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St Thomas' CE Primary School
St Clement & St James CE Primary School
St Thomas' Federation - Stronger together
School Gateway
Vision and Values
St Thomas' Federation - Stronger Together
Our Schools’ Federation vision
We will create schools with love, faith and hope at their heart. We will welcome and celebrate every child, helping all children to develop their character and a love of learning.
Our school vision is rooted in biblical teaching as defined by 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
And Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them because the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”
Our Ethos
We welcome children and their families to our school without discrimination. We strive to continually build a community in which there is equity and equality for all. A community in which everyone shows respect and understanding towards each other. By doing this, we improve the quality of all our lives. At our schools we support pupils to be proud of their unique identities and to reach for the highest level of personal achievement and wellbeing. Our schools are spaces where our whole community will be supported to grow, learn and flourish.
In line with the 2010 Equality Act, we seek to ensure that no student, member of staff, parent or any other person through their contact with the school receives less favourable treatment on any grounds which cannot be shown to be justified. This covers race, ethnic or national origin, language, religion or belief, gender or gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, disability, age, responsibility for children or other dependants, political views and social class.
How then shall we live?
- High aspirations: We promote high aspirations and a love of learning through a diverse and varied curriculum.
- Inclusive: It is very important to us that children of all faiths and no faith feel welcome and included in our schools;
- Equality: We ensure everyone is treated equally and their unique identities are recognised and celebrated.
- Achieve: Our children always do their best and achieve the highest standards in their learning regardless of their starting points.
- Courageous advocates: We instil courage, ambition and resilience in every child to empower them to be successful global citizens.
- Supportive: We aim to create a caring, happy, loving school where children support each other and can work through difficulties together.
- Listen: Adults listen to children and value their ideas. Every child must feel heard. Every child should have a champion.
- Worship: We take part in daily acts of Christian worship and teach Christian traditions and values that are rooted in Christian theology. We value worship and recognise that it is the heartbeat of the school allowing children to grow spiritually through prayer and reflection.
- Welcoming: a community that encompasses all
Christian Values
Our Christian values help us both show and grow faith, hope and love:
St Clement & St James’ values | St Thomas’ values |
| Friendship | Friendship |
| Thankfulness | Respect |
| Forgiveness | Forgiveness |
| Compassion | Perseverance |
British Values at St Thomas’ Federation
Our schools’ vision
We will create schools with love, faith and hope at their heart. We will welcome and celebrate every child, helping all children to develop their character and a love of learning.
Our school vision is rooted in biblical teaching as defined by 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
And Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them because the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”
The Department of Education states that there is a need:
“To create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs”.
What is meant by British values?
Learning about British values forms a key part of children’s spiritual, moral, cultural and social education. The five British values that the Government has identified for schools to focus on are:
- Democracy
- The rule of law
- Individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
- Developing personal and social responsibility
- Respect for British Institutions
Within the federation, our schools reflect British values in all that we do. We aim to nurture our children on their journey through life so they can grow into safe, caring, democratic, responsible adults who make a positive difference to British society and to the world and the wider world. We support the development and understanding of British Values in a range of ways throughout the year so that they are an integral part of school life.
1. Democracy
- Children understanding what the democratic process is and seeing it in action in their school community, even through simply taking turns during activities
- Democratically elected Eco Committees with representatives from each Key Stage
- Democratically elected Head Pupils for Year 6
- Learning Leaders - each child has the opportunity to become a learning leader throughout the year
- Year 6 pupils apply for jobs of responsibility around the school
- Children are encouraged to have input into community projects, such as Peter Rabbit Garden Design competition and mural designs in 2022.
- In Early Years, children vote on the most tidy areas in the learning environment at the end of the day and elect a tidy up inspector
2. Rule of Law
- Implementing our procedures and protocols for dealing with any behavioural or bullying issues and incidents of racial, homophobic and other forms of discrimination, which demonstrates to pupils that we take these issues very seriously.
- Teaching children to learn about the process of law-making and the part that citizens can play in that process
- Police Awareness programme- workshops delivered to all year groups by Police Liaison officers
3. Individual liberty - the freedom to make our own choices
- Teaching an understanding of the concept of freedom and choice.
- Teaching our RE curriculum, which develops values of understanding, respect for others, including those of other faiths.
- Teaching children an understanding of human rights through collective worship and class lessons.
- Providing our extra-curricular provision, which offers equal opportunities for all children, boys and girls, and children with Special Educational Needs in sport, tuition, clubs and intervention / catch up programmes.
- Holding discussions in RE, English and other subjects, which allow children to develop respect for the opinions, values and beliefs of others.
4. Mutual respect
- ‘World of Friends’ collective worship and weekly prayer circles follow a carefully planned programme that focuses on respect (as one of the school’s values)
- RE and RSHE curricula in particular give opportunities for discussion and debate about mutual respect
- Through our school ethos, values, vision and curriculum, we actively strive for our schools to become visibly anti-racist. We aim for our schools to be places which are safe for all - both physically and psychologically. We are committed to learning, listening, reflecting and improving, both as individuals and as a collective. We continually review and make changes to our curriculum to ensure that the curriculum is inclusive of the experiences and histories of a diverse range of people. Through this, we aim to provide positive representation of the many communities and individuals who are part of our schools and beyond.
- BBC Newsround and First News newspapers help children understand and keep abreast of world affairs
5. Respect of those with different faiths and beliefs
- Teaching our RE curriculum, which develops values of understanding, tolerance and respect for others, including those of other faiths.
- Local History Projects help the children understand their place in the world and how immigration shaped their world
- Courageous Advocates week encourage children to notice where injustices are happening and empower them to make small changes to help
Within St Thomas’ Federation, we value the diversity of the backgrounds of all pupils, families and the wider school community and strongly believe in upholding British values through all aspects of our school provision.