Christian Distinctiveness and Christian Vision

Christianity is at the heart of life in school, providing the vision, ethos and values that ensure children thrive in an inclusive learning environment.

Our Christian distinctiveness is what makes our school special and therefore, our development of spirituality and Christian teaching reflects our Christian vision for pupils to flourish as valued members of the world community, as educated citizens and as part of God’s creation.

At Dunnington C. of E. Primary School, we view spiritual growth as becoming more and more aware of one’s natural, innate spirituality. These opportunities may happen each and every day as children deal with delight, disappointment and the chance to be present with themselves.

At its core, our Christian foundation enables all pupils and adults to grow and flourish. It provides an environment that helps them to make sense of the world in which they live and to understand a little more of their place within it - to understand their relationship with themselves, with others, with nature and beauty and the ‘beyond’ or God.

Our Christian Vision

‘Encourage one another and build each other up’ 1, Thessalonians  5: 11

Our Vision is to place the child at the heart of everything we do.  It is to work together, where everyone encourages each other to be a partner in learning. 

We aim to provide a safe, happy, caring and stimulating community, where every child is given the opportunity to reach their true potential and to celebrate their successes.  Within our learning environment, children will:

• develop a thirst for knowledge, they will be encouraged to raise questions and develop their thinking and learning skills.
• develop physically, emotionally and spiritually, ensuring they are equipped for the ever-changing and demanding world in which we live.

In our school we will:

• respect each other’s beliefs
• care for each other and the environment
• connect with the wider community 

In learning and teaching we will set high standards and aspire for excellence in everything we do, ensuring that our curriculum is relevant and purposeful. We are determined to create an inclusive culture of learning where all children are challenged in their thinking, discover their talents, achieve to the best of their abilities and become motivated and resilient life-long learners.

Our school has close links with St Matthew’s church in Salford Priors (image above).  Members of the clergy and the church community visit regularly to support and lead collective worship.  We also celebrate many occasions together, including Harvest Festival, Christmas, Easter and the Year 6 Leavers’ service.  The Family Link leader from St Matthew’s also leads the ‘Leading Learners Christian Club’ once a week lunchtimes throughout the year.

Throughout the Autumn and Spring terms, we are fortunate to welcome members of the Heart of England Parishes who visit us to share ‘Open the Book’ assemblies. Open the Book is an exciting storytelling project where Bible stories are shared with children in a fun, interactive and memorable way.

Collective Worship

Whole school collective worship is held four times a week in school and a ‘Picture News’ class assembly is held weekly in each classroom.  During the weekly Picture News assembly, through an image related to a topical current news story, children engage in thought-provoking discussion and debate.

Worship is of a broadly Christian character, focusing on Christian values and events in the Christian calendar, whilst providing the flexibility to respond to key events from other faiths and current local, national or global issues. Worship is invitational, inspirational and inclusive.

Each half term, our whole school collective worship focuses on themes that are illustrated through a given parable or bible story.  These themes are clearly linked to the Diocese of Coventry’s six core theological concepts and they are also linked to our school values. These themes and our school values are also developed throughout the school day, in lessons and at break times. Each class has a distinctive prayer space which forms the focus for their class worship and any spontaneous prayer.  The themes in the prayer space are also linked to our half termly collective worship themes.

Curriculum and Policies

Religious Education teaching follows the Church of England’s Statement of Entitlement,  Warwickshire SACRE provision and Understanding Christianity.

Weekly lessons provide opportunities to explore both the Christian tradition and the beliefs and practices of other faiths, giving our children the opportunity to learn about and respect the diversity, opinions and beliefs of others.

Learning activities in RE provide for the needs of all pupils, offering a safe space to explore their own religious, spiritual and/or philosophical ways of seeing, living and thinking, believing and belonging.  Find out more about our RE curriculum via the link below.

Read more in our Collective Worship, Religious Education and Spiritual Development policies which can be found via the link below.