Christian Distinctiveness
Whitwick St John the Baptist CE Primary School is a proud Church of England school.
Church of England schools are inclusive and look to equally serve those who are of Christian faith, those of other faiths and those with no faith.
The school has very strong links with St John the Baptist Church, Whitwick.
Our School
Our 'Whole School Vision' is based on the Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13 1-23
Christian principles and values underpin all of our work with children.
The school community would like our children to grow up and learn in our school to understand the 'Christian Values' of Trust, Kindness, Love, Honesty, Tolerance and Respect.
Collective Worship
At Whitwick St John the Baptist, we have a daily act of worship.
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.
Each half term, Collective Worship explores one of our ‘Christian Values’.
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 – Head Teacher’s Collective Worship
Tuesday – House or Year Group Collective Worship – often led by the children
Wednesday –'Member of the Church' Worship – either the Vicar or The 'Open the Book' Team
Thursday – Singing Collective Worship
Friday - Celebration Collective Worship
Collective Worship Reflection
We routinely 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 10 children from Years 5 and 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
As a school we are linked with St John the Baptist Church, Whitwick.
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
- A 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
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 below (Graded Good 2015)
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