St Michael's CofE Primary School

[EduCativ]

"St. Michael’s Church of England School, established upon Christian foundations, and living out the Christian faith, is committed to providing every child with an excellent education." Our Mission and Vision "St. Michael’s Church of England School, established upon Christian foundations, and living out the Christian faith, is committed to providing every child with an excellent education."

Our Vision is our medium-term expectation of how we will meet our Mission, create a secure and nurturing Christian environment that values and respects every individual and their beliefs equip children, through an innovative and broad curriculum, with confidence, life skills to reach their full God-given potential partner with home, church and the local community to help children make a positive contribution to God's world. All of this is achieved through our Motto: Working Together for the Good of all”.

Many schools will talk about educating the whole child and teaching children to be good citizens – but we believe that being a Church School means much more than that. At St. Michael's all that we do is driven by the Gospel Values – those values taught by Jesus. These values are central to our Mission statement and therefore in all that we do.

The Gospel values are embedded in our school ethos in what we do and how we behave as a member of our school community (as staff/ pupils/ parents and governors). Through our acts of worship and the teaching of RE across the school, the children can develop their understanding of what the values mean to them and their future life. Pupils are also confident and can articulate how the school’s values give them "confidence to listen, question, explore and challenge themselves in pursuit of their learning."

St. Michael's is a flourishing and forward-thinking outstanding Church school where the leadership and management are a driving force behind the school community embracing and celebrating being a faith school and fulfilling our combined Mission and Vision which underpins all that we do. The leadership and management are strategic in fulfilling the school's Mission and Vision and in so doing, shapes the direction of the school community for the future. As a school, we believe in educating the whole child and teaching children to be good citizens which firmly is underpinned by the Gospel values.

St. Michael's CE School works in partnership with Saint Cecilia's Wandsworth under the umbrella of a 'Memorandum of Understanding' to introduce an innovative practice that reflects the school’s Mission and Vision and provides the local community with the opportunity of a whole through Christian education from 4 – 18 years of age.

The Leadership and Governors work in partnership to "ensure that the relationship between the school, church, and diocese is supportive and sustainable, enhancing the learning of both pupils and the congregation. It is a link that is widely acknowledged and valued by all members of the school community." The school is currently working with the Advisor from the SDBE to disseminate and share good practices with other schools.

The above statement has been quantified by Angela Rundle, our School Link Inspector for the Local Authority, noted and stated in her 'Note of Visit to the Board of Governors: 'St Michael’s continues to be outstanding in all judgment areas. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is at the heart of the school’s Christian mission and values and enables pupils to thrive and develop to the best of their potential. British values are fully incorporated into worship and classroom discussion.' This continues to be a true reflection of our school and all that it stands for.

In 2014 the Department for Education reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual, liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”

At St. Michael's it has long been part of our school ethos and mission to promote values that complement our Christian foundation as well as preparing our children for life. We firmly believe in promoting the Fundamental British Values as outlined in the Government's guidelines where it is further stated:

• "Pupils must be encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races, and cultures with respect and tolerance."
• "It is expected that pupils should understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.

At St. Michael’s these values are reinforced regularly and are evidenced in the following ways:

• At St. Michael’s the pupils have developed a good understanding of our country, its history, and our customs, values, democracy, law, liberty, respect, and tolerance. Furthermore, through the teaching of the national curriculum subjects such as Religious Education, Worship, History and Personal Social Citizenship Health Education (PSHCE) the children have developed around an understanding of the Values and can link them to our school values and life skills.
• Pupil leadership, through the School Council, School Ambassadors, and Head Boys and Girls Leadership enables pupils to have the opportunity to see how their democratic voice affects the school. All pupils in our school belong to a ‘School House’, which engenders respect, tolerance, and a team spirit. All of these factors contribute to the successful fundamental British Values embedded within our school.

The Cornerstones Curriculum is a creative and thematic approach to learning that is mapped to the new 2014 Primary National Curriculum to ensure comprehensive coverage of national expectations. Our new curriculum will be delivered through Imaginative Learning Projects (ILPs) which will provide a rich menu of exciting and motivating learning activities that make creative links between all aspects of our children’s learning.

We believe children learn better when they are encouraged to use their imagination and apply their learning to engaging contexts. Our new curriculum will provide lots of learning challenges throughout the academic year that will require children to solve problems, apply themselves creatively, and express their knowledge and understanding effectively across the curriculum.

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