We are proud to be a Church school  at the heart of the community. Our vision for every child to become 'light of the world' is lived through everyone in our school community. By 'Exploring and Discovering' together we can 'Sparkle as light of the world.

We hope you enjoy our short video presented by our Foundation Governors that describes our school Vision and Values 

Vision and Values

Our School Vision is contained within the one statement:

Explore, Discover, Sparkle as Light of the World.

It is based on the deeply Christian metaphor that Jesus said about believers (Matthew 5:14-16) “You are the light of the world…”. Our Faith is that Jesus wants all of us; our children, our staff, and our governors, to be light of the world. We become ‘light of our world’ by the process of Exploring Discovering and Sparkling, echoing Jesus words (Matthew 7.7) “Seek and you will find” which enlightens our lives. When we embrace our vision process, it is by those many sparkling glints that can illuminate not only our own local world but the wider world, giving value, purpose, and life.

We can fully Sparkle by being grounded in our four school values: Trust, Thankfulness, Responsibility and Passion. Each school value has a biblical theological model and associated symbol that communicates the value to everyone in the school:

School Value: Trust

Trust is fundamental to exploring and developing. Without Trust we can not progress with confidence and live together harmoniously. Our symbol for Trust is Noah in his ark from the book of Genesis. Noah had to trust God when he said “build and ark” that it was the right thing to do, and Noah trusted that God had a plan for him when he floated above the water and was kept safe in the ark. Trust is important, it helps us be confident, and when we are trusting in God, or our teachers, friends, and others its then we have the best opportunity to sparkle.

School Value: Thankfulness

We have so much to be thankful here in Winterslow School, not only for our brilliant children, but our staff, governors, parents, and the whole of our community, and in creation around us. Our symbol for Thankfulness is the basket of abundance, reminding us that in the book of Genesis we hear the words “And God saw it, and it was good.” Thankfulness is both individual coming from gratitude for what we have and are whilst recognising the amazing and good things around us; Thankfulness is also corporate as we are thankful for each other and what we can achieve together. It is when we explore things and by discovering that we are truly thankful. 

School Value: Responsibility

Being responsible is key to being a citizen in not only our school and local villages but in our global community. Our symbol for Responsibility is based on the words of Jesus, for those who listen and follow.  He said “The wise man built his house on the rock” the rain came down and the storms came up, but the house stayed firm. The foolish man, who did not listen to the instructions and took the easy way of building, built his house on flat sand, but his did not stand up to the storms in life. Being responsible is about listening and realising what is required, even though, sometimes, it may be harder it is worth it. Responsibility enables us to explore and discover effectively so we sparkle brightly.     

School Value: Passion

When we are passionate about something it is then that we can truly sparkle to our best. And our symbol for passion comes from the overall narrative of the Gospel: the Good News of our faith. It is the cross with the heart-of-love at its centre. This reminds us that God is so passionate for us, that Jesus saved us on the cross. And its here, his passionate love for each of us shone out. This ‘passionate-heart-of-love’ is also in the other value’s symbols, showing that what we do, and why we do it, is because we are passionate about being together, exploring together, discovering together and, best of all, sparkling together brightly, as light of the world. 

Overall

We love that our vision statement has the concept of us sparkling. Sparkling is something that is dynamic, something precious, something beautiful. We have our learning Gem powers that every child understands that focus our efforts and reflects them in what we do. From each child, each class, through our staff, and our governors, we all aim to be that ‘light-of-the-world’ which is so important. Not that it is easy, but by Trusting, by being Responsible and Thankful we can have that Passion and develop that Passion, as individuals, as friends, and as a school.

So, we ‘Explore Discover Sparkle as light of the world.’

Use the link below to find out more about Collective Worship at Winterslow