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Witchampton CofE First School

Church School Distinctiveness 

Vision Statement and Image        

Live a life of love, just as Jesus loved us’ Ephesians 5 verse 2

‘Small school, big Heart - making a difference. Our school provides the Christian foundation for children to grow and flourish, whilst inspiring ambition. Everyone is a valued member of the school family which empowers them to achieve their very best. Our nurturing environment ensures each child becomes a confident and curious life-long learner. Our Christian values enable us to inspire others, build courage and show respect - all through love’

The school vision image was chosen, created and designed by  pupils, parents, staff and members of the academy committee. The image was chosen as a reminder that we are all on a journey together in the basket of the balloon. The four ropes represent our values of Love, Inspiration, Courage and British Values. The balloon itself is fired by Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the Trinity) and this power helps us to travel through life together-wherever our journey may take us.

A Bible verse to reflect this is:

Psalm 139 vs 9:

‘If I flew away beyond the East or lived in the farthest place in the West, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me.’

Daily Collective Worship

Our approach to collective worship is based upon:

Values for Life,Compassion, Courage, Trust, Forgiveness, Friendship, Thankfulness, Wisdom, Peace, Generosity, Creativity, Service, Truthfulness, Respect, Perseverance, Hope, Humility, Justice, Responsibility

Each half term we focus on one of the above values.

The daily acts of collective worship are planned to give everyone a variety of experiences to develop spirituality through reflection as well an understanding of Christianity and aspects of other faiths and cultures. They enable us to reflect on and respond to things which we as a school community believe are important in preparing children to be responsible citizens now and in the future. The experiences include involving children in sharing relevant stories and current events, (Biblical, moral, multi-cultural, multi-faith or topical); Guided Imagery, Images, Drama Poetry, Music, Audio Visual, and Singing.

"I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full."

John chapter 10 verse 10

"Children have the right to think and believe what they want, and to practise their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights."

"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."

Proverbs chapter 22
verse 6

A selection of short, focused prayers encourage children to lead and write prayers themselves. The Lord's Prayer is displayed on the 'Reflection Board'.

Every Wednesday a group of local church colleagues who lead a series of Open the Book sessions come in to lead Collective Worship. The children love these sessions and participating in them.

At important times in the church calendar parents and friends are invited to join us for services in the church or in school. We also welcome speakers from other churches and organisations to join us. For example, Mr Stephen Gilham, Mr Geoff Bowerman,The Children's Bible Society, Foodbank and The Open The Book team.

Worship Team

Each term two children from each class are elected to represent the school and develop the Christian character of the school.  The worship team plan and lead some of the collective worship and meet each fortnight to discuss ideas.

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Values Tokens

We collect values tokens when we show our Christian and British values around school. We call these our Witchampton Wows and they are:

Love

Inspiration

Courage 

Respect (British Values)

 

SIAMS

Witchampton C of E First School was judged 'Excellent' in July 2019 by SIAMS.

Please read  the full SIAMS report for Witchampton C of E First School. Our Church school distinctiveness is a strength of the school and our close links to our parish church provides  many opportunities to develop our spirituality and embed our understanding of the Christian vision and values.