Our School's Vision and values

“Soar on wings”

We aim for our school communities to be happy and safe where everyone shares a love of learning. To support this aim we take strength and direction from Isaiah 40 :31

“They will soar on wings like eagles;
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint.”

Our Christian values of Responsibility, Respect, Courage, Compassion, Perseverance and Trust underpin all we say and do, so that in God’s Grace we can lay a solid foundation from where our children can, “soar on wings”, having the strength to overcome challenges and to build for themselves full and purposeful lives.

To lay that solid foundation we will commit to:

Ensuring we know the needs of all our children and providing inspirational teaching and empowering learning opportunities to meet their needs,
Investing in and celebrating the uniqueness of each individual in our school community,
Fostering and understanding that knowledge, wisdom and skills are achieved through hard work and perseverance,
Demonstrating empathy, compassion and forgiveness so that we all have the courage to take risks and learn from our mistakes,
Growing global citizens who value others and cherish themselves.

'I recognise that modern day life is challenging for our children and particularly challenging for our most vulnerable children. I want the adults, learning alongside the children, to encourage the children to develop strong voices so that they can build and value their dreams and ambitions. Living in a rural area, attending a small school and enjoying the safety of a close community has its many benefits but it can make it harder for children to realise their dreams and ambitions. With hope, strength, courage and trust in God, they can aspire to great things. They can 'soar on wings'.

Hayley Sonnex, Executive Headteacher

British Values

Our federation understands that our schools are required to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of their pupils. As part of this, we actively promote the fundamental British values of:

Democracy
The rule of law
Individual liberty
Mutual respect for and tolerance (acceptance) of those with different faiths and beliefs

This is set out in the Department for Education's guidance on promoting British values in maintained schools.

As a result of our promotion of British values, our pupils gain:

An understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process
An appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety
An understanding that some public bodies such as the police and the army can be held to account through Parliament, others such as the courts maintain independence
An understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law
An acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour
An understanding of the importance of identifying and combating discrimination

British values are reflected in our vision and ethos and implemented effectively in our policy and practice.

We promote British values in the way we:

Include age-appropriate material in the curriculum on the strengths, advantages and disadvantages of democracy, and how democracy and the law works in Britain and within our school community
Make sure that all pupils within the school have a strong voice that is listened to
Demonstrate how democracy works through actively promoting democratic processes in our decision making.
Organise visits to local councils and places of worship, and encourage contact with those in political or local office
Use opportunities such as general or local elections to hold mock elections to teach pupils how to argue and defend points of view
Use teaching resources from a wide variety of sources to help pupils understand a range of faiths
Consider the role of extra-curricular activities, including any run directly by pupils, in promoting fundamental British values

Some examples of good practice across the federation:

Visits and visitors which enrich the curriculum and are chosen to support the promotion of core values eg a visit from the Mayor of Great Yarmouth and participation in a debate at the Town Hall.
All three schools run regular Circles Assemblies where issues are discussed and decisions democratically made.
Children in all three schools regularly visit local churches and enjoy visits from church leaders of differing faiths.
All three schools deliver a values based education which reflect British values.
Mock elections take place which mirror General Elections.
Partnership with overseas schools.
Children keep up to date with and debate current affairs eg watching BBC Newsround.
Children are supported and encouraged to take social action. Eg a ‘save the planet’ club supporting their understanding of and interest in differing views.
Children are supported to lead their learning.

April 2022