Vision Statement ‘One Family Under God’

One Family Under God: It is said, ‘The LORD will guide you continually...and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.’

-Isaiah 58 verse 11

Our vision is to promote an atmosphere in which the development of the whole child is secured through a strong commitment to Christian values. We are committed to promoting the highest quality of teaching and learning, in a secure and caring Christian environment as ‘One Family Under God’. We believe in an inspiring, enriched curriculum which promotes a thirst for knowledge, the development of life-long skills, values All God’s Children and excites all learners.

Mission and Values

Believe and Achieve: ‘Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy’. Peter 1 verse 8

We are committed to promoting the highest quality of teaching and learning, in a secure and caring Christian environment in which we Value All God’s Children. Through our creative, inspirational and knowledge-rich curriculum, all of our children can ‘Believe and Achieve’.

Our 6 ‘Mission Keys’, which represent the core Christian values and are symbolic of St. Peter, have been established by all pupils and staff, and identify the needs and interests of the children at St. Peter’s C of E Primary Academy.

 

Autumn 1

TRUST – ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.’ 

-John 14 verse 1

Trust is the very essence of faith; trust in the God who is trustworthy. ‘Trust in the Lord’ is a central theme in the Psalms. Time and time again, God is acknowledged as the source of all true security and strength. This is contrasted with trust in chariots, horses, weapons, wealth or princes (Psalm 20:7; 118:8-9). We can easily think of the modern-day equivalents. Trust placed in the wrong things is close to idolatry.

Trust is essential to human life and lies at the heart of all relationships. Trust entails vulnerability, putting yourself in others’ hands. We have to trust experts – pilots, dentists, surgeons. Yet, within our society, there often seems to be mutual distrust between people and those responsible for governing them.

Trust is central to civilised society, to living together in harmony, so it is to be valued and honoured. With wisdom and discernment, we can relearn to trust. We can begin to rebuild trust in our mistrustful society by being reliable ourselves, by not letting people down. Similarly, when we work with others, if we are willing to let go of control ourselves and trust in the abilities and integrity of others, everyone can be enriched. Jesus, after all, entrusted his ongoing work to his disciples and ultimately to us.

 

Autumn 2

SERVICE – ‘Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one anothers’ feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.’

-John 13 verses 14-15

Words relating to ‘servant’ and ‘service’ are central in Christian theology. Some of the most important prophecies in Isaiah speak of the coming of the ‘Servant of the Lord’ and his role as a ‘suffering servant.’ That is why Jesus said that he ‘came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. This turned upside down the normal relationship between master and disciple, leader and follower. In many ways, this astonishing action symbolizes the essence of the Incarnation: God stooping to share the human condition. Jesus is very clear about the meaning of his action: ‘Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done.’​

The parable of the Good Samaritan shows we should serve those in need whoever they are. Such service is not offered to gain some advantage for ourselves. ‘Going the extra mile’ involves sacrifice, putting ourselves out for someone else’s benefit.

Serving God means serving others. It also means that we cannot serve other masters as well – such as money. However, the Christian message is equally clear that service is not all about restrictions. It is precisely in a life of service that we become most truly free.

 

Spring 1

HUMILITY – ‘Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.’

-Ephesians 4 verse 2

Christians believe that Jesus was both a servant and king. He demonstrated this through His life, death and resurrection. Jesus taught his disciples what it means to be truly humble. ​

Christians believe that they can serve God by demonstrating humility through their attitudes and actions. This approach to life often runs contrary to may role-models presented to children in the media and popular culture.​

 

Spring 2

FORGIVENESS – ‘Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’

-Luke 23 verse 34​

Forgiveness is fundamental to the character of God. Throughout the Bible, God is described as slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin (Numbers 14:18).  Jesus was uncompromising in his command to forgive. Forgive, he said, ‘seventy times seven’ (Matthew 18:21), meaning forgive and keep on forgiving without limit.   Forgiveness was at the heart of everything he did and is at the heart of the Lord’s Prayer. When Jesus declared a person’s sins to be forgiven, it often aroused the anger of those who were less willing to forgive than he was and yet a prayer for the forgiveness of his persecutors was on Jesus’ lips as he died. Christian preaching has always put forgiveness at the centre.

We forgive because we are forgiven. Forgiveness cannot be given or received unless it is asked for, and the asking must be genuine and from the heart. Too often ‘sorry’ is said very easily, implying: ‘All I need to do is say I’m sorry and everything will be OK’. Real repentance demands that we take what we have done wrong with the utmost seriousness and have a deep desire not to do it again.

 

Summer 1

KOINONIA – ‘The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and although all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.’

-Corinthians 12 verses 12-13

In Christian teaching, Koinonia describes how Christians come together as a family. The members of our school family are interdependent: all are needed and valued and each person is important to the whole. We are working together to ensure all feel included and valued.

Through Christ, we all share fellowship with one another as one big family. Koinonia comes from the Greek word meaning community or fellowship.  This shows the special relationship we have with each other whereas a community we look after each other, where we are welcomed and accepted, no matter who we are. Together we can grow in our relationship with one another and with God. We come together with Christ at the centre of our school.

 

Summer 2

JUSTICE – ‘But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.’

-Amos 5 verse 24

When thinking about ‘justice’, some people think first about giving wrongdoers the punishment they deserve. ‘Justice’ evokes ideas of ‘just deserts’, ’the punishment fitting the crime’, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’.

However, that would be a one-sided picture of justice. Justice also means giving all people – particularly the poor and oppressed – what it is right and fair for them to have: life, health, freedom and dignity. It is about acting out of a concern for what is right and seeing right prevail. It is about social justice, especially for those who suffer most and are least able to protect themselves.

In Exodus, the people are instructed to deal with everyone fairly and never to show partiality to one group above another (Exodus 23:2,6).The Bible emphasises that ‘The righteous care about justice for the poor’ (Proverbs 29:7).Isaiah says: ‘Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow’ (Isaiah 1:17). Justice is the ‘plumb line’ by which society is measured (Isaiah 29:17). According to Amos, its presence in society should be constant and abundant: ‘Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ (Amos 5:24)

Throughout the Bible, it is emphasised that justice is immensely important to God. It is fundamental to God’s character. ‘For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.’ (Psalm 11:7)

Justice is not about a culture which encourages everyone to insist on their own rights at the expense of others. It is about a community that knows that everyone’s well-being is bound up with that of everyone else.

A commitment to justice leads to fierce opposition to injustice in whatever form it may be found. Justice is a pre-requisite of peace: without justice, there can be no peace.​