Vision & Ethos
How Our Vision Shapes Our School
At Crowmarsh Gifford Church of England Primary School, our Christian vision is at the heart of everything we do. It shapes our decisions, guides our relationships and ensures that every member of our community is supported to care, grow, persevere and shine.
Our Vision in Action
Curriculum
'Growth takes place when you seek grace and knowledge'
Our curriculum is designed to inspire, challenge and nurture every child so that they can grow and shine. We equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to succeed, while also encouraging them to explore deeper questions about meaning, purpose and values. Learning is both ambitious and reflective, enabling pupils to deepen their understanding and persevere when learning is challenging.
To find out more about our curriculum visit our Curriculum Page
Collective Worship
Collective worship is a central and valued part of school life. It provides time and space for reflection, prayer and spiritual growth, helping pupils to care for themselves and others. Pupils contribute supporting them to grow in confidence and develop a deeper understanding of Christian beliefs and values.
Relationships and Wellbeing
'Treat others just as you want to be treated'
We foster a culture rooted in dignity, respect and kindness, where everyone is encouraged to care for one another. Strong relationships underpin all aspects of school life, and our pastoral care ensures that every individual feels safe, valued and supported. This enables all members of our community to grow, persevere and flourish emotionally, socially and spiritually.
Courageous Advocacy
'Be strong and courageous'
We encourage our pupils to think beyond themselves and take action to improve the lives of others. Through charitable work and community involvement, pupils learn to care deeply, stand up for what is right and persevere in making a difference. In doing so, they develop a strong sense of justice, responsibility and service.
Religious Education (RE)
Religious Education is a core subject within our curriculum. It supports pupils to grow in understanding of Christianity and other worldviews, encouraging respect, critical thinking and meaningful discussion. Through RE, pupils are equipped to reflect, question and develop their own beliefs as they continue to shine as thoughtful and informed individuals.
To find out more about RE visit our RE Page
The Impact of Our Vision
Because our vision is fully embedded across the school:
- Pupils are confident, compassionate and able to shine as individuals
- Pupils demonstrate kindness and respect, showing they know how to care for others
- Pupils build resilience and are willing to persevere when faced with challenges
- Pupils grow into reflective learners with a strong sense of right and wrong
- Our whole community works together so that everyone can flourish
Our Ongoing Journey
We are proud to be a Church school and are committed to continually developing our practice so that our vision is lived out fully and authentically.
We regularly review and evaluate our work to ensure that:
- Our vision continues to inspire all to care, grow, persevere and shine
- Our provision meets the needs of every learner
- Our community continues to grow, flourish and thrive together
Find out how our vision evolved
In January 2023 we welcomed a new Headteacher to our school. With a new leader in place we reflected on our strengths and areas for improvement. This led us to revisit our purpose vision and values.
April 2023: We surveyed staff and Governors
- Name the 3 things that Crowmarsh does best:
- If Crowmarsh school was a person, name their top 3 characteristics:
- What makes Crowmarsh special, unique and different from any other school?
- What is Crowmarsh Schools purpose?
- How does Crowmarsh school achieve its purpose?
- What does our current vision it mean to you?
- What do our current values mean to you?
- Based on all your answers. What should our Crowmarsh vision be?
April 2023: Staff & Governor INSET
As a church school with close links to the Diocese we worked with their team as external facilitators, to discuss with staff the results and opinions gathered form the initial survey. Staff were open, honest and frank about what they felt. Voices and opinions were, heard and respected.
May 2023: Ongoing discussion
Throughout May the findings from the survey and from the INSET were displayed in the staffroom and staff and Governors were able to add and comment on the development of our vision. The Senior Team & Governors provided multiple revised options for the new vision and values in an attempt to encompass all the comments and suggestions gathered
May 2023: Children Consulted
With some degree of direction the children were consulted and their contributions were heard and incorporated into a further draft. They particularly wanted to include values such as ‘Forgiveness’, ‘Kindness/Caring , ‘Brave’, ‘Keep Trying’, ‘Encourage’, ‘Be yourself’.
May 2023: Draft Vision
The final draft was established and as a church school the Diocese was consulted. They offered further advice to finalise links to the bible, stories & songs. To ensure inclusion the school settled on Bible stories that are common place and universal in their messages.
This was the hardest part, incorporating everyone’s thoughts into a short eye catching summary.
June 2023: Final Draft
A graphic designer volunteered to provide the graphic for the final draft.
June 2023: Parents Consulted
A final draft was ready to share with parents. Parents have been overwhelmingly positive in their response and only raised two points for discussion.
Concern over biblical references.: As a church school we must reference the Bible in our vision & ethos. We have been mindful in our choice of references, choosing stories with moral values shared by many religions and even amongst those with no religion.
There are more values in school and life than Care, Grow, Persevere & Shine: Indeed there are and these will not be lost in our discussions with children. The school vision is a summary of who we are and what makes us unique. It would be impossible and too long to include all the things we, promote, teach and celebrate.
Christian Ethos
Throughout the day children at Crowmarsh Gifford are invited to participate in prayer. We have a daily act of collective worship which ends with a time of reflection and an invitation to pray. We share special words which have become our school prayer.