How our school vision is theologically rooted

Our school vision of Plant, Grow, Flourish from the Parable of the Sower, is theologically rooted, promoting the six core theologian concepts:

Creation:

• Each person is unique and made in God’s image. The school celebrates the uniqueness of all individuals, everyone is loved and celebrated.
• Creativity is celebrated and nurtured throughout the curriculum, trips and visits and extra-curricular provision.
• Our aim is for all to develop their individual talents, grow these and flourish.
• Everyone is celebrated for being their authentic, unique self throughout school, where opinions are valued and listened to.

Incarnation:

• As part of the DMAT vision of ‘Together, experiencing life in all its fullness’, we do not shy away from both the ‘ows and wows’ of life, discussing and debating concepts with children.
• Just as God got alongside humans as Jesus incarnate, we get alongside and support children and their families through the good time and the tough, providing family support where this is needed.
• Jesus’ examples to humanity are explored as part of collective worship.  
• Reverend Phil explores the sacraments of baptism and communion with the children, exploring the faith journey through life.

The trinity:

• Reference to the trinity is used to start collective worship daily, recognising God as the father, son and holy spirit.
• Children are supported to live as a community, recognising that everyone has a role to play, growing into their authentic selves.
• The gifts and talents for all are recognised, nurtured and developed as a blessing from God.
• We support and nurture diversity within our community, promoting this through our ‘Passport to world views’ days curriculum.

Love:

• Love is demonstrated for all through our positive relationships and nurturing provision, supporting all to grow and flourish.
• Restorative practise supports the school community living together in harmony.
• Courageous advocacy is promoted through the school, demonstrating love as justice.
• Everything is school is carried out with love and support, even the difficult conversations and holding people to account.
• Thoughts for others, token gestures, and interactions with others demonstrates the positive nature of the school. Children are taught to value relationships and demonstrate this through the languages of love.
• The school community is inclusive for all, with love overcoming differences.  

Salvation:

• We are the good soil for our community,
• We are invitational and inclusive to all.
• We work to enable all to grow and flourish, regardless of their backgrounds. Everyone is spurred on to grow and flourish into the best versions of themselves. 
• We are not defeated by adversity, pushing on towards hope, no matter what our families and school face
• We aim to take transformative action for both now and in the future, with ethical decision making and risk taking leading to positive impact.
• A restorative justice approach promotes the value of forgiveness and moving on following a disagreement, modelled by the adults within school.  

Reconciliation:

• Forgiveness is an important aspect of the school and is part of our values.
• We use a restorative justice approach, forgiving each other when mistakes are made and deciding how we can live together peacefully and make different decisions in the future,
• Conflicts are dealt with through speaking the truth in love.
• We invest in teaching the skills of listening, empathy, and forgiveness for a brighter and forgiving future.
• We have a focus on making it right – using good deeds and courageous action to repair relationships and right wrongdoings.
• One of our core values is respect, demonstrating respect for each other, the environment and the world in which we live.