'Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God' are spoken by the ancient prophet Micah and have been shared through the ages. The words breathe inspiration into the heart of our life together as a community at St. Andrew's school. Our vision summarises our Christian values and of what we want most for our pupils before they go to secondary school.
Our Christian vision
Do justice, by committing ourselves to opportunity for every child in our care, treating our staff with equity and seeking fairness in the world through charitable giving and participating in the life of the local community.
Love kindness, by making compassion always our priority, finding joy in encouraging one another, forgiving and showing respect at all times.
Walking humbly with your God, firstly by understanding our environment and recognising our ecological impact, and secondly by worshipping together whilst recognising the growing diversity of our pupils and their belief and practice.
Our School's Christian Values
At St Andrew’s School we have six Christian Values that we use to guide our behaviours and attitudes. These values are;
Stewardship, compassion, peace, service, thankfulness and justice.
Compassion
Of course we value friendship and kindness but we also recognise the importance of loving those that we may not like or who are different to us. We encourage a generous empathy for each other because we are all made in the image of God. Our children are taught to reach out to one another and be vigilant to the needs of others as in “The parable of the good Samaritan”. Children often engage in writing and offering prayers which demonstrate our shared desired for the well-being of all people and creatures.
Service
Our children are made aware of the joy of giving whilst raising money for charities and assisting with schemes like “The Winter Night Shelter” but they are also given examples of what it means to live a sacrificial life in the stories of the saints and the life and death of Jesus Christ. Giving of ourselves means showing hospitality in our lives, friendships, working in groups and at play. This element of service is recognised and praised.
Peace
We believe in the importance of quiet and reflective time, not only to enhance concentration but also well-being. We ensure that our collective worship and classroom time involves frequent spaces and moments for stillness, thought and prayer. We recognise the need for antagonism to be resolved not just in consequences and resolution but in reconciliation and forgiveness. These elements allow a true “Shalom” or peace that includes a sense of being whole and complete. Our children are made aware of the need to pray for and work towards an end to war and violence throughout the world.
Thankfulness
Being grateful can be important but we promote not just an inner feeling but an outward reaction to appreciating the life we are given and the opportunities placed before us. Children are taught that our response to people in need is a result of our gladness that we are blessed. We encourage one another to be joyful in all that we do and to support and take pleasure in each other’s gifts and talents.
Stewardship
We believe in a God who created all things. The children of St Andrew’s are shown and taught in countless ways how to care and take responsibility to the environment around us. Children have the opportunity within the school to care for animals (including dogs) but also to tend and cultivate the earth in our mini allotments. Our whole school community is engaged with making the very most of our premises with parents and guardians regularly invited to take part in maintenance or decorating working parties. But perhaps most importantly the children are helped to make the connection between succeeding and participating and God’s desire that we all use the gifts given to us in their fullness.
Justice
As perhaps our most complex value, Year 6 have this as their main focus. From the early years we promote fairness and an understanding of consequences but we also regularly talk about grace and mercy. Children are introduced the many examples of injustice in the world, through the link with “The Winter Night Shelter”, “The Enfield Food Bank” and collecting for the “Children’s Society” but also through the House Patrons who were all social activists who made huge contributions to justice within society. We strongly encourage independent thinking that allows our children to question and challenge the things they see around them which are contrary to the values we share.
We believe that if we live our lives through these values then they will help us enhance our lives and the lives of others. Our families have worked together to explore what these values mean to them and our local community. Our Christian values are explored through the course of the year and form the basis for our collective worship and our award assemblies. The children are encouraged to think of how the values can inform their behaviour and help create a happy, caring and stimulating school environment. We explore British Values within our own Christian Values and the yearly overview can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
Every Friday children are awarded a certificate (shown above) if they have acted in a way that has shown they have been living the Christian Values of the school.
Father Edd and Mr Mason
January 2023
Waking humbly with your God, firstly by understanding our environment and resing our ecological impact and secondly by worshipping together whilst recognising the
Modern British Values
The department for education definition:
‘Schools should 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’
- An understanding as to how citizens can influence decision-making through the
democratic process - An understanding that participation in elections by those opposed to democracy
should be allowed by law, but the success of such candidates is undesirable for the
well-being of society if it would lead to the end of democracy - An understanding that bodies such as the police and the army can be held to account
by the people, through the democratic organs of government - An understanding that the freedom to hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in
law, and an acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself
(or having none) should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour.
At St. Andrew’s we promote these values in the following ways:
Rules
- Establishing an agreed set of rules and expectations for the classroom and around the school that benefit everyone.
- Learning about the laws in society – their purpose, and respect for the people who help to enforce them.
- Junior citizens’ event/visit from the police.
- Good sportsmanship.
- Ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong.
- Consistent use of behaviour policy
Rights
- The house system and school giving the children chance to present their opinion and a voting
system. - School council – influencing decisions that are made in the school.
- Debates.
- News items to discuss – First News newspaper for children.
- Black history month.
- Freedom of speech – debate, discussion about news items.
- Famous people who ensured freedom – slavery, human rights.
- World Wars where British values have been tested.
Responsibility
- E safety taught termly.
- Fundraising for a charity – helping others.
- Awareness of global issues and our part in them (global warming, recycling, looking after the environment, anti-racism and social justice).
- Foundation Stage – understanding the world.
- Leading a healthy lifestyle – eating well and exercising.
- Responsibility to friends – looking after each other.
- Respect
- Learning about world faiths – looking at differences and similarities of faith and life styles.
- Tolerating and understanding differences.
- Anti-bullying week and ethos.
- Books from other cultures.
- Listening to others.
- Home school agreement.