Vision and Values
Christian Distinctiveness
Northiam school is ‘Where every child flourishes and every day holds an abundance of opportunities. ‘ is at the heart of all we do. Our school strives to serve our community by providing an abundant and excellent education that encompasses a wide range of opportunities to understand their place in the world, their community and welcome the opportunities through their learning to shape the world around them, for all pupils and members within this school community.
I came that they may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance, to the full, till it overflows
- John 10:10
Northiam CE Primary school is part of the Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust. Whose vision is that ‘Helping every child achieve their God-given potential‘. It is through this core vision that our school has developed and driven our own vision and ethos.
We have close links to St Mary’s Church in Northiam. We are proudly Christian in character and base our Vision and ethos on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Gospel stories form the basis of most of our daily acts of Collective Worship.
We are caring, nurturing and compassionate, seeking reconciliation and forgiveness in order to heal any disagreements, and place a particular emphasis on children and families who need the most support. In everything we do, we use the example of Jesus as our inspiration, and share stories of his ministry as a guiding light for how we want to be, and how we should live our lives.
Our Vision can be found on our home page and was developed in consultation with all stakeholders. It has been recently adapted to reflect our new approach to the wider curriculum. Christian values permeate the school and follow Collective Worship themes. We place a very strong focus on supporting pupils’ Social and Emotional Mental Health needs, with two trained MHEW leads and a Play therapist. Our Friday Focus curriculum actively seeks to support and engage pupils and those individuals who need it most.
Children are given many opportunities to drive activities and have a strong voice in school – our Courage Squad includes Worship, Charity, wellbeing and the children are actively involved in leading on be courageous in their faith to help and support others.
Feeding of the Five Thousand
We have adopted this story from the Gospels to represent our school. The story centres on a young boy who puts his faith in Jesus and brings five loaves and two fishes; Jesus then give thanks to God and provides for all in abundance. Our vision of Living, loving and learning in abundance, with God is representative of this story, in how we seek to nourish the hearts and minds of all of our children, and provide rich and varied opportunities for all of them.
“I came that they may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance, to the full, til it overflows” (John 10:10) embeds the development of our curriculum, Northiam inspires an abundance of life by cherishing learning. Our purpose is to nurture and develop the abundance of talents entrusted to each individual, so that they reach their potential as god intends in mind, spirit, body and soul.
Our values were developed to ‘Where every child flourishes and every day holds an abundance of opportunities‘
In fellowship, we encourage everyone to flourish in relationships within the community and focus on building the qualities of each individual character.
“ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
” not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25
With trust, we allow children to develop confidence, faith and wisdom so they will understand that their voices will be heard by others and God.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Through thankfulness we teach children to show gratitude for all of their blessings. In adversity, we put in prayer our requests and in gratitude, receive them.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. Philippeans 4:6
We build compassion through showing empathy for all living things and valuing the qualities of character which help others to flourish.
The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalms 145:9
With humility, we fully see, hear and accept others for who they are. We can do this as we learn to live life knowing and accepting own strengths and limitations without defensiveness or judgement – enabling us to have deeper connection and compassion for humanity.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
“ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Phillippians 2:3-4
We build courage through teaching children that it takes bravery to stand up against enemies but just as much to stand up to our friends – to have courage in their conviction, the courage to continue and be strong in their faith.
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Corrinthians 16:13
“Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Mark 5:36
These values underpin our school behaviour expectations, they guide our way to inform choices and we celebrate children reflecting these within their daily choices to care for others.
We explore each value in detail across the school year, questioning what the teachings of the bible tell us, sharing stories as a guiding light for how we want to be, and how we should live our lives.
Collective Worship
These gatherings are of central importance in school life, and we share with our children the wonder of God’s world, and their place within it as children of God. Our values are strongly Christian.
The school’s aims are underpinned by a commitment to guiding our children to an understanding of the Christian faith. We aim for them to leave us, having started on a spiritual journey that will enrich and shape their adult lives. Our pupils strive to make progress and build supportive and encouraging relationships.
Consequently, the atmosphere at Northiam Primary school is specials, often commented upon by visitors to our school. Behind this lies the consistent and valued place of Collective Worship as a whole school community. As a school community we all come together to worship and this is led by the local vicar, school staff and pupils. Members of the Parish enact stories from the bible and the children engage and reflect on the messages in the bible and how the translate to them today. Children are asked “ What choices are you making to support the life you are creating?”
Foundation Governors and Christian Partnerships
Foundation Governors support leaders to monitor actions to strengthen provision as a Church of England school; we also have a Courage Squad who represent pupils and are instrumental in organising Collective Worship and suggesting further improvements for us.
We raise money for local causes through our Courage Squad, and have annual Harvest appeals for our local charities and community. Our school community gives incredibly generously to the Hastings Food Bank at intervals throughout the year.
Should you require a paper copy of our school of the information on our school’s website, please contact the office on office@northiam.school.
