Our Vision

Jesus said ‘I have come that you may have life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10). He calls us to a full life in mind, body, heart and spirit. Therefore we believe the purpose of education is to nurture and enable every child to thrive and to be the person they are fully capable of being.

Our curriculum for life in all its fullness is designed to equip children to be curious and confident independent learners but also responsible, resilient and caring citizens in their community. As they leave St Barnabas, we want every child to be ready to take on the next steps in their journey to adulthood with a love of learning, positive attitudes and a rounded set of values and skills to guide them.

We recognise that the curriculum encompasses everything children experience at school. Whilst our curriculum will promote high standards and accelerate academic progress, it is also about uncovering and nurturing the God given talents within each child, developing core values and virtues, growth mindsets and essential skills for life. Learning is closely linked to our emotions, we learn best when we feel safe and happy, so at St Barnabas our curriculum is also about promoting happiness and fun! This enables every child to 'achieve great things through learning and growing together in a love-filled Christian family'.

 

Our Vision is for a school family who:

  • Wish to learn in a fun, vibrant and creative Christian environment
  • Follow the example of Jesus
  • Have high expectations and are ambitious to develop their God-given talents, achieving great things, spiritually, personally, academically and socially
  • Have initiative and take responsibility for their choices and their actions
  • Are respectful, thoughtful and sensitive
  • Are happy, successful and confident
  • Love to learn every day and show resilience in their learning

Our Gospel Values

At St Barnabas we are proud of our caring, Christian ethos, underpinned by the Christian values that permeate our teaching and learning and shape every member of our school family. Each week in our classes we focus on a Christian value and explore how it can change the way we live our daily lives. Our class teachers then present the class with an award in our Celebration Worship for demonstrating one of our values or discuss how they have been living life in all its fullness this week.

Our Worship Our Way (WOW) group conducted a survey and we all agreed that the values we feel express our school family are:

Courage 

Trust

Forgiveness

Friendship

Service

Generosity

Respect  

Encouragement

In the Bible St Barnabas reminds us of our responsibilities as Christians to welcome, love and encourage in all we say and do. Saint Barnabas was known as an encourager so we try to be like Saint Barnabas and encourage others.

 

 

 

The DfE have recently reinforced the 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 set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy; it was reiterated in 2014. At St Barnabas we promote these values in the following ways:

Democracy
Democracy is embedded throughout our school curriculum. Children are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard. Regular pupil questionnaires ensure that everyone has a ‘voice’. Annual elections take place for Sports Leaders, Heads and Deputies and School Council representatives, reflecting the British electoral system and demonstrating democracy in action. See our Smart School Councils page for further information. 

 

The Rule of Law
The importance of laws, whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, is consistently reinforced throughout the regular school day and also through planned activities and worships. At the beginning of each school year the children in each class collaboratively create the class rules they want to see upheld throughout the year and they are referred to regularly. They ensure that ever class member is able to learn in a safe and ordered environment. Clear, consistent consequences and reward systems are in place to promote positive behaviour. 

Within class lessons and worships, children are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities involved and the consequences when laws are broken.  Visits from authorities such as the Fire and Police services, help reinforce this message.

In PE, the importance of rules and fair play is highlighted and enables the children to understand the need for rules beyond the immediate school context, as well as the importance of exercise as a healthy activity.

Our curriculum has been carefully designed so children develop skills that enable them to understand the way rules and laws were developed at specific times in history and how they reflected the values of the period.  Our RE units of work allow children to learn about the fundamental rules and beliefs of all the major religions and focus on common areas and differences within them. Our Year 6 class visit the Houses of Parliament to learn all about democracy and how laws are created. 

We educate and provide boundaries for children to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and inspiring education, and actively encourage them to do so.  Our children are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights, responsibilities and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely; examples of this can be clearly seen in our online safety and P.S.H.E. lessons.  Whether it is through choice of story book, of how they record, of participation in our numerous extra-curricular activities etc, our children are given freedom of speech and the opportunity to make choices. Children have key roles and responsibilities in school, such as Play Leaders, Sports Leaders, Wellbeing Warriors, school councillors and Heads and Deputy Head boys and girls.

Our Head and Deputy Head Boys and Girls

Our Sports Leaders

Our Wellbeing Warriors

Our Worship Our Way (WOW) Group

Mutual respect is embedded in all that we do at St Barnabas and respect is one of our key gospel values. The children know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have, and to everything, however big or small.  Children learn that their behaviour has an effect on their own rights and an impact on others. This value is woven into our worships as well as through the everyday curriculum planning. Children also take ownership of classroom rules at the start of each academic year. The core value of respect at St Barnabas underpins our work every day both in and out of the classroom.

In class, children often take part in collaborative work where they have to work closely with others.  They debate philosophical ‘Big Questions’, which encourage them to think for themselves, listen, respect the views of others and recognise that, for some questions, there are no clear cut answers. Additional support is provided for individual pupils by teaching assistants and this helps develop self-esteem and respect for others.

We place a strong emphasis on celebrating diversity in all its forms at St Barnabas. Our broad and balanced RE curriculum enables children to learn about and respect the beliefs of those from different religions. Learning about other beliefs and religions is further embedded though our worships across the year.  Our curriculum actively plans for pupils to visit religious buildings to enhance their understanding of different faiths and beliefs through first-hand experiences.  These include trips to a Hindu temple, a Sikh Gurdwara and the local Christian churches. Members of different faiths or religions are also encouraged to visit our school and share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. We also link with another local school of a different faith. Beliefs, traditions and customs from around the world are studied in topics and during themed weeks.

We celebrate the similarities and differences between each other. Worships and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying are delivered and supported by learning in RE and PSHE. Our children, staff and our community members are expected to be aware of, and actively discourage sexual, racial, gender or disability discrimination, both in school and the wider world. We celebrate the positive contributions that all people can make to our school and global community.

At St Barnabas, we will actively challenge children, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ views. All staff have up-to-date training in the ‘Prevent’ agenda; part of the Home Office’s Counter Terrorism Strategy.