Our Vision

Our vision is simple.  We aspire to be a school that’s small enough for every child to feel nurtured and confident, but big enough in ambition so that there’s no limit to what each can achieve.

We’ve come up with a simple, four-word version of this that we think sums up the school, where we live, and the opportunities we want to give our children.

Small School, Huge Horizons

Our Values

Our vision is expressed through a set of six school values that we believe will help every child live life in all its fullness,  Each value is linked to a passage from the bible that deepens and reinforces the meaning of the value.  Together they are brought to life in our daily practice at school.

WE ARE KIND
Linked to the Biblical teaching on Love… ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’  (Luke 6 v31)
Together with our parents and our church, we provide a caring and nurturing environment where we learn to value and respect others by being valued and respected ourselves.

WE ARE CONFIDENT
Linked to the Biblical teaching on Hope… ‘I know the plans I have for you..plans to bring about the future you hope for.’ (Jeremiah 29 v11)
We help our children lay foundations for the rest of their life by helping them develop self-esteem and belief in themselves.

WE ARE CURIOUS
Linked to the Biblical teaching on Joy… Jesus said that he had come in order that we, ‘Live life in all its fullness.’  (John 10:10)
We encourage a sense of joy, wonder and curiosity in the wider world.

WE ARE A COMMUNITY
Linked to the Biblical teaching on Love…  ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Matthew 22 v.39)
Our school is a community, but we are also part of a wider local and global community. We encourage a sense of belonging and responsibility towards each other, our environment and the world we live in.

WE ARE ADVENTUROUS
Linked to the Biblical teaching on Joy… ‘Encourage one another, and build each other up.’  (1 Thessalonians 5 v11)
We’re lucky to live in a truly beautiful part of the world. We give our children a loving, nurturing space in which to take risks, feel free and get a taste for a life full of adventures.

WE ARE AMBITIOUS
Linked to the Biblical teaching on Hope… We should ‘Forget what is behind us and reach straight for what is ahead. Run straight towards the goal.’ (Philippians 3 v12)
We have the highest expectations for all our children and teachers. In return we give everyone in our school as many opportunities as we can to fulfil their potential in the widest possible sense.

Our Aims

The aims of our school are to have a secure, effective and caring learning environment where skills can be developed in partnership with parents and supported by the Church and wider community to form the basis for success and happiness in life.

We do this by:-

• Providing a curriculum which is broad, balanced, stimulating and challenging. This must include Literacy and Numeracy skills but also combine good educational practice with the skills and interests of the staff to provide a curriculum which equips the children for their present and future
• Encouraging children and staff to have the highest expectations of themselves both in their work and behaviour. It is important to accept challenges and to learn both from success and failure
• Providing quality resources
• Valuing the process of learning and the skills involved as well as the end product
• Encouraging and praising wherever possible
• Giving equality of opportunity to all pupils and valuing their individual contributions to the life of the school
• Allowing time to reflect on our own learning, valuing achievements, setting new targets and making sound choices which move towards greater independence
• Providing opportunities for teamwork so that we may enjoy co-operating with and learning from each other
• Being there to support children and their families whenever needed, fostering the sense of belonging and working with the Church and wider community to achieve this

Our Distinctiveness as a Church of England School

We welcome children, staff and their families and friends to our school whatever their faith or tradition. Our school aims to give all pupils experience and knowledge of the Christian faith explicitly through our Worship and RE, and implicitly through our behaviour and attitudes throughout our school day. We have a special cross in our entrance.  The pictures painted on the cross, given to us by a previous Chair of Governors, remind us of God’s wonderful creation and of our responsibility to care for it.  The symbol of the cross speaks of Jesus’ death and the bright colours remind us that we serve a living God in our school, our lives and our community.

The local Churches work closely together and we invite ministers and members of the church to support us in school.  They do this through their prayers and visits and the children also regularly visit the local churches throughout the year as part of RE and collective worship.

It is vital that we introduce children to other faiths and that they appreciate their importance to others and this is reflected in our RE lessons. We encourage respect and questioning through experiences of Christianity and other faiths to give the children a basis to work out their own values and beliefs.

The Christian faith is the focus of our Collective Worship.  We aim to give children the opportunity to learn from Bible stories, inspirational and significant Christian people, and to understand how the life of Jesus can guide us in our lives.  Assemblies and Collective Worship provide children with the opportunity for daily prayer and reflection.

We promote respect for all our similarities and differences as a community, both in the school and as part of the wider world.