Our vision and values are rooted in Biblical teaching and our vision: 'Nurture. Grow. Shine', draws inspiration from the parable of the mustard seed, which is found in the gospel of Mark 4: 30-32 in the New Testament.
When asked to describe the kingdom of heaven, Jesus compared it to a mustard seed which starts off as the smallest of all seeds, yet when it is planted and nurtured, it becomes a great tree on the branches of which birds perch and find shelter and support.
Our school is the ground onto which our children, the seeds, are sown. We provide the nurturing environment which help them grow from their beginnings, no matter how small, and become mighty trees, shining brightly in the world and nurturing others, just as the tree supports and shelters the birds.
Our values are:
Wonder - 'For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.' Psalm 86:10
Respect - “Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them' Matthew 7:1
Love - “the most important commandment of all is this... Love the Lord your God with all your heart... you shall love your neighbour as yourself”. Mark 12:30-31
Forgiveness - 'Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.' Luke 6:37
Courage - 'Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.' Psalm 31:24
Our Vision During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In the early part of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit this country, schools were closed to all but a few children, we were told to stay at home and society shut down. We drew inspiration from the Rembrandt's painting, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee during this time. In it, whilst the disciples struggle against the storm, Jesus remains seated, providing calm and composed leadership for his followers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we sought to follow Christ's example and provide that calm leadership for our community. As such, when schools and their communities were driven apart, we were fully focussed on our vision - Nurture. Grow. Shine - and used it as an inspiration in our work with children and their families. Here is how:
Nurture
- Weekly collective worship for all children and their families to focus on 'getting through this together'
- Opening during Easter and May Half Term holidays for children of key workers so they could continue the fight against the pandemic
- Weekly phone calls for the families all vulnerable children to provide support and guidance
- Providing quizzes and videos (including Mr Browne does Magic and the staff music video) via our Facebook page to keep morale up
- Recorded messages, video or voice, for all children throughout the week on Seesaw
- Bespoke motivational or supportive videos and messages for children struggling at home
- Every child had the opportunity to spend time in school in the Summer Term, whether in transition sessions for all year groups or the weekly outdoor learning sessions on offer to all children
- We focussed on helping children to understand the well-publicised Black Lives Matter movement by delivering remote Collective Worships using resources such as The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander to help put the movement into a relevant context for the children. Lessons were also delivered, particularly for KS2, involving research and understanding the movement.
Grow
- A comprehensive remote learning offer via Seesaw including: live lessons, recorded video instruction, daily Maths, English and Topic lessons
- A live feedback offer where teachers would write or record feedback on learning submitted for children to then act upon and resubmit
- 80%-90% engagement from children with our remote offer (we determined 'Good' engagement to be children completing at least 3 days worth of English, Maths and Topic remote learning)
- Families without access to technology loaned school equipment
- Continuing our curriculum development throughout lockdown
- Weekly PE lessons via Zoom for all children
- Our SEN children were given special support, including setting up individual Seesaw classrooms to enable children to access the learning at the appropriate level for them
Shine
- Use of the Seesaw blog for sharing the great home learning taking place with the whole community
- Henry in Year 2 was worried that people who needed help might not get it during lockdown, so he set up a One Can Trust drop off point outside his house so he could collect donations which he then took to the foodbank
- Sam in Year 3 was worried that, with everywhere being closed, the foodbank may not have enough donations, so he also set up a One Can collection point at the end of his drive
- Bea in Year 6 created a stall selling her possessions to raise money for Child Bereavement UK
- Louis in Year 5 grew and sold sunflowers to raise funds which he then donated to the school
- Sharing our remote learning process with the county as an exemplar for other schools
