Robert Clack School

Robert Clack School opened in 1955 and was named after the man who was Mayor of the Borough of Dagenham from 1940 to 1942. Alderman Robert Clack was rightly known as a fighter for social justice, someone who cared passionately about the people of Dagenham and worked tirelessly to secure better outcomes for them; his values and principles permeate the ethos of our school to this very day.

Robert James Daniel Clack was born in 1901 in Bromley-by-Bow. He worked as a railwayman before becoming involved in local politics. From 1931 to 1934, he was an officer in the Bow branch of the National Union of Railwaymen and in 1933 he was President of the Dagenham Trades and Labour Council. The following year he was chairman of the Dagenham Ward Labour Party and was elected to Dagenham Council. Dagenham was then an Urban District Council but became a Borough Council in 1938. Robert lived with his wife and family on Moss Road, in Dagenham, and was appointed mayor of the borough in 1940. He was so popular that he was elected to a second term, until 1942. Robert died in 1953.

Our aim is to provide an outstanding holistic education that will ensure the young people of the Robert Clack School community are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attributes necessary to fulfil their potential and make a valuable contribution to society.

Our ethos reflects the values of Alderman Robert Clack, the former Mayor of Dagenham after whom our school was named when it opened in 1955.  He was recognised as a fighter for social justice and worked tirelessly to advance the life chances of the people of Dagenham. His values continue to permeate our school ethos today, which is summarised perfectly by the maxim: 'Excellence for all; excellence from all'. We strive for excellence in all that we do in the Robert Clack School community in order to equip our pupils with the knowledge, skills and attributes necessary to fulfil their potential and make a valuable contribution to society. As such, our ethos is characterised by the values of:

• mutual respect;
• compassion for others;
• discipline;
• high expectations and aspirations;
• hard work.

The teaching and support staff who work at our school are completely committed to delivering an outstanding holistic education to our pupils in order that they become the best people they can be. We believe in our pupils, and we are determined to ensure that they believe in themselves by embracing the original school motto: 'forti difficile nihil' - 'for the brave, nothing is difficult'.

Promotion of British Values
At Robert Clack there are certain values that inform the way that we behave, and provide a positive influence for students.

Robert Clack actively promotes principles that:

• Enable pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence
• Enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England
• Encourage pupils to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative and understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality in which the school is situated, and to society more widely
• Enable pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England
• Further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own cultures

These values are promoted through our daily tutor time, skills for Life, PSHE, enrichment days, assemblies and they are embedded within the general ethos of our school community.

"Our ethos reflects these values. We place great emphasis on building positive relationships in school, amongst the students themselves and between staff and students. We strongly believe students should not merely be taught such values but that they are embedded into school life and how we do things. We strive to support our students to develop into confident, happy, successful young adults who have empathy towards and an understanding of those less fortunate than themselves."