‘Little Golden Thank Yous’

Little Golden Thank Yous’ specifically reward actions under each of the three golden values. These are awards that staff and children can nominate someone for – with the ‘golden thank you’ placed in the child’s desk. Children look forward to receiving these and it gives them a quiet ‘thank you’ without the need for extrinsic reward. Nomination forms allow staff/children to select which value they are nominating, along with recording the action. The number of ‘thank yous’ for each value will be shared in celebration assembly each week, along with some examples.

A beautiful ‘golden’ display board has been created in the Year 6 corridor to celebrate the number of golden thankyous received each week.

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Values Throughout the School

Our weekly year group and phase assemblies are used to regularly reinforce messages linked to our golden values. These are carefully planned assemblies will teach children about the values through stories and real-life examples. Our timetable can be found here: ASSEMBLIES | westleighjunior

 

Each half term, the children are introduced to a new inspirational person. These people link to our values, and are chosen as people who embody and demonstrate the golden values through their actions and choices. The children are able to complete a ‘challenge’ linked to these people, further developing their understanding.

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Our team challenges throughout the year also give children the opportunity to explore the golden values whilst working in their house teams. Activities such as poster making, song-writing and more allow them to engage with the values and consider how these can be demonstrated within school and beyond. Our most recent team challenge involved solving values related puzzles to unlock the 

Each classroom has a poster for their classroom with the golden values and their definitions, which is used to refer to within class/lessons.

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Wider Community

We will share the number of ‘thank yous’ awarded for each value in the newsletter each week, along with information about our inspirational person.

Last year we took part in ‘Waddle on Sea’ – the penguin display across Southend to raise money for Havens Hospices. The children were invited to design our baby penguin as part of a competition – with their design linking to our golden values. Our penguin, ‘Golden Leigh’, is now proudly on display in our reception area.

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Golden Leaves

At the end of last term, we proudly presented the first of our new Golden Leaf awards. These special awards are given to just four children each term, nominated by staff for their consistent demonstration of our Golden Values: empathy, integrity and responsibility.

Their leaves will be placed on our Golden Values Tree and will remain there throughout their time at West Leigh.

 

Congratulations to our first four recipients — we are incredibly proud of you and look forward to seeing who will be awarded a Golden Leaf next term!

Last term's awards were given to:

 

Iver for her thoughtful and compassionate approach to school life. She consistently shows empathy and kindness, making considerate choices that reflect her strong values and integrity. By willingly supporting both adults and her peers, she demonstrates maturity and contributes positively to the school community through her reliability, understanding and respectful actions.

 

Clara for her kindness, compassion, and willingness to help others without being asked. She consistently supports classmates who find organisation difficult and always does so with patience and care. Clara shows excellent commitment to attending clubs and is a thoughtful, caring member of our school community.

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Cristian because he consistently supports his partner in maths, demonstrating a strong sense of responsibility and empathy. He takes ownership of his learning while also contributing positively to others by offering help, encouragement and patience. His thoughtful support shows an understanding of his partner’s needs and feelings, creating a positive and inclusive learning environment where teamwork and shared success are valued.

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Sienna for consistently demonstrating polite, caring, and friendly behaviour towards others. She shows kindness and respect in her daily interactions, making everyone feel valued and included. Through her positive attitude and thoughtful actions, she sets an excellent example of empathy and good manners for others to follow.