Our Church School
Mission Statement
As a Church of England school, our caring, Christian environment gives us the security to nurture the enthusiasm for learning that will enable us to develop into confident, competent and caring human beings.
As a voluntary aided church school, we have close links with the Salisbury Diocese and Crossways Church.
Our school vicar is Reverend Jacquie Birdseye
Our School Vision
"Learning as much as we can about all that we can"
Our School Values
The school has 3 core values that we believe are essential to maintaining a positive learning environment.
These values are:
Respect Compassion Perseverance
Our school values are intertwined in all our teaching and learning. The school values were chosen by children, parents, governors and staff during our Whole School Values Week in 2013.
Our Values Display
During one of our 'Value's Day', the whole school worked together to create a display to show our school vision and values. Our core values are a key centerpiece, as they underpin everything that we do. Our Christian values run along the train track as they are the foundations of our school and keep us all moving in the right direction! The children then chose aspects of school life that they thought were of upmost importance, including eco-schools, school council, forest school and schools trips. Governors, children, staff and parents are all present on the display too, to show that we work together as a whole community.
Collective Worship
It is not always easy to define what makes a church school special but at Frome Valley, we believe that a significant part of this comes from the time and effort invested in Collective Worship. It provides a real sense of community and family within the school and is an integral part of the school day.
Collective Worship is an act of Christian praise which focuses on a specific value each half term. These values rotate on a three year rolling programme.
Our Collective Worship planning is based on the Roots and Fruits planning.
|
Year A Values |
Generosity |
Courage |
Friendship |
|
Compassion |
Forgiveness |
Respect |
|
|
Year B Values |
Thankfulness |
Perseverance |
Service |
|
Trust |
Justice |
Truthfulness |
|
|
Year C Values |
Creation and Creativity |
Humility |
Hope |
|
Peace |
Wisdom |
Responsibility |
During Collective Worship, a candle is lit and staff lead the children in exploring the weekly theme linked to our half termly value. This may be through a Bible story, a powerpoint, video or role play. Children are encouraged to reflect on the theme and to say a prayer if they wish to.
Each Thursday, Collective Worship is led by our local vicar Reverend Jacquie Birdseye.
We invite parents and friends to join us towards the end of each term for a Sharing Assembly and also to join us in St Aldhelm Church for the annual Harvest Festival, Christingle and Nativity Services.
Children may be withdrawn from all or part of Collective Worship by parental request to the Headteacher. School staff wil supervise children withdrawn from Collective Worship.
RE at Frome Valley First School
The Curriculum
Religious Education is taught to all children. The curriculum is taught through the 'Understanding Christianity' and 'Discovery RE'.
The curriculum is available for parents to examine if they wish, and children may be withdrawn from some or all of this by request to the Headteacher.
Around the School
The school is very proud of its links with the church and actively promotes a Christian ethos within the school.
We have a Reflection Area in the main corridor and the Frome Valley Reflection Group take the lead in creating a whole school display linked to the current half termly theme.
Display boards around the school reflect our school values and celebrate different events within the Christian calendar.
Frome Valley Reflection Group
To support and develop the reflective nature of the children in our Church School, we have special Reflection Area set up in the main school corridor for all to see. The Reflection Area is an interactive display that links to the values taught in our daily Collective Worships. Two children from each year group make up the 'Frome Valley Reflection Group' and these children are responsible for planning and creating the Reflection Area for all to see. With the support of Miss Padfield, the children create beautiful displays that all of the children in the school can interact with. At the end of each term, the Reflection Group evaluate the success of the Reflection Area by asking the opinions of all of the children in each year group, through questionnaires and interviews. Then, they get to work on creating the next Reflection Area display.