As children grow from dependence towards increasing independence, we wish them to become responsible for themselves and towards others. Children relish such opportunities from the earliest age and we make every effort to acknowledge acts of kindness and care, whether it be carrying the register to the secretary or noticing an unhappy friend in the playground.
Monitors of one sort or another abound – in the libraries, the ICT rooms, the DT rooms etc – and, as children get older, more formal opportunities for responsibility exist. In the 5th Form, the children have the opportunity to go down to Byron House to supervise (or often join in) the playtime of the youngest children. All of the children in the 6th Form are given a responsibility for the year. They are also offered the opportunity to run their own clubs for the younger children.
Children from each year group at Senior House and from T2 upwards at Byron House serve on the School Committees, which meet to consider matters of importance raised by the children. There is no reward or privilege system for such opportunities – making such a contribution is seen as its own reward.
Children in Form 2 act as Book Buddies to the new Kindergarten children and also undertake many responsibilities at Byron House such as manning the computer during assemblies, tidying the playground and looking after smaller children during playtimes.
