• The positive ethos of the school based on key Christian values which make it the happy, inclusive, welcoming and caring place it is;
• the warm relationships between all members of the school community, built on mutual respect and trust;
• the close relationship with our Church and wonderful links with our local community;
• the importance of teaching children to become resilient, independent, responsible and caring global citizens in the 21st century.

Following the hard work of the whole school community to summarise what makes our school special back in Autumn 2016, we came up with the strapline, Dream, Believe, Achieve which summarised the aspirations we all (staff, governors, parents and pupils) had for our pupils. However, we are never complacent about the need to continually strive to improve, to challenge one another to be the best we can possibly be in terms of both our academic endeavours but also in being loving, resilient and happy citizens. During the academic year 2018-2019 we asked parents, pupils, staff, governors, our friends from church and members of the local community “What next?” We considered how we should move forward, what each of us would hate to lose about our school as well as what we aspire to next.

As well as consulting with all stakeholders, we reviewed pupil progress data (published and internal) and our curriculum. We looked for areas which we could improve to change the lives of individuals, groups, classes or the whole school (including our staff).

As a school community we identified five curriculum drivers as the most important for our pupils in the coming weeks, months and years which will also help to support our staff and ensure that they can flourish and achieve a healthy and happy work-life balance:

RESILIENCE – RESPECT – WELLBEING – SUCCESS – HOPE

These drivers are used by all staff when making decisions for and working with our pupils, whether that is in planning the curriculum, the way children are taught, arranging interventions, supervising playtimes or any other area of school life. Equally these drivers are used by school leaders, both staff and governors, in setting policy; in monitoring the success of the school; and in relation to staff well-being and performance appraisal.

During the Autumn Term of 2019, we worked together to produce a vision statement to summarise our intentions for our pupils. We adopted the following vision statement:

Stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love

1 Corinthians 16: 13-14

This vision statement, rooted in Christian theology, captures who we are – a loving school community where all are happy, valued, well-loved and respected.

“The school is a caring community, based on Christian values, where the needs of the pupils are at the heart of everything the school does.” Ofsted 2017

It also captures what we want for our pupils – to be courageous in their academic and life choices; to be strong and resilient learners and thinkers who don’t give up when things are difficult; and to be able to explore their own spirituality and wonder about life’s big questions in a supportive environment.

“The school’s Christian character results in a secure and caring environment where all children are on track to make at least expected progress.” SIAMS 2015

To this end, we follow a values curriculum. Pupils are taught about the importance of the Christian values (such as Love, Joy, Respect, Hope, Peace and Forgiveness) and are given the opportunity to ask and answer ‘big questions’. All members of the school community, both adults and children, are encouraged to live out our values and we celebrate value-based successes in a variety of ways (including through our Behaviour Policy, in our Praise Assemblies and via our Performance Appraisal system). As such, the learning and working environment is caring, supportive and distinctively Christian.

“The school’s work to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good. Pupils thrive in this nurturing environment.” Ofsted 2017

We work very closely with St Mary Magdalene Church and take regular opportunities to visit the church, whether for an end of term service of for other learning or worship opportunities throughout the year. We are delighted to welcome our friends from church to school regularly to join us for or to lead acts of collective worship. We also enjoy many joint projects with the church. We look forward to welcoming a new incumbent in January 2020 and to working even more closely with the church going forwards.

“ The strong links with the parish church and other Christian groups impact positively on pupils and promote the Christian character of the school.” SIAMS 2015

More detailed information about the many and varied ways our curriculum intent is delivered in practice can be found in our: Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact.