We are excited to share a new approach we’ve introduced across our school: this is “Positive Regard” - it is a mindset that places every child at the heart of everything we do. 

At Chestnut Street we are committed to fostering a culture where every child feels valued, respected, and supported—regardless of their background, behaviour, or academic ability. Central to this vision is the principle of Positive Regard, which underpins all relationships within our school. 

Unconditional “Positive Regard” is a concept developed by Carl Rogers, emphasizing complete acceptance and support of an individual child without judgment. It involves valuing a child for who they are, regardless of their actions or behaviours, fostering a safe and supportive environment for personal growth. This attitude is crucial in schools, as it helps children feel valued and accepted, which can lead to greater self-esteem and personal development.  

We believe that every child deserves to be seen for their potential and treated with dignity. By embedding this ethos into our teaching, pastoral care, and wider school practices, we aim to: 

• Strengthen emotional well being and resilience in pupils. 

• Promote inclusive and respectful relationships between staff, pupils, and families. 

• Create a safe and nurturing environment where children are empowered to learn, grow, and thrive. 

• Reduce barriers to learning by ensuring every child feels accepted and understood. 

This ethos isn't just about discipline—it's about cultivating a culture where children thrive emotionally, socially, and academically. 

Why does it matter?

We believe that when children feel safe, respected, and understood, they thrive—not just academically, but socially and emotionally. Positive Regard helps us create a school culture where every child knows they belong. 

This priority will be reflected in staff training, curriculum development, behaviour policies, and our approach to pupil voice. Through consistent modelling and reinforcement of unconditional positive regard, we will build a school community where kindness, empathy, and high expectations go hand in hand. 

This is an approach which is being implemented across LAAT with Level 3 practitioners being trained to support all schools and offer training to new and existing staff.  At the start of the school year we were able to network and train alongside other LAAT schools who are in our Hub partnership.   

At Ruskington Chestnut Street C of E Primary Academy we are committed to providing a safe learning environment in which the pupils are encouraged to treat each other with respect and kindness in every aspect of their lives. Our school is underpinned by our guiding principles of Care, Believe, Grow in conjunction with our Church Values.

Our School is a place where...

• We care about others and show this through our positive words and actions
• We believe that everyone has a right to learn
• We grow alongside each other whilst respecting ourselves, others, and everything around us
• We demonstrate our core Church values of:

             Compassion, Respect, Humility, Trust, Forgiveness, Perseverance.

In addition we shared with the children our ethos of intrinsic motivation - we behave in the right way and make positive choices because it is the right thing to do, it makes us good citizens. We strongly believe that intrinsic motivation is linked to the school ethos of Care, Believe, Grow and to be the best version of ourselves. ‘Rewards’ come from completing and achieving a challenge; helping others; a thank you from others; a smile from a member of staff amongst so many others.

Each week 1 child from each class is selected by their teacher to receive the Chestnut Superstar Award for their class.  A child could receive these for a variety of reasons such as progress in a particular subject, showing resilience and perseverance or upholding our school church values. The children are presented with their certificate on our Friday celebration assembly where the teacher announces who the class superstar is for the week and the reasons why.