Vision and Values
Our Vision and Values
At Pathfinder C of E Primary School, our Christian ethos is our foundation and guiding principle. Our values will support children's development, both academically, personally and spiritually, enabling them to contribute positively to our school community and wider society.
Our vision is:
‘the roots to grow, the path to follow, the wings to fly’.
In our growing new town, we are putting down roots as an establishing school. We know that a positive culture starts with respect. Here, we look after each other with kindness and care. We know that life's path is not always easy. We work together, celebrating progress not perfection. We encourage our community to walk the journey together with determination and perseverance, intentionally supporting and encouraging one another, sharing the adventure. We work hard to support our children's developing wisdom; encouraging them to use what they know to make wise choices. We have an ambitious vision for our school that includes embedding a caring ethos and a culture of success. Our aim is that all children leave our school as confident and competent learners with a hope for the future as they take their wings to fly.
Our vision is rooted in a powerful verse from the Bible:
‘For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Luke 1:37
Respect - Perseverance - Wisdom
All Religious and Non Religious Beliefs
At Pathfinder we are proud of our Christian ethos and like to think of it as the roots, path and wings that will support our children throughout their lives. We celebrate the education of all children from all religious and non religious beliefs and invite children to engage with as much as they feel comfortable with, whilst respecting the beliefs and wishes of those who may have different responses.
Collective Worship occurs daily and we invite children to respect the Christian basis of the worship. Children are invited to participate, but there is no expectation for them to do so. We do, however, have the expectation that all children will sit and listen respectfully. Parents reserve the right to remove their children from Collective Worship for religious reasons.
Prayers in school
Children are invited to say prayers at several times during the day, namely during Collective Worship, at lunch time and our School Prayer at the end of the day. See our Collective Worship Policy.
Our shared understanding of Spirituality
Because it is a deeply personal experience it is very difficult to put into words what ‘spirituality’ actually means. It differs from person to person, and often spirituality changes within people during their lifetime. Spirituality is not the same as or linked to having a religion or faith or having a religious experience; a person can be spiritual or experience spiritual moments without having a particular faith or religion.
As a school, we have thought carefully about what we feel spirituality means to us and have developed the following agreed definition.
Our agreed understanding of spirituality is:
Spirituality is an awareness of our relationship with ourselves, others and the world around us, which in our school family, we explore through our values of respect, perseverance and wisdom. Together, we explore our spirituality through the big questions we ask in Collective Worship, the wider curriculum and our extra-curricular activities.
Statement of British Values
All pupils at DEMAT schools are strongly encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance. At Pathfinder C of E School, we ensure that pupils understand that whilst different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law. Our school’s ethos and teaching supports the rule of English civil and criminal law and we do not teach anything that undermines it. When we teach about religious law, we explore the relationship between state and religious law, and ensure that pupils understand the difference between the law of the land and religious law.
We promote fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. As a community, we actively challenge opinions of behaviours in school that are contrary to fundamental British values. We use the National Teachers’ standards and the Headteacher Standards (2017) in our appraisal of teachers and headteachers. We expect all staff to uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high ethics and behaviour within, and outside of, school. This includes not undermining fundamental British values.
Equality Pledge
We believe in the dignity of all people, and their right to respect and equality of opportunity. We value the strength that comes with difference, and the positive contribution that diversity brings to our community.