We are a Make a Difference School

Robert Mellors Primary Academy is a Make a Difference school.

Underpinning our school visions and aims is a set of values that we strive to develop in all of the children so that they make a difference;

in their work
in their relationships
in their community
to the world around them

The whole staff team collaborated and to identify the values that they feel are the most important to be promoted, encouraged and celebrated when we see them being demonstrated by the children.

Our Make a Difference values are;

Responsibility
Respect
Resilience
Focus
Teamwork
Compassion

Enabling a good understanding of these values and what they mean forms an integral part of teaching and daily dialogue with children. We recognise the impact of saying to a child, ‘You have made a difference to your work because of the focus that you showed.’ It is common to hear this type of dialogue in every part of school to support a developing understanding of the qualities and human values that are important to happiness and personal achievement.

Make a Difference is a thread which runs through every aspect of school life. We celebrate when we see our values being actively demonstrated. During weekly Make a Difference assemblies we celebrate the achievements of children who have been seen actively demonstrating one or more of the values in school. For example, if a child is spotted showing kindness and care to another person, they may be nominated for a compassion award.

Working in conjunction with the school rules, we believe that the Make a Difference values can really support the development of values and attributes in all children to enable them to be successful both in the present and in the future.

Everyone can be a Make a Difference Champion

Each year every child has the chance to become one of our Make a Difference champions. All children have a ‘passport’ which contains a number of targets which can be completed in school and at home. These include some ‘gold’ targets.

We hope that every child achieves ticks against 10 of these targets each year including 1 gold target.

Every child who achieves these ticks is awarded with a special certificate and badge in a Make a Difference assembly. The badges are a different colour for each year group and we hope that the children achieve as many different coloured badges as possible.

Our Champions’ Projects

All children who complete their passports are invited to make a project to become a Make a Difference Champion. Children can choose the topic of their project around a Make a Difference theme.

In July 2024, children were challenged to make a project with a link to Protected Characteristics. We were amazed to see the quality of the projects that were produced – have a look below.