Character Development: Hope, Aspiration and Courageous Advocacy

The Church of England has a vision for education being ‘deeply Christian, serving the common good’.  The four basic elements that run through the Church of England’s vision are:

• educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills
• educating for hope and aspiration
• educating for community and living well
• educating for dignity and respect.

These are also key elements of what it means to equip pupils to be courageous advocates for the common good, locally and globally. Please see below just some of the ways we  we fulfil these elements at St Johns.

At St John's, we believe every child has the potential to be a leader. This year, our pupils will have a wide range of opportunities to take on responsibilities, share their ideas, and make a difference in our school community.

Our leadership roles include:

• Ethos Committee – helping to uphold and celebrate our school values.  The role is to support worship in class, whole school and in Church.

• School Council – representing pupil voice and shaping school decisions.  They are split into three sub committees; environment team, community and friendship team and the charitable giving team.

• Wellbeing Champions – promoting kindness, inclusion and positive mental health.

• Sports Ambassadors - leading activities, promoting healthy lifestyles and encouraging participation in sport.

• Reading Champions – inspiring a love of reading across the school, organising books, supporting peers with reading tips and recommendations, and helping to run reading events and compeitions.

• Digital Leaders – supporting safe and creative use of technology.

• Happy Lunchtime Helpers – making playtimes fun and friendly for everyone, supporting a positive atmosphere in the sinner hall and helping the SMSAs with younger members of the school.

• House Captains – encouraging teamwork, pride and achievement within houses.  These Year 6 children are specially selected to represent the school and work alongside out school councillors to make the school a better place.

Through these opportunities, children develop confidence, responsibility and teamwork skills while making a real contribution to school life.

As well as these roles, we also select a mixture of Year 5 and 6 children to take part in the Diana Award – Anti-Bullying Programme. These children receive special training to support our school in creating a safe, caring and respectful environment for everyone.

At St. John’s CE we believe children live up to their potential if they are happy, have fun, feel nurtured and grow from a foundation of strong Christian Values. We value spirituality and the holistic development of the child. We fully embrace the National Curriculum by “promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.”

Our role as educators is to guide the children in our care along the path of life. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and, within this, the promotion of fundamental British values, are at the heart of the school's work.

The following overview focuses on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects which are promoted in daily life at St. John’s enabling children and adults to thrive in a supportive, highly cohesive learning community.

Spiritual: Explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.

Moral: Recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views and have an appreciation of British Values.

Social: Investigate and moral issues; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the fundamental values of British democracy.

Cultural: Appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain's parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.