through picking up someone’s school bag that has fallen from their peg, to learning how to listen respectfully to other children’s point of view in lesson times. The power of this consistent approach is one of the reasons that visitors to school all comment on how polite and respectful our children are.
“I believe that respect is the most important value of all. It is important because by following this value we can make the world a better place.
To do this we must respect not only people, but animals, the environment and the world in general. Respect has made me a better person because now I have learnt to respect everyone even though they may have different ideas to me.” Nathaniel Year 5
“I think respect is important because if someone is talking to you, you need to be respectful to them and listen. Also if someone has achieved something, you should respect them and be happy for them even if you didn’t achieve it too. I think by being respectful, it will mean that more people will want to be my friend. Respect has made me a better person because being respectful is kind and kind is a value as well!” Lola Year 4
Honesty is one of the core values that we believe all children should grow up understanding the importance of. it is not just about being truthful, although that is certainly a key principle, but is also about being true to yourself. Honesty is the building block for forming lasting relationships, for engendering confidence, for building self-esteem and directing our actions in life. We invest a lot of time in school in developing children’s understanding of honesty, through PSHE, through discussing how to make honest choices to resolve friendship issues and through being honest in their learning so that they know how to reflect honestly about their understanding and ability. This allows children to recognize when it is appropriate to ask for help or to move on to more challenging work.
“I think that honesty is the most important value because if no-one was honest, your life would be like The Boy Who Cried Wolf! If I need help in my lessons, I am honest about it and then get the help that I need. Being honest means that I have friends and people in my life who care for me.” Isabelle Year 5 
“I think it is important to be honest because if you do not tell the truth about your school work, it will be too easy for you so you need to tell your teacher. If you do this then you will not have spent an hour doing something that is does not challenge your brain. Also being honest means that if you are sick then people will believe you and help you!” Amie Year 4
Although we know that children at Pocklington Junior School are taught in an environment that is underpinned by kindness and care, we made a decision to adopt this as our final value following the pandemic, as we feel the over-riding need for the school community throughout this time is kindness.
Science has now shown that devoting resources to others, rather than having more and more for yourself, brings about lasting well-being. People who are kind act that way not for any reward or even recognition but because it is the right way to behave and the way a person wishes others would act towards them.
We believe, in school there are many ways to be kind and many opportunities to practice kindness. One way to be kind is to teach children to open their eyes and be actively looking for people in need – to notice when other children need a helping hand. A sense of community is created when people are kind to those who need help. A kind word, a smile, opening a door, or helping someone who is hurt can all be acts of kindness. Kindness is also a willingness to celebrate other people’s success and be genuinely pleased for them; we help children to do this by celebrating each other’s learning, by modelling how it is okay to feel disappointed in not having our ideas voted for but how we can still be happy for the winner!
“Kindness is important because with everything that is going on in the world, a little bit of kindness towards each other is what we need. If you are in school and you see someone alone, it makes you a better person for asking them if they want to play. That’s what being kind is all about.” Abbie-Rose Year 5
“It’s very simple-If you are kind to people, they will be kind back to you and to others. For you to be kind, there doesn’t need to be a reward or a prize- it doesn’t cost you anything to be kind but it does make you a better person and helps others be happy. By being kind, you can gain respect!”
Rosie Year 6