Our Church School

Part of the strength of our school is the strong Christian ethos. It is the foundation of our pupil’s excellent behaviour and attitude to learning. Christian values underpin everything we do in school and help to create the strong and supportive family atmosphere present in our community.

Collective Worship

As a Church of England school we have a daily act of worship. The worship time gives us a chance to be together and to talk about the wider issues of our school, the community and wider world we live in. We encourage all pupils and families, regardless of their own faith and beliefs to take an active part in these times of togetherness, although this is of course invitational. The worships are led by the Principal, other members of staff, and visitors, including the clergy from the Church of England and Baptist Ministry. The whole school worship on Friday is a Family Service which allows us to celebrate the learning, behaviour and Christian values displayed by the children and staff that week. This worship is also open to the wider school family to attend.

Our Church

Our local church, where we hold our Christmas, Easter and Leavers' service is:

St Luke's Church, Kislingbury, NN7 4AD

Learn more about our local church and its services:

https://www.kislingburychurch.co.uk/

Our School Prayer

Heavenly Father,
We thank you for our caring and happy school
May it always be full of fun and laughter
We thank you for all the friends we have here
Support us when we are sad or have hurt ourselves
We thank you for letting us share things
Please help us to live in harmony with each other
We thank you for the loving and dedicated staff
Show us how to value each other and to treat everyone with respect
We thank you for creating this wonderful world for us to enjoy
Help us to work together and learn from our mistakes to make the world a better place
Please bless our school and everyone in it
And give us the strength to keep the values for the rest of our lives

Amen

Courageous Advocacy

A courageous advocate is someone who supports, champions and speaks up for a cause that is important and meaningful to them. Courage is needed to persevere and stand up for something or someone you believe in, to make a difference.

At Kislingbury C of E Primary School we want to support and encourage our children to become courageous advocates, not just locally but nationally and globally.

At some point in life we will all face challenges and need support to help us overcome these barriers. We teach our children that is important to help others regardless of where they come from or what their challenges are. We teach this in many ways; through our work on values, by links to the Bible, other faiths and world views as well as learning about other courageous advocates. We want our children to have confidence to discuss and debate big ideas, to challenge injustice and engage in activities that can bring about change on some level.

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

-(Proverbs 31: 8-9)

It is important for our children to appreciate their role as part of a community; to take responsibility, to be able to look after themselves and foster an understanding of their importance, impact and influence in the world. Our School Council is one example of how our children have opportunities to implement change and make a real difference to the world around them.

In recent years we have carried out fundraising to raise awareness of issues and support those working for change, including:

• local foodbank through our reverse advent calendar
• Comic Relief
• Children in Need
• Royal British Legion
• Our House Charity Days

We aim for our children to develop an excellent grasp on the meaning of belonging to a local and global community and the sense of responsibility that comes with this belonging. We need to show our connection with, and care for, the world in which we all live and care for the people who live in it:

• Support for charities of significance to our children and families
• School Council who seek views of the children, giving a voice to concerns and plans
• PTA who lead community events such as movie night, quiz night, discos
• Our school council had responsibility for designing and working with an outside company for our new adventure playground
• School newsletters supports local events and community information sharing

Spirituality

As a church school and 'a place where everyone can flourish' we aim to create an environment that will nurture people’s minds, body and soul. We believe that spirituality should influence all areas of education and life. Therefore, we ensure that throughout the curriculum there are rich deep thinking opportunities which contribute to pupils’ spiritual development.

Spiritual development relates to fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of life which affect everyone, and is not dependent on a religious affiliation.

As a church school we are guided by the Christian faith and Christian values which Christians hold dear. However, we truly welcome all and we openly encourage children to reflect in the way that suits them best, enabling them to participate in an ongoing process of spiritual realisation and to flourish in a way that will help them find peace, comfort and strength throughout life's ever changing journey.

These are some of the areas that contribute to our spiritual learning in school: -

• Choral worship
• Collective worship
• RE teaching and learning

We believe that spiritual growth enables each one of us to experience ‘life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10), sharing love, compassion and forgiveness with others. We aim to instil in children a sense of hope and aspiration for a healthy and happy future

To support our whole school vision, we aim to deliver a curriculum that meets the spiritual needs of all our children by:

• providing first-hand, real-life opportunities for all children to experience a broad range of activities in school and beyond to develop their imagination and curiosity;
• developing in children a sense of their role in the community of the school and the wider world so that they become contributory and responsible members of society, lovers of nature and protectors of the environment;
• celebrating the achievements of all our children;
• providing role models and experiences to inspire and open children’s eyes to the possibilities around them, developing aspiration so that they achieve their potential as an individual;
• creating time and space for reflection throughout the day and school week, understanding how to respond for positive impact and to develop personally;
• enabling an environment where respectful discussion and debate about faith, values and beliefs is encouraged;
• being self-aware and empathetic to the experiences of others in the school and wider community;
• knowing that everyone can ask and receive forgiveness for their mistakes, being able to forgive themselves and others and move on.

Our school shares an understanding of spirituality as deepening our connections with our personal SONG: Self, Others, Nature, God or Greater. We ask the children to think about the spiritual connections they make and design an image to represent their thoughts.

If you as a parent would like to understand more about supporting your child’s Spiritual Development please look at the video below from the National Institute for Christian Education.

Parents and Children's Spiritual development: A Faith in the Nexus Animation (youtube.com)