11 Before 11
Life is an adventure – and school should be too!
It is essential that our children can read, write and add up to the level that you would expect for their age, but at Chapel End Junior Academy, school always has been about so much more.
Think back – what do you remember about your primary school days? Was it phonics lessons or learning how to do long division? Or was it a brilliant school trip where you camped under the stars? Or built a raft and crossed a lake? Or built and launched rockets from the playground?
These types of great opportunity – the memorable experiences that cement themselves into your psyche – happen in every school. What’s different for us is that we consciously codify it into a set of promises so that it becomes something that EVERY child is entitled to.
And “11 Before 11” is the way we do this; it’s a set of promises that help our children to be in the driving seat in their own lives. We are ambitious for our children to have broad horizons in life and high aspirations for themselves. We want our children to be inspired and challenged so that each one can develop their unique potential to the full.
11 Before 11 takes our children beyond the usual, to open opportunities in life and inspire them to move forward in their own life’s adventure. We are incredibly proud of “11 Before 11”. We know the impact that it has had so far, and strongly believe that its importance has only grown because of COVID-19 and the impact that the pandemic has had on society, on our communities, and on our families. We will continue to invest in delivering it, so that every child’s experience of school with us is exceptional and memorable for all the right reasons.
Our promises and what they mean!
Why this promise is important to us
A good diet is key to a healthy life. We want all our pupils to understand how food is grown and how lovely fresh food is to eat. We want our children to understand the nutritional value of food and what makes a good healthy diet. We want Chapel End pupils to try new foods and be curious and inquisitive about the foods of different cultures.
Having grown their own food it's important that our pupils to have the skills to prepare their own meals and the confidence to avoid processed pre prepared meals. We want to engender and develop an enjoyment of cooking.
This promise takes place in Year 3
Why this promise is important to us
Shakespearian plays are a world away from our pupil’s lives. However, studying Shakespeare will be an important part of their secondary education. Gaining confidence with Shakespearian language and concepts at this early age will make future learning much easier.
Through this promise, we want to give our pupils the opportunity to perform an abridged version of a Shakespearian play. We want Chapel End pupils to experience what it is like to be on a stage and to overcome the fear of public speaking and performing in front of other people. In addition, we hope that this promise will help to build a love of theatre and potentially unlock new hidden artistic talents.
This promise takes place in Year 5
Why this promise is important to us.
Looking up at a starry night sky is probably one of the most magical things that children can do. Every person at some point in their life will have thought what it would be like to go into space and wonder what exists beyond our planet. We want all Chapel End children to unlock their adventurous spirit and to be curious about truly spectacular things.
Spending the night away from home with friends will represent one of the most exciting things many children would have done, particularly with sleeping outdoors. Combining the two things together has the potential to deliver a truly memorable experience.
This promise takes place in Year 5
Why this promise is important to us.
Throughout life our pupils will face many challenges, some of which will be in competitive environments. It is important that all our pupils have the confidence and skills to tackle these challenges and the opportunities to appreciate and enjoy the feelings of success in relation to their efforts.
The delivery of make or break a record is designed to stretch our pupils’ imagination, and to open their eyes to the wealth of opportunities on offer in their future lives. We want all our children to dare to be different and to realise their dreams.
This is a whole school promise.
Why this promise is important to us.
Being confident in and around water is a vital life skill. In addition to keeping children safe it also unlocks a world of exciting new opportunities and challenges. Through our Messing Around on the Water promise we want to give all our pupils the opportunity to experience new activities and to test themselves in ways they might not have imagined.
In addition to the personal benefits, this promise gives our children the ideal opportunities to support and encourage their friends who might be less confident. This promise is an introduction to the thrill and enjoyment of water sports, allowing children to test their courage on the water and hopefully develop a lifelong love of water sports.
This promise takes place in Year 6
Why this promise is important to us
Within our communities, there is so much talent that we can go seek out and find. Every city, town and village will have unique, cultural experiences at their fingertips- if we only reach out and explore. This is precisely what the Culture Vulture promise is for.
Like the vulture scanning from the skies looking for its next meal, let's go hunting for new cultural experiences for our children close by. From the local choirs, orchestras, brass bands, amateur dramatic groups to cultural dance groups, pop-up galleries and museums and many, many more- a wealth of exciting, enlightening delights are waiting just around the corner for you to find.
This is a whole school promise
Why this promise is important to us
Many of our pupils will not get regular opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors, nor will they have the thrill or challenge of climbing a peak. Through our Hiking Heroes promise, we want to show how exercise outdoors can be enjoyable and rewarding. We also want all our pupils to realise that this sort of activity might be difficult and challenging but can be well worth the effort.
This promise can also provide great educational benefit. It allows our children to plan a route, to map read, and to think about the provisions that they may need.
This promise takes place in Year 5
Why this promise is important to us
For many performing in front of friends and family can be daunting, delivering the same performance to people you don’t know represents a much greater challenge. Through the delivery of the Flashmob promise we want to help all of our pupils to understand what they can achieve when they step outside of their comfort zone.
Flashmob will help our pupils to realise the power of a being part of a team. All too often it will be the shyest pupil who turns out to be the most exuberant performer. Conversely the most talented sports person might find it hard to learn a dance routine. Flashmob is all about helping each other to deliver something special and memorable.
This is Year 4 promise.
Why this promise is important to us.
Being part of a strong and caring community from an early age will help all our pupils to appreciate that giving and supporting others can make their lives more enjoyable and rewarding. Seeing other people smile or benefit from kind gestures will be immeasurable. Through the delivery of 10 good deeds, we want all our children to identify what is needed in their local communities and to work with their peers, parents and neighbours to bring these activities to life.
Although this promise concludes after the 10th deed is done, we hope that this experience encourages all our children to continue to support their communities and enjoy the life-long benefits that this can bring.
This is a whole school promise.
Why this promise is important to us.
Although some people don’t realise it, art plays an important and continual part in our everyday lives. It is delivered through many different ways and serves many different purposes. It can be used to communicate an important message, to celebrate an occasion or a person, or simply it can be used to generate enjoyment.
Some art is presented on a canvas, others through sculpture. Art can also be delivered through film or animation. What matters is why it is developed.
We want all our pupils to think about what art means to them and how they can use it to express themselves. Through this promise we want to challenge our pupils to think creatively, source materials and develop their own works of art. To make this truly memorable we want pupils to work in teams to develop memorable legacies that lives with them during their school experience.
This is a Year 6 promise.
Why this promise is important to us.
There has never been a clearer message to look after our planet than there is now and this can start in our own playgrounds, fields and gardens. Conservation for all living things is something that children should learn from a young age. Instilling a sense of responsibility for all the creatures we share this planet with can start with the simplest of tasks locally but come with the huge rewards of encouraging strong sense of self-awareness and reflection.
This is a Year 4 promise.
Below is an example of some children Creating Something Amazing!
