First Federation Trust
Flourishing together, in God’s love.
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (1 John 4 v 16)
Flourishing together: We accomplish far more together than we can ever accomplish alone. We are inclusive and focussed on every individual. As a school, we strive to be an extended family working with parents in order to support their children to flourish. We do this through providing different learning opportunities that develop the whole child: mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Flourishing for us, as a school means: Children are engaged in and enjoying their learning, they are achieving well holistically, they are happy and confident, and they get on well with each other through the positive relationships that they have formed.
In God’s love: Love encompasses everything that we do at school. Staff foster a love of learning, love for our community and the local area through the curriculum provided for children. Love is also manifested in kindness and caring towards the whole school community. We recognise God and Jesus as role models for treating others with love. We are thankful for the gift of God’s love which enables us to flourish together.
For our school community to flourish, each unique individual needs the right conditions; our values underpin our vision. We aim to provide our children with strong foundations to develop these, drawing upon the teaching of Jesus and wider curriculum opportunities. Newton Ferrers CE Primary has an inclusive curriculum and attitude to school life which builds confidence and perseverance in learners. When flourishing together, there is an expectation all children achieve and learn through respect for others through collaboration and understanding how to create peace – understanding how to do this in school as well as understanding local and global issues. We have a strong belief that God has given us our gifts and creativity is something which is encouraged as children embark on their journey of education to make a positive difference through the idea of service to better the world we live in.
The Biblical references to most of the values change every year as the children chose a Bible champion/s that inks with their understanding of the value.
| Value | Biblical references | How does this value link to our vision? |
| Love | God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (1 John 4 v 16) | Love encompasses and is at the heart of everything that we do at school. We aim to follow Jesus’ example of love for others and understanding the manifestation of God in our world. |
| Collaboration | The disciples collaborating together to spread the news of Jesus’ teaching. (Mathew 10) | This links to the vision as we achieve far more together than we can accomplish alone; we need each other to truly flourish. By working together and collaborating, we can ensure that all of our community flourish, using the gifts and strengths that God has given us. |
Peace | Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-27) | This links to the focus on flourishing together and loving everyone, as in the Bible when Jesus demonstrated that we should love our neighbours, as we love ourselves. One way of demonstrating this love is through the value of peace: value that reflects positive thoughts, feelings and wishes for oneself and others. We live out this value through acceptance, fairness and communication amongst ourselves and the wider community. |
Respect | Noah respecting God’s word (Genesis 6:9-22)
| Noah demonstrated respect in the way that he followed through on God’s words. Respect is a way of showing love towards others (linked to our vision)- including animals and the environment, respecting elders and members of the community and following rules which Noah did. |
Perseverance | 3 Wise Men whilst searching for Baby Jesus (Matthew 2: 1-2) | Linked to flourishing as a character trait, working together with a purpose and then overcoming obstacles. The Wise Men did not arrive until after Jesus’ presentation in the Temple, 40 days after His birth. That helps to demonstrate the perseverance of the Wise Men. They made that long, challenging journey, and they refused to be stopped by King Herod. They were determined, at all costs, to see this special Child for themselves. In this way, our vision of flourishing together develops a character trait- perseverance – whereby we have a purpose and will overcome obstacles in order to attain these goals. |
Creativity | Joseph and his technicolour coat (Genesis 37) | Each of us is unique and will flourish in different ways. This reminds us of the story of Joseph who used his strengths creatively to interpret dreams for others. God was with Joseph, and he learned to do things he had never had the chance to learn before. Joseph used his creativity to solve problems, by making sure that his family and others had plenty to eat. |
Confidence | David and Goliath (1 Samuel: 17) | David had the confidence to stand up for what he believed in, confidence in God to support him. He trusted in his own abilities and instincts. By developing this confidence- as a character trait and value- our children will be able to flourish and develop love for others. |