As a Church of England School we believe that every person, every child and every adult is unique and special with God given gifts and talents which it is our job to nurture and cherish.

The children, staff and community have thought through our school vision carefully and together we strive to achieve this everyday through our actions, behaviours and habits.  Our Christian values and school vision; SHINE, LEARN, BELIEVE and BELONG sit at the heart of our school community and underpin every aspect of school life.  

We aim to develop happy, confident, loving and caring children who look after and value themselves, each other and their world. We ensure every child feels valued and flourishes with their unique personalities and talents in all that they choose to do.

Our pupils are challenged to think for themselves about the big questions that face the world today within an environment which is accepting of other faiths and cultures.

Our school vision is based on the following scripture:

'So I say to you:  Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.'   Luke 11:9-10

We hold high aspirations for all our pupils and provide a loving and caring school environment where every pupil is welcomed, loved and celebrated.  We are ambitious for all our pupils and aim for them to become well- rounded, confident, honest, resilient, compassionate and kind individuals who consistently demonstrate sound moral character and have a strong sense of community and their place within it and believe that ‘anything is possible.’

We aim to achieve our vision through our ambitious, inclusive curriculum and extra- curricular offer, through invitational and inspired daily Collective Worship and through the living out of our Christian Vision and Values which underpins every aspect of our school life- we call this ‘The SPA Way.’

Our strong community links enable good working partnerships with parents, our local Church and the wider local community where working together enriches the opportunities and experiences the children receive.

Our theologically rooted Christian vision, SHINE, LEARN, BELIEVE and BELONG, permeates every aspect of school life from our policies to our curriculum.  It is lived out through our Collective Worship where we consider core Christian values which rotate every Half Term.  An understanding and application of  these values is taught and reflected upon during Collective Worship as well as through our whole curriculum- especially in PSHE and RE.  The teachings of the values are rooted in the Bible where examples of how Jesus lived out this value are taught and embedded.  Children are encouraged to put all that they have learnt into practice in their daily lives.

Pupil reflections on our school values:

SHINE

‘I shine when I read books.’ Pupil in Reception

‘I shine when I make pictures.  I shine at maths…numbers make more and less…’ Pupil in Reception

‘I was shining making friends on my first day’  Pupil in Reception

‘I shine when I help my friends.’ Year 1 pupil.

‘I think shine means to try your best.’  Pupil in Year 3

‘shine means to be kind and generous.’ Pupil in Year 3

‘I shine in English when I learn my sounds.’ Pupil in Year 1

‘I help people to shine by saying- are you okay- do you want to play with me?’  Pupil in Year 3.

LEARN

‘A good learner has a positive attitude, a good listener is able to share ideas, ask for help when they need it, good concentration, not always getting things right, perseverance.’  Pupil in Year 4.

‘Ants are self -motivated, never go hungry, good at planning and organising.’ Pupil in Year 4

‘Ants are persistent…they don’t give up.’ Pupil in Year 4

‘a good learner faces forwards and has empty hands.’ Pupil in Year 3

‘a good learner listens to each other, learns from each other, speaks politely and stays on task.’ Pupil in Year 5

‘a good learner concentrates and focusses on work.’ Pupil in Year 5

BELIEVE

‘believe means to accept that something is true and also to believe that something is possible.’ Year 5 Pupil

‘To be an archaeologist, I know I have to work hard at school and follow my dream.’ Pupil in Year 5

‘making the most of our strengths.’  Pupil in Year 5

‘Believing makes a sparkle in the night sky that shines brighter than the sun.’  Pupil in Year 5

‘Create the highest, strongest version possible for your life because you become what you believe.’  Year 5 pupil

‘Value every little thing you do- every risk unlocks a different door.’  Year 5 pupil.

‘You are unique.  Our lives are to cherish.  Use your lives well.’  Pupil in Year 5

BELONG

‘Belonging means…feeling like you fit in…for example, I belong at school.’  Pupil in Year 6

‘Somewhere you feel comfortable- I belong at school.’  Year 6 pupil.

‘Not leaving people out.’ Year 6 pupil.

‘Be part of something.’ Year 6 pupil.

‘It means we are respected, trusted and cared for and have a safe environment and we are looked after equally.’  Year 6 pupil.

‘to feel/ to be trusted, valued, safe and supported.’  Year 6 pupil.

Collective Worship

Collective Worship is a central part of our school life and takes place every day.  This special time of day fosters a sense of community and belonging and gives us the time and space for pupils and staff to come together and share in worship through learning, music, reflection and prayer. Our worship is inclusive, invitational and inspiring- giving all of the school community the chance to be part of the experience, while respecting the integrity of family and cultural backgrounds.

Collective Worship is planned and led by the Headteacher.  Half termly themes linked to our school vision offer a rich and diverse range of topics for reflection.  These themes draw on biblical teachings, inspiring acts of goodness past and present and stories of people whose faith empowered them to make a positive impact.

During Collective Worship we explore our school vision and how it underpins shared values and virtues.  In doing so, we reflect on moral values such as compassion, gratitude, justice, humility, forgiveness and reconciliation and develop virtues such as resilience, determination and creativity that develop character and contribute to academic progress.

Collective Worship gives opportunity for pupils and adults to grow spiritually through experiences of prayer, stillness, worship and reflection and to consider the relevance of faith in today's world by encountering the teachings of Jesus and the Bible.  It enables pupils to develop skills through engaging in the planning, leading and evaluation of Collective Worship in ways that lead to improving practice.  An act of Collective Worship is held daily.  This may involve the whole school community- Monday and Friday, or smaller classes or Key Stages- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Pupils and adults can expect that our school's Collective Worship practices will provide a shared set of symbols, signs, words and actions which give the community a language upon which it can draw in times of joy and sorrow.  This time set aside in our school day provides staff and pupils with the opportunity to gather and support one another as a community.

The pattern of worship includes:

Gathering, engaging, responding and sending.

We begin with our 'welcome' which is introduced by the children as they light three candles and say:

'We light the three wicks of these candles to represent that there is one God who is

God the Father

God the Son

and God the Holy Spirit.

Let the Lord be with you'

                                           And also with you

'Let us worship God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

 Amen'

                                           Amen

As a focus for our Collective Worship, we have a worship table dressed with a special tablecloth and a further table cloth which follows the seasons of the Church- the Liturgical Year.  

We welcome visitors in weekly to deliver Collective Worship and enjoy joining our family community for celebration events and services at St Peter St Paul.  

Our Collective Worship themes this academic year are:

Autumn Term 2025:  

What is Collective Worship to Us?  

Spirituality and Prayer

Spring Term 2026: 

Friendship

Thoughtfulness and Responsibility

Summer Term 2026:

Making a difference

Wisdom

Inclusive, Invitational and Inspiring:

Inclusive:  our worship is collective in that it involves meeting, exploring, questioning and responding to others and, for some, to God.  Pupils are given the opportunity to think and ask questions.  There is space to consent and dissent, to participate and to stand back and to consider.  Many pupils and staff in our school come from homes of different faith backgrounds as well as of no faith background.  Care is taken to ensure that the language used avoids assuming faith in all those participating, listening and watching.  It is recognised that pupils bring their own experiences to worship.  Inclusion requires pupil involvement in planning, leading and the evaluation of worship.

Invitational: our worship is consistently invitational.  It provides the opportunity to engage whilst allowing the freedom of those of different faiths and those with no faith to be present. There is no requirement to 'do anything.'  Pupils and adults are invited to pray if they wish to do so.  Prayer is always accompanied by the option to reflect.  Music and liturgies used in worship reflect the best of traditional and modern Anglican worship.

Inspiring: we aim for worship to be formational and transformational; enabling children and adults to ask big questions about who we are and why we do what we do.  It aims to motivate and inspire pupils and adults into action- into thinking differently and into reflecting on their and the wider community's behaviour and actions.  We aim for them to be inspired to become courageous advocates of change.

Parent/ Carer Feedback From Year 1 Worship February 2024

Year 1 were delighted to share their Collective Worship with their families on the 8th of February 2024.  They shared their class prayer and sang the song, 'This Little Light of Mine, I'm Going to Let it Shine.'

'It was lovely to hear all the children speak about what they had been learning and to hear them sing the songs.'

'Our daughter has been excited all week for us to come and watch and it was great to see her confidence.'

'Thank you for allowing us to be involved,  She was very happy to be able to share this experience with us.It was nice to include the songs and prayer.  It was nice to see that all children had a chance to play an individual part.'

'The children all did such a great job at remembering their lines.  We would have loved to have seen more.'

'Lovely songs- especially the sheep one.  Loved being able to come into school and see our daughter so happy and clearly proud of herself.'

'It was lovely to see them all be brave and stand up and say something.'

'