Vision, Ethos, Aims & Values
Our Vision: What We Do
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Psalm 119:105
This verse is the basis of the vision for our school:
We promote an inclusive and happy environment that nurtures potential, develops wisdom, builds integrity and inspires a love of life and learning.
As a Church school, we use Christian Values to guide each unique child through their journey of nursery and primary school, as well as staff and governors in their work and parents in their support of the school and their children. Everyone is on the journey together but we recognise that the path may vary for each individual. We want the experiences at our school to bring light to each path by offering support and the opportunity to flourish and shine. We want everyone in our school community to see light, and feel the warmth of that light, on the path ahead of them.
Our school motto is a child-friendly way to explain our school vision:
Together we learn to love and shine.
Our school is a community in which everyone is learning to love (people, places, the world, learning and more!) and to flourish and shine as the best that we can be. This applies to all children and adults in our school community.
Our Ethos: What We Stand For
Recognising its historic foundation, St Oswald’s C of E Aided Primary and Nursery School works closely with the Diocese of Durham and St Oswald’s Church to provide a stimulating and high quality education within a caring Christian environment.
We appreciate the uniqueness of every child, whatever their background and individual need, and encourage each child to discover their gifts, their sense of community and their relationship with God. Our values are embedded in everyday school life and daily worship brings the whole school together for times of reflection, exploration and celebration. We enable our children to feel valued, make excellent progress within the curriculum and build a strong foundation for their lives by developing their spirituality, self-belief and sense of citizenship.
Our Aims: How We Do it
- Reflect the values and teaching of the Christian faith, affirming cultural diversity and respecting other beliefs.
- Provide a high quality and stimulating education which is broad, ambitious and designed to meet the needs of each child.
- Support our children to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to prepare them to succeed in life.
- Create a safe, supportive and nurturing school community which promotes enjoyment and the pursuit of excellence.
- Offer rich opportunities for social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.
- Work in partnership with our families, St Oswald’s Church and the local community for the benefit of all.
Our Values: What We Believe
As a school community we have identified three key Associate Values which we believe reflect our school’s Christian character and ethos: courage, compassion and thankfulness. As a school, we systematically introduce the values vocabulary with each year group, focusing on particular values to build and develop a cumulative and deep understanding that allows children to access moral and ethical thought and develop Christian character. We also actively seek to encourage the attitudes of awe, wonder and reflection.
Courage: we develop the confidence, determination and resilience to try new things, overcome challenges and learn from our experiences.
Compassion: we put ourselves in others’ shoes, always treating one another with respect, patience and kindness.
Thankfulness: we appreciate and acknowledge all that we have every day.
