Google Services
Search
Search
Translate
Translate
St Nicholas Church of England Primary School
Excellence for All, Excellence from All
Log in
Our Christian School
A message from Simon, the Bishop of Tonbridge and chair of the Rochester Diocese Board of Education:
The granular nature of this partnership is embedded in three big, achievable goals of education in a church school.
The first is to seek wisdom and not just knowledge. There’s a saying that knowledge is appreciating a tomato is a fruit and wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. But that’s not so much wisdom as life experience. CS Lewis said he believed wisdom is being able to distinguish the important from the trivial. I think wisdom is being able to make choices and decisions in the light of God’s character.
The second value is to offer hope, not optimism. Optimism is projecting the present into the future – a kind of crossed fingers, glass half full approach to life. In contrast, hope is the future reaching into the present through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the sight of a renewed creation.
The third is to encourage community, not individualism. Community is a wonderful word, but it is overused today. It is rooted in the Trinity, who is perfect community, and it points to a strongly relational view of human life. We may have different roles, but we deserve equal respect. We are made in the image of God. We can miss the significance of what that meant when it first emerged in Jewish thinking. In the ancient world, only kings bore the image of God. It was a radical, democratising step to see all human beings as bearing the image of God, as Genesis chapter one tells us.
It speaks deeply into our understanding of the value of education and the divine potential of every child. Our work with schools is a sign of our love for, and commitment to you in the vital role you play and a desire to meet those goals.
Simon, Bishop of Tonbridge and Chair of the RDBE
Spiritual Development at St Nicholas CEVC Primary School:
Spiritual Development refers to the children’s beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life and their interest in and respect for different people’s feelings and values.
At St Nicholas CEVC Primary School we promote opportunities for spiritual development through:
- giving children the opportunity to explore values and beliefs, including religious beliefs and the way in which they impact on people’s lives. This is done, for example, through acts of collective worship, PSHE R.E. lessons and wider curriculum.
- giving children the opportunity to understand human emotions and feelings, the way they impact on people and how an understanding of them can be helpful.
- developing a climate and ethos within which all children can grow and flourish, respect others and be respected e.g. School Council and celebrating achievement through our weekly Celebration Worship.
- exploring the spiritual lives of role models through the Little People, Big Dreams series of books.
- accommodating difference and respecting the integrity of individuals, for example using restorative justice, safe spaces in classrooms, discussions, an acceptance of disagreeing well etc.
We promote teaching styles that:
- value children's questions and give them space for their own thoughts, ideas and concerns.
- enable children to make connections between aspects of their learning.
- organise enrichment activities and meeting with visitors to promote aspirations.
Fundamentally, it includes offering children the opportunity to explore their own personal faith and to be aware of their own and others' faith journeys.
We encourage our children to make informed decisions about the world around them. To support children's understanding of religion, philosophy, ethics and morals, we promote the fundamental aspects of Religious Literacy through our RE lessons and PSHE discussions.
Faith in Action:
Our charity work:
"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7). As we are called to love one another, we should help others in need as we are able to assist them, whether by physical offerings or by spiritual prayer.
We collect food and hygiene products for Caring Hands homeless charity at our Harvest service, make 'love in a box' gifts for the Christmas Blythswood Shoebox appeal and collect money for the Children's Society at our Christingle service.
The school council decided to have an ongoing collection box in the playground for the Medway Foodbank and we collect change every week to support Mary Meals- a charity to feed children around the world.
A prayer about Charity:
Giving God
We receive so much from you and therefore have much to give.
Help us to share in the blessings of giving as well as the happiness of receiving
That your love may be more widely, shared through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
SIAMS report
RE Policy
Parish links:
St Nicholas Church
(Church on the High Street)
126 High Street
Strood, ME2 4TR
Holy Communion- services at 9am and 10.30am every Sunday.
Toddler Group- Thursdays 10-11.30am in the Lower Hall
Families at 3- a time for families to gather together, eat. play and pray (see website link below- Churches Together, for times)