Five Key Threads
There are five key threads that run though out all that is done at Spotswood. All staff members can articulate these shared values and they weave together to form the basis for the consistency, continuity and quality work that characterises the school. The five core values are:

1. Make the right choice
2. Focussed teaching
3. Team Work
4. Goal Setting
5. A 1 Standards

1. Making the Right Choice
   At Spotswood, it is felt that there are many students entering school who have little of the skills necessary to live in a shared community. Unless students can stay on task and work well together, the teaching is too hard. Skills such as these need to be learned:
   • Caring for each other
   • Allowing others the right to learn
   • Learning how to Co-operate and share
   • Knowing safe areas to play
   • Caring for school equipment
     
     
2. Focused Teaching
   Spotswood School believes that students need to 'own' the goal setting process and to do this they must have small goals that they can gain success in. These goals are highly visible through out the school - such as on blackboards and alongside displays of children's work. This strong since of quality is also heard through phrases used as students are challenged to 'do their best', 'to stick to it', 'not to give up easily' and to 'slow the pace' of student work so that they do not spoil their work by rushing. Blackboards are working documents in which an observer can see evidence of the expectations and goals that are required of students. The class timetable is on all blackboards and discussed with the children at the beginning of the day along with school-wide and class goals. There is also information for 'quick finishers'. A reflective time is programmed at the end of the day when children and teachers revisit key learning for the day and goals for tomorrow. This enables children when they arrive home to answer the question, 'what did you learn at school today?'
   
   
3. Team Work
   This is a key feature emphasised by Eric Shaw, as he believes that “you are only as good as the team you work with”. Once school-wide expectations are set up, the teams implement them. To share ideas and develop consistency, 'walk and talk sessions are taken once a term all rooms are visited by all staff and the class teacher all talk about one aspect of their programme. Staff meetings are held each time to develop a particular teaching skill. Integrated curriculum themes and topics are planned in teams.
   
   
4. Goal Setting
   Goals are to be seen on blackboards, wall displays and as part of the daily focus. The idea is to develop in students a sense of responsibility for their own actions and for them to learn to keep the 'end in mind' when they undertake and activity. There are different types of goals:
   • Personal goals are developed by the child and recorded in a variety of ways. In a notebook or in their desks or on a checklist on the wall.
   • Weekly class goals relate to a class focus. Examples are 'to work quietly', 'to put up our hands' and to 'look after our class'.
   • School goals are decided upon by the staff and may last for several weeks. Examples include 'caring of others by not putting them down' and 'top car for sports equipment'.
   • The curriculum benchmarks and these are included in appropriate folders with suggested teaching strategies. They become the focus for individual classroom teachers' planning and assessment. Assessment is integrated within activities and it is the principal's intention to keep data collection to a minimum. It is believed that it is the analysing of trends that is important.
   • Handwriting goals - these are developed from the previous work sample. Each child has one focus to work towards (such as slope or ligatures). The teacher focuses only on this goal and does not draw attention to other problem areas until this goal is met.
   • Writing goals - samples of written work are regularly collected. The teacher sets goals in relation to these samples and the school benchmarks. Students with similar needs are grouped for focussed help. Children record their goal in their draft book and are encouraged to self assess their own progress.
   • Mathematical goals - each math group has particular goals related to the particular unit of study that are recorded and put on wall charts. Children also record and evaluate their goal in their math exercise book. They can self assess their own goal progress.
   • Thematic Studies goals - these are recorded for each unit of work and are negotiated with the class before the unit begins. This gives the children a clear purpose for learning. When work is displayed at the end of the unit, (art, written work, charts, booklet etc) the goal, processes used an evaluations are usually included.
     
     
5. A 1 Standards
   Teaching teams have negotiated clear expectations for all aspects of behaviour, classroom management and bookwork.
   Exercise books are a prime means of recording across the school and are the children's portfolios. They go home towards the end of each term and there is a return slip for parents to record a comment. The exercise books thus become a window into the classroom for families and a record of what has been covered at school in a term. All books have set layout formats which students can innovate from. All work must be dated and marked. All students in the school write in black biro, edit draft work in red and the teachers mark in blue. Classroom displays reflect attention to detail. Artwork is carefully framed and a consistently high level of presentation is seen through out the school. Most classrooms have a quality work area where the work of A 1 standard is displayed.