The latest news from the head of Aston Rowant CE Primary School, Mrs France:
School Logo
We have a new school logo which is bright, clear, modern and memorable. Most importantly it encapsulates and reflects who we are as a school and what our vision and values are…
School Vision
“Growing together we inspire each other to achieve our full potential as courageous lifelong learners.
‘Practise these things, immerse yourself in them so that all may see your progress’ (1 Tim 4:15)”
As a Church school we are required to have a ‘distinctive Christian vision which is embedded within the school’s working practice, is established and promoted by leadership at all levels, and which enables both pupils and adults to flourish.’
The Governing Body took time to craft a vision that does just that. Our vision is about growing together, developing not in isolation but learning from and with each other. It’s about inspiring learning that provides a solid foundation for the future of all stakeholders. It is about being empowered to learn without limitations. Within this we also recognise the importance of working together within the school but also utilising the valuable resources around us, including our local communities and beyond. It is aspirational, but then as a school so are we!
School Values
Thank you for everyone who contributed to the process of choosing the new school values. All of our stakeholders participated: children, staff, parents and Governors. It was encouraging to see how we share a vision for who we are as a school and also what we want to achieve. We were able to group the key priorities identified by everyone into 6 core values. These in turn link to our strapline ‘Growing together’ by spelling word GROWTH, which also makes our values easier to remember for us all!
School Value Term Trinity British Values Bible Verse
G GRATITUDE (Thankfulness) Au2 God Father Respect Psalm 136: 1-3
R RESILIANCE (Courage Bravery) Su2 Holy Spirit Liberty Phil 4:13
O OUTREACH (Giving, Love) Sp2 Jesus the Son Respect Matt 25:40
W WONDER (Awe, Creativity) Au1 God Father Liberty Ex 15:11
T TRUST (Faith, Truth) Sp1 Jesus the Son Tolerance, Law John 14:6
H HARMONY (Friendship, teamwork) Su1 Holy Spirit Respect, Democracy Luke 6:31
Each value has also been identified by a colour, which correlates to the colours of the leaves on our logo.
The different values will be explored each half term. The values have also be linked to the Holy Trinity, which again as a Church school is key to how we explore and understand the Christian faith. The structure of the Trinity has determined the order in which we explore each value linked to it.
As a school we have a duty to ‘actively promote’ the fundamental British Values. These were first set out by the government in the ‘Prevent’ strategy in 2011 and were defined as: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Therefore we have also linked these to our school values and will be exploring these in different ways through our Collective Worship as well as our teaching.
Celebrating Our Values
In January we introduced Values awards, which recognises and celebrates how we as a whole school team embrace and live out our new values. Children and adults are eligible to be nominated by both adults and children. Any nominations received will be read out in our Friday Celebration Assemblies and then recorded in our Values Book. We look forward to sharing and celebrating these with you.
Collective Worship
We have also explored our vision for our Collective Worship and have defined it as:
Collective Worship is the beating heart of our school so everyone is part of an act of worship every day
The application of this is as follows:
Monday Whole School (staff and pupils) Led by Headteacher Introduces concept / themes / new songs / prayers
Tuesday Whole School (pupils) Led by Class Teachers Thematic / Value based stories, dramas, songs
Wednesday Whole School (pupils) Led by Open the Book Worship led by community based visitors with child participation
Thursday Class Worship Led by Children Smaller numbers, less formal, age specific
Friday Celebration (staff, pupils and parents) Planned and Led by Year 6 Work shared, Values celebrated, achievements recognised
New School Prayer
To reflect our new values we have also written a new school prayer. This is on display in each classroom as well as on a beautiful new poster in the hall.
Heavenly Father, Thank you for our school. We pray that you would help us to grow to have:
Grateful hearts for all that you give us
Resilient spirits to keep learning
Opportunities to reach out to others
Wonder-filled minds
Trust in you
Harmonious attitudes towards one another.
Keep us rooted in you as we grow together. Amen.
What does Learning Look Like at Aston Rowant C†E School?
We have spent time as a staff reflecting on this question and have created a statement that now underpins our curriculum planning and implementation.
‘The goal of education in Aston Rowant C†E Primary School is to enable our children be curious in their approach to learning, to be courageous in their attitude to learning, to be empowered to work both independently and collaboratively, to understand the impact their learning has had on them so far and be inspired to keep learning.’
House Teams
We also launched our House Teams this term (Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Galilee and Eden). The children will work collaboratively in their teams to earn house points and the winning house at the end of each half term will choose their reward. Children’s individual efforts will also be celebrated as they reach 25, 50, 75 or 100 house points each term. The rewards offered to the teams and individuals have been chosen by the School Council and I will let them update you at a later date.
Newsletter
There will be a new look weekly newsletter coming out each week, starting from next Friday, sharing the learning that has happened in school each week as well as updating you on all of our news. This will go to parents, staff, Governors and will be copied to the Parish Council. Something to look forward to!
So, we have a lot to look forward to this year.
Mrs. France
Headteacher, Aston Rowant School
(The text can be downloaded via the link below)
