Our Values and Our Faith

 ‘We create the spark that lights the fire’

Our Values as a Church School:

 

As a Church of England School, we seek to be a loving Christian family in which children of whatever background and faith or non-faith belief may grow happily in understanding, knowledge and confidence, under-pinned by the positive Christian values which shape our school.

 

Children, staff and governors at Blakesley CE Primary School have selected five core Christian values which link with our Christian vision and are used to enable and encourage the children to reflect upon Christian values and beliefs. Knowledge of these core Christian values, and other values associated with them, are introduced and built upon in collective and class worship, RE lessons and other opportunities throughout the curriculum. Alongside these Christian values, we also cover British values and make links to values shared across religions and positive life values.

 

We have chosen Biblical quotes which relate to each of our core Christian values that strengthen learning and understanding of how these our Christian vision and associated Christian values may be embraced and lived out by everyone in the school community.

 

Our vision is lived out through the values of compassion, courage, fellowship, wisdom and thankfulness, all biblically based, and set us apart from a non-faith school.

 

Our Values

Compassion: empathy, tolerance, forgiveness, humility, kindness and care.

“Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.” (1 Peter 3:8)

We want our children to understand how to feel and show compassion in a sincere way, to be able to forgive, to show tolerance of others and to demonstrate care and kindness to fellow humans both close to home and across the world. We want their compassion to extend to a care for their world and their environment.

Compassion

We support one another.

We are kind.

We share.

We show understanding to the need of others.

 

Courage: confidence, perseverance, resilience, endurance, courageous advocacy, truth and honesty.

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12, NIV)

We want our children to be ‘brave learners’ to try new things without the fear of failure; to be confident in themselves, their beliefs and values; to be honest with themselves and others and to have the courage to make good choices and to do what they believe is right. We want them to have resilience in all aspects of life, to persevere when things are challenging and to know that hard work is recognised and rewarded.

Courage

We try new things.

We accept that mistakes are an important part of learning.

We embrace challenge.

We persevere and work with resilience and determination.

We ask for help when we need it.

We confidently explain and justify our beliefs.

 

Fellowship: friendship, community, koinonia, belonging, respect, inclusion and partnership.

“But God has combined the members of the body ….so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:24-26)

We want our children to feel part of their community understanding that each individual contributes to the whole and that the interdependence of everyone working together develops strength. We want our children to flourish in the knowledge that they are contributing to a larger whole, all striving for the same goal, to feel a sense of true belonging, inclusion and partnership.

Fellowship

We work collaboratively.

We support each other.

We appreciate and value each other’s unique qualities.

We strive for our individual and collective best.

We appreciate each other’s achievements.

 

Wisdom: making wise choices, self-control, tolerance and a love of learning.

"Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.” Proverbs 4:5-7

We want our children to be considered, to be able to reflect and reason and make wise choices. We want their wisdom to inform their life choices and their understanding of how to live well in our world. We want them to love learning and gaining knowledge and understanding, but to use all of this with wisdom. We want them to be able to live life in all of its fullness.

Wisdom

We make considered choices and decisions.

We think before we act and speak.

We appreciate other people’s views even if they are different from our own.

We work hard and efficiently to be the best that we can be.

We use and apply our knowledge and skills.

 

Thankfulness: gratitude, awe and wonder, joy, generosity.

"For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer." (4. 1 Timothy 4:4-5)

We want our children to show appreciation for their world and all that they have within it. To be able to marvel at things with a sense of awe and wonder. To be able to feel joy in simple things, to appreciate relationships and friendships and how they are cared for and loved. To appreciate their abilities, talents and freedoms. To be thankful for all of the opportunities available to them. Through their appreciation, we want them to be able to both give and receive generously and to show their love for life.

Thankfulness

We appreciate the opportunities that we have.

We try our best.

We look after resources, our environment and our school community.

We have good manners.

 

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These values together enable us to build a community based on mutual respect and when modelled and explored enable us all to deepen our understanding and ability to ‘love our neighbours as ourselves.’

Our distinctive Christian vision reflects our desire to encourage all our children to have ambition and aspiration to experience and contribute to their world. Underpinned by theology, the reference to Mark reflects our desire for the children to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and treat others as we like to be treated, sharing our school values with those they meet.

The vision and values together enable us to embrace diversity, charity and aspiration within our school family and beyond, building each other up to be understanding, independent, inclusive and valued. This directly reflects the Trust’s vision ‘For every child, within our Trust, to experience an excellent education and to realise their God- given potential to flourish’.