Christian Distinctiveness

Whitwick St John the Baptist CE Primary School is a proud Church of England school.

Church of England schools are designed to be inclusive and look to equally serve those who are of Christian faith, those of other faiths and those with no faith.

The school is linked with St John the Baptist Church, Whitwick.

Our whole school vision (Grow, Achieve, Bloom, Repeat ....) is based on the Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13 1-23.

Through collaboration with the school community, we have selected six Christian Values (our 'Root Values') that underpin all of our work with the children: Trust, Kindness, Love, Honesty, Tolerance and Respect.

‘Christian values are intrinsic to the lives of the whole school family and one way in which the vision is worked out, enabling pupils to 'grow and bloom.' As a result, staff and pupils have developed excellent relationships, based on a shared approach, which enables all to thrive.’

SIAMS Report May 2022

Collective Worship

At Whitwick St John the Baptist, we have a daily act of worship which is central to school life.

This is important to all members of our school community as we value the chance to be together and reflect on the values that are part of our distinctiveness as a Church of England school. 

Collective Worship offers the opportunity for all pupils and adults to grow spiritually through experiences of prayer, stillness, worship and reflection. It can take many forms through music, singing, stories, prayer, reflection and festivals.

Our Collective Worship takes full account of the Christian Calendar and each half term explores one of our ‘Root Values’ or we explore an additional chosen Christian Value.

Our pattern of Collective Worship allows a wide range of our school community to take an active role in planning, leading and evaluating Collective Worship.

Monday – Headteacher’s Collective Worship 

Tuesday – Year Group – led by class teachers.

Wednesday –'Members of the Church' Worship – either the Vicar or ‘The Praise People' Team

Thursday – Singing Collective Worship

Friday - Celebration Collective Worship

We encourage our children to reflect on Collective Worship to support their spiritual development.

Spirituality

By nature, spirituality is a deeply personal concept.

At Whitwick St John the Baptist, children’s understanding of spirituality develops over time and is where we 'grow the soul'.

Spirituality is woven like a thread through our school enriching who we all are through our vision, mission statement, ethos and curriculum.

Through their school life, children will explore three key themes linked to their own spirituality:

• What am I like on the inside?
• Who am I and what matters to me?
• The search for truth.....

Chaplaincy Team

We have a designated Chaplaincy Team (made up of children from Year 3-6) who contribute to the spiritual life of the school. They achieve this through the following activities:

• Planning and delivering Collective Worship
• Co-ordinating charity appeals
• Creating special religious artwork pieces
• Community outreach projects 
• Church Links

We have a strong relationship with the church and hold many weekly, termly and annual events such as:

• Member of the Church, weekly Collective Worship
• Easter Performance by Foundation Stage
• Easter Experience in Church for Year 3 children
• Pentecost Collective Worship
• Member of the Church Attends and Leads the Year 6 Leavers’ Service.
• Harvest Service in Church
• Remembrance Service at the Church’s War Memorial
• Christingle Service in Church
• KS1 Nativity Performance
• Crib Service Led by the Vicar

Our Chaplaincy Team have a designated Twitter Page

SIAMS

SIAMS stands for the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools.

SIAMS inspection focuses on the effect that the Christian ethos of the church school has on the children and young people who attend it. 

You can find our SIAMS report attached here