Adult Ethos Group

The adult Ethos Group provides a wider community perspective on the development and impact of our Christian vision. It brings together parents, members of the local community, governors, trustees and staff from Kenn and across Ivy Education Trust.

The group provides support, reflection and constructive challenge around the school’s Christian distinctiveness and its priorities for improvement. It considers how effectively our Christian vision is lived out across school life, including Collective Worship, RE, spirituality, relationships, inclusion, wellbeing, pupil voice and the wider curriculum.

The group also has a monitoring role, contributing to the school’s self-evaluation and helping leaders to consider the impact of actions identified within the Kenn SEF and School Improvement Plan. This provides an additional opportunity to test leaders’ evaluation, identify strengths and areas for development, and ensure that the school’s Christian vision continues to shape decision-making and improvement.

The adult Ethos Group complements, rather than replaces, the formal role of the Local Governing Body and Trust governance structures. It provides an additional forum through which the voices of pupils’ families, the school, church and wider community can contribute to the ongoing development of Kenn.

Together, the two groups ensure that our Christian vision is shaped, experienced, monitored and developed with the participation of pupils and the wider community.

Our aim is that the vision is not simply displayed or spoken about, but is evident in the decisions we make, the relationships we build and the opportunities we provide, enabling all members of the Kenn community to flourish.

Pupil Ethos Group and School Council

At Kenn, the Pupil Ethos Group also serves as our School Council, bringing together pupil voice, leadership and Christian distinctiveness.

The group is led by our Head Boy and Head Girl, who are elected by the whole school community. This provides pupils with a genuine opportunity to participate in the democratic life of the school and to choose representatives who they believe will listen to and represent their views.

The Pupil Ethos Group helps to shape and live out our Christian vision: ‘Sowing kindness, courage and faith so that all can flourish.’ Pupils contribute to Collective Worship, prayer, reflection and the wider spiritual life of the school. They help identify issues and themes that matter to pupils, contribute to worship planning and leadership, and consider how our Christian vision and values can be lived out in everyday school life.

As School Council representatives, pupils also gather and communicate the views of their peers, contribute ideas for school improvement and help to develop initiatives that improve the experience of pupils at Kenn. This provides opportunities for pupils to develop confidence, responsibility, leadership and courage while learning to listen to and respect different perspectives.

Through the Ethos Group, pupils are encouraged to take ownership of their school community and to see that their voice can lead to positive change. Their contribution helps ensure that our Christian vision is not simply a statement created by adults, but something that is understood, shaped and lived out by the children themselves.