School’s theologically-rooted Christian Vision

Our vision of ‘Nurture and Grow’ Through Compassion, Integrity and Kindness is underpinned by the Parable of the Sower.

‘But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields’

Parable of the Sower: Matthew (13:23)

As a small rural village primary school, we are surrounded by the amazing landscape of the Devon countryside. Planting and harvesting are part of our daily lives so therefore we use the Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13 to show our pupils that if we nurture each other and give each other the right support to grow as individuals then we will develop love, honesty and respect for each other and everyone in our global community.

We talk to the children about what the parable means so they recognise its deeper meaning and how difficulties in our lives and negative influences impact on us.

¹⁸“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

We feel that the Parable of the Sower is profoundly relevant to our Christian School Community as it encapsulates the fundamental beliefs and ideas about faith, growth and the reception of God’s word.

Firstly, it teaches us about the necessity of a receptive and prepared heart. Just as good soil is essential for seeds to flourish, a heart open to God’s Word and values is crucial for spiritual growth.

Secondly, the parable highlights the challenges and distractions that can hinder our spiritual development. The rocky ground, thorns and paths represent varies obstacles that can hinder spiritual growth and can affect the development of key values.

Lastly, the parable inspires us with the promise that if we nurture our spiritual lives and values that we will not only experience personal growth, but we will impact collectively as a community.

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We chose the phrase ‘Nurture and Grow Together’ as a whole Federation in June 21 as we evaluated what we stood for as a community and we felt this was our really evident throughout both our schools. We did a whole consultation with the staff, parents, Governors and children. Our schools have different key values, but we felt ‘nurture and grow’ reflects what we do as schools.

Our classes are all based on the names of trees, so the children enter ‘Little Acorns’ in Pre-School and progress to Oak in Year 5/6.

As a School Community we worked on key statements that we feel are important to us as a community and these are reflected around our Oak Tree.

Spirituality

Developing Spirituality is a core part of what we do as a church school. Our definition of Spirituality is as follows:

The concept of spirituality is notoriously difficult to tie down as we believe it is a very personal experience and can change throughout our lives. Historically, many have believed it to be inextricably linked to religion, but we need to be aware that spirituality can be found in every aspect of our school lives.

Definition of Spirituality:

We feel that:

Spirituality can be defined as relational consciousness: awareness of my relationship with myself, others, the world and beyond (God).

Our four elements of Spirituality consist of:

• Relationship with myself
• Relationship with others
• Relationship with the World
• Relationship with the beyond, God and the transcendence

At Stoke Canon C of E Primary School we take each of these areas to mean that they follow our school vision to ‘nurture and grow together’ and develop our relationships through Compassion, Kindness and Integrity

Aims

The aims for spirituality in our Primary School are:

• To foster the spiritual development of each child, regardless of age, sex, ability or cultural background.
• To foster self-awareness and promote a feeling of self-worth.
• To develop a set of positive set of values, principles and beliefs.
• To develop respect and empathy for other people feelings, values and beliefs.
• To enable the children to value the non-material aspects of life.
• To foster reflection and stillness.
• To encourage imagination, creativity and curiosity
• To develop a sense of awe and wonder at the creation of life and the natural world.
• To appreciate other world views and beliefs
• To respond to Christian stories and understand Christian festivals, rituals and symbols, particularly those from the Anglican tradition.

Spirituality in Collective worship

We regularly plan in opportunities for reflection in our acts of worship and we ask our community to respond to a range of stories, prayers, music, questions, art and objects. We have opportunities for stillness so we can appreciate the awe and wonder the world around us inspires.