The TDMS Way
The TDMS way embodies our culture at TDMS and is what makes us different to other schools. It is an agreement between staff and students to ensure that our high expectations are understood by all stakeholders. It is visible in school as noted in our OFSTED inspection: ‘Pupils are specifically taught The TDMS Way. They talk about this positively and understand the high expectations of the school.’ This simple messaging has allowed us provide clarity for our staff and our students and are underpinned by the following 4 key ‘why’ statements:
- We are here to learn
- We have high expectations, because we care
- You deserve disruption free learning
- TDMS golden rule: Follow instructions first time
Our four school values of Ambition, Commitment, Creativity, and Integrity run alongside the TDMS Way.
Show me your best
The TDMS way is communicated on a daily basis by using the phrase ‘Show me your best’. Staff ask students to ‘show me your best’ throughout the school day encompassing a variety of tasks from show me your best effort or focus in lessons to show me your best line up at the start of every day. Our staff use a set of taught positive cues alongside the ‘Show we your best’ phrase so that students always understand what is being asked of them and what action needs to follow. This enables consistency of staff instruction in lessons and provides students with a greater clarity over expectations. We re-teach these phrases at the start of every half term to ensure both students and staff understand what the phrases mean, when they should be used and the actions expected following the phrase.
Student code of conduct and home school agreement
At the start of each academic year we ask parents/carers to sign our home school agreement and students to sign our student code of conduct. These are agreements between TDMS, students and home that outlines our expectations of how we will all show our best and uphold the school’s values. We engage with the student code of conduct during our pastoral programme to help our students check that they are upholding their part of the agreement and set targets to ensure they are getting the most out of their time at TDMS.