Vision Statement:
In loving Christian Fellowship we equip everyone to have a Passion for life and learning; to have Pride in our local community and be Thankful for all the parts which make us whole; building Hope and resilience to Persevere and develop a sense of Humility and Purpose in our lives.
Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
1 Corinthians 16 v 13-14
This text from 1 Corinthians encompasses all we do, all we stand for, all we strive towards.
Because of our love for one another we endeavour to live in Hope, Humility, and Thankfulness in Fellowship with each other. These Christian values of Fellowship, Humility, Hope and Thankfulness link closely with our learning values: Passion, Pride, Perseverance and Purpose.
Our Mission Statement:
At Oakham Church of England Primary School, we provide an exceptionally caring, purposeful, inclusive, non-discriminatory environment where everyone is valued and encouraged to persevere to achieve their potential as well as have respect for God and His world. This means:
We encourage our children to be passionate: to be courageous and have the strength of character to stand up for what they believe to be right, to fight injustice and stand firm.
Romans 15 v 7: Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
1 Corinthians 16 v 13-14: Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
We Fellowship with one another.
We teach our children to have Pride in God’s world; to keep alert for ways to build up ourselves, our school and our society; to care about the world God has given us, to look after it and ensure it is sustainable and able to provide for the needs of all.
Psalm 8 v 3-4: When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
Psalm 24 v1-2: The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.
We show Humility towards others.
We encourage Perseverance; to stand firm in your faith, to ensure children have the resilience to learn from their mistakes, to provide a safe, caring environment where children develop morals, with space to develop their spirituality and own beliefs.
Isaiah 40 v 31: But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40 v 29: He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
We live in the Hope of Christ.
We help children to find their Purpose in their world; to be strong. We provide a meaningful education and opportunities so that children develop into well-rounded individuals where all abilities, skills and achievements can be celebrated.
Jeremiah 29 v 11: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.
Psalm 119 v 110: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
In all circumstances we give Thanks.
Our Mission Statement concluded: ‘We are committed to personalised learning where every person matters, every person is passionate to succeed. Oakham Church of England Primary School is a school to be proud of.’
Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.
British Values
At Oakham Church of England Primary School we also uphold the British Values of:
- Democracy
- Rule of law
- Individual liberty
Mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and those without faith.
British Values Statement
The Department for Education state that there is a need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to 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.” The government has set out its definition of British values in the ‘Prevent Strategy’ and emphasises that schools are required to ensure these values are taught across the United Kingdom. At Oakham CofE Primary School and The Parks we have always recognised the importance of educating our children so that they understand the multi-cultural and multi-faith Britain we live in today. We ensure our pupils are ready to contribute to an every changing society. At Oakham C of E Primary School and The Parks School we reinforce these values regularly and in the following ways:
Democracy
Democracy is embedded at our school. Through our collective worship programme, pupils are taught to listen carefully and with concern for each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard whether they are members of our own school community or not. Our pupils are taught the value of respecting themselves and others around them not only through collective worship but also during class circle time. Pupils also have the opportunity to air their opinions and ideas through our Primary Sheriffs. The members of the Primary Sheriffs are invited to apply for the role that has success criteria for choosing the successful candidates. Pupil questionnaires and Snack and Chat interviews are another way of ensuring the pupils have a voice. Our behaviour policy involves both rewards and sanctions; pupils are clear about the expectations at here hence the positive opinions of visitors to the school. Golden time is a weekly reward for pupils and they are actively involved in deciding how they will spend their golden time with age appropriate activities. We always seek, wherever possible, to offer opportunities to ensure our pupils can participate in a democratic process.
The Rule of Law
The importance of laws, whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, is consistently reinforced through our curriculum, behaviour system and during collective worship. Each class discuss the school rules to ensure they are clearly understood by all, this ensures that every pupil is able to learn in a safe environment and adhere to either whole school rules or certain rules bespoke to their class. We expect pupils to behave impeccably when they are on trips outside of school and feedback often suggests that this is the case. Pupils are taught, through our behaviour system, what happens if they break the rules and that the wrong choices have consequences. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service are regular parts of our curriculum and help reinforce that laws of the land are in place to protect us. Quite often children from our school attend the local Oakham Castle where they are able to be knighted if they successfully complete and adhere to the Knights code.
Individual Liberty
Within school pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we provide boundaries for our pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and an inclusive education. Our pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised
how to exercise these safely; examples of this can be clearly seen in our teaching of e-safety and collective worship lessons. Whether it is through the curriculum or through participation in our numerous extra-curricular activities, our pupils are given the freedom to make choices. Pupils are also given the opportunity to be engaged in their learning through the use of personal negotiated targets and self-assessment of their work.
Mutual Respect
Respect is evident at our school and can be seen in lessons in every classroom and around the school. Pupils are taught our virtues/values of love, hope, faith, reverence, reflection and compassion through religious education, collective worship and school rules. Additional support is provided for individual pupils, through our caring and nurturing ethos. The support helps to develop self-esteem and to give pupils strategies to help improve their respect of themselves and others. The value of Respect along with those written above underpins our work every day both in and out of the classroom.
Tolerance of those with Different Faiths and Beliefs
Our virtues/values and respect ensures tolerance of those who have different faiths and beliefs. Oakham CofE Primary and The Parks enhances pupils understanding of different faiths and beliefs through collective worship, a broad approach to religious education; P.S.H.E. work and curriculum enhancements such as African Dancing and Drumming workshops. Through the termly topics pupils participate in celebrations such as Diwali and Chinese New Year, and enjoy a depth of study covering History and Geography topics. Through our religious education curriculum, in key stage two we organise inter faith visits to places of worship of other faiths. Oakham CofE Primary School and The Parks participates in various sporting events across Rutland and pupils have the opportunity to take part in school activities such as Archery and Curling. Our pupils with special educational needs also participate in inclusive sporting events within our local community. We have whole school daily acts of worship where we share ideas, events, music and stories to promote the values expressed. All parents are actively encouraged to attend our weekly special assemblies where many rewards are given to the children. Headteacher Awards are presented to children who have shown extra excellence not only in school but where nominated from parents/carers.
