"I have come in order that you might have life - life in all it's fullness John 10:10
A distinctive Christian character is deeply embedded in the daily life of the school. The governors and staff are driving our vision “for every child to live an abundant life”. Children are valued as being made in God’s image and are given a range of opportunities and encouragement, both in school and beyond the school gate, to flourish and live life in all its
fullness and abundance
As a Church of England School, we are a caring and nurturing place that strongly celebrates its Christian foundation, which effectively supports children to be the best they can be and contributes to raising aspirations and developing good behaviours and attitudes.
‘Values’ are the long-term underlying principles used in deciding what is right and wrong, good or bad. We believe that if the values education underpins everything we do, then it will not only enhance the quality teaching and learning, but will support the children to make a positive contribution to the development of a fair, just and civil society.
Our one school rule is respect. We expect children to demonstrate the value of respect by respecting themselves and their learning, respecting their peers, respecting the adults in the school, respecting the school environment and school community and ultimately respect God. In addition to the value of respect, the school has chosen to adopt 6 key values we actively
teach and promote - love, hope, joy, love, peace, resilience and trust. These Christian values are permeated through the school life by staff and governors modeling the values through their own behaviour; the school actively encouraging parents to promote the value; the discreet teaching of the meaning of the value during RE lessons and Collective Worship and the effective use of
the Restorative Justice approach to ensure children have time to reflect about choices they have made and the consequences of their actions.
See Overview of how Christian values explicitly enhance its provision for SMSC development (click here)
An all-encompassing thread, which runs through the value developed each term is our one school rule of respect. We teach our children that they have the power to build respect with the way they conduct their lives. We teach our children to be honest, loyal, lead by example, persevere, show compassion, reflect and ultimately develop integrity – doing the right thing when no-one is watching – because God is watching. Ultimately we believe that embedding these values in our lives, underpinned by our one school rule of respect, will make us resilient individuals and enable us to make a positive contribution to this world.
Hope and Faith is a living and daring confidence in God’s grace. Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible. Hope gives us direction. Hope gives us the determination and strength for whatever we face. In Romans 12:12 it says: ‘Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep praying’. Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
Love is the capacity to extend ourselves for the sake of another person’s growth. God being the ultimate example of love in action. Love teaches us to understand, respect, and support each other. Love requires action. It's not a thing we try to get for ourselves, but instead is an action we express to others through sharing and serving. Love activates, love empowers and love encourages the growth of our other core values.
Joy is not based on circumstances, but a deep-seated sense of happiness in what God has done and what he is doing. We believe we are shaped by our thoughts; when the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
We learn that Peace is a state of mind. If your find Peace in God, you can be happy despite any situation. If you have everything the world can give - pleasure, possessions, power - but lack peace of mind, you will not find true happiness – which leads to the last value of Joy.
Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from difficulties, to “bounce back” when facing challenges. Challenges will come and dealing with these challenges is key for the development of children’s resilience. Uncertainty is an important part of life, as it will stretch children’s ability to think and analyse. Resilience develops the children’s inner wisdom, the strength of their character, and their emotional intelligence.
Trust can easily be broken in this world, but we learn that we can trust God in every circumstance. Many times in our lives we go through trials and following God’s plan might seem like it doesn’t make sense, but we learn that God is always in control and he will never leave us.