Totnes Progressive School

Our School gives students the freedom, confidence and support to enjoy their learning and realise their full potential.We achieve this by having small class sizes, no homework, happiness and well-being classes for all year groups, one to one Maths and English tuition when needed, mindfulness practice, professional life coaching, and fun physical exercise as part of each day.

At Totnes Progressive School we have high academic aspirations built on a foundation of respect for our well-being. Our ethos is delivered through our four guiding principles of LARS (Love, Acceptance, Respect, and Safety), which were created by the students to ensure that we all hold each other accountable to be the best versions of ourselves, and to treat each other with kindness. In order to teach and learn with an open curiosity for what’s possible, everyone in the school, staff and students, uses LARS as guidance to help us make skilful decisions, ensure we’re being kind to others, work through challenging situations, and recognise opportunities to learn from mistakes. This means that we are all learning together, from a position of innate goodness, rather than from one of fear. 

Understanding and Care
We do not set homework at Totnes Progressive School although optional home study is set in year 10 and 11 by teachers to help us prepare for our GCSEs. We believe that maintaining small class sizes means that teachers are able to understand what makes every student tick; their learning styles, where they require support and where they need to be stretched and challenged. Lead by caring teachers who are passionate about developing their subjects, utilising carefully considered differentiation as well as high quality, regular feedback, our students are truly engaged learners.

A Non-punitive Culture
Totnes Progressive School has a non-punitive culture where we develop the ability to allow our innate goodness to guide our behaviour; in being kind and considerate to those around us, when making decisions, and when navigating challenging situations. This allows us all to learn and develop in an environment that expects the best of ourselves and of each other. Inevitably, we will experience poor behaviour. Instead of administering punishment, we see this as an opportunity to discuss what has happened, take appropriate action, and learn from it for the future.