Our core values

Community, Courage, Peace, Respect

Ethos statement

Recognising its historic foundation, our academy will preserve and develop its religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England and in partnership with the Church at the parish and diocesan level. The academy aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith, and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all its pupils.

Vision statement

As an inclusive and caring church school, we provide an excellent education and aim to develop a life-long love of learning.

We see all members of our school family as individuals, valued and valuable in the eyes of God (Psalm 139).

We will support and challenge everyone to show respect and courage in achieving their full potential as part of a peaceful community.

Enabling all our community to live life to the full – John 10.10.

Living Out Our Christian Vision

As a Church school, we have a distinctive character where Christian values are promoted in all aspects of school life.  We encourage all members of the school community to promote a Christian ethos where care and respect are shown to everyone.

Our Sigglesthorne family ensures that all members of the school community feel safe, valued and cared for.

We appreciate and value the uniqueness of each individual and nurture these personal and individual gifts.

Our special Christian identity is demonstrated in the values we share and in the relationships that all members of the school community have with one another. We are inclusive and welcome others regardless of differences; all individuals are respected, supported and nurtured.  We respect our community and when needed show forgiveness that we would want for ourselves.

As a result of the trusting relationships between all members of the school community and embedded Christian Values in every aspect of our practice, pupils at Sigglesthorne Church of England Academy grow into respectful, well behaved and compassionate young people who have an understanding and respect for diversity and difference together with a motivation to be peacemakers and help others in their community and beyond.

“The vision is deeply Christian, with the 

promise by Jesus of ‘life in all its fullness’ 

at its heart.”

Deeply Christian, Serving Common God

A value or ethic is a principle or standard about what is important in one’s life. Therefore, Christian values are the principles that a follower of Jesus Christ holds as important—the principles of life that Jesus taught.

Christian values don’t change over time. They are consistent from generation to generation since their foundation is found in God’s Word, the Bible.

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” — Philippians 4:9

Courage

For Christians ‘having courage’ or ‘strength to carry on’ is linked to faith in God’s promises – promises of God’s presence, protection and power. Famously Joshua, when taking over from Moses in the Old Testament, hears God say: ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go’. Joshua 1:9 Saying ‘don’t be discouraged’ is the same as saying ‘take courage’. When we encourage others we are helping them to find courage. One of the most often repeated commands of God in the Bible is ‘don’t be afraid’. It is said that it comes at least 365 times – once for every day of the year! In the New Testament, Paul, when faced with hardship, finds that a prayer of thanksgiving gave him new courage: ‘Paul… thanked God and was encouraged’ (Acts 28:15). Jesus urged his disciples to be courageous in the face of suffering, based on the fact that God’s love was ultimately victorious: ‘Take heart. I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). Christians recognise that human courage alone is sometimes not enough. It can be a challenge to stick to what is good and right. They need the assurance of God’s help and presence to do what they know is right.

How do we see this value in school? 

In our school hymn we sing, ‘Be Bold, Be Strong.’ We encourage all our children to speak out when they see injustice, in school and in the wider world.  We give our children the mechanisms to understand how to make a change democratically via our School Council and our Pupil Parliament.  Children talk regularly about their learning challenges and this is a central part to our ethos of building independence and self-confidence.  Through our Forest School, we allow children to experience challenge and difficulty and encourage them to problem solve to overcome their difficulties.

Peace 

The value of peace was added after an annual review of the values at the heart of our school. Peace includes ideas of healing and health, wholeness and well-being. It refers to relationships based on truth and righteousness. Peace is founded in goodness, decency, justice and morality. It means harmony and security within a community where people flourish because they are nurtured.

‘My peace I give you.’ (John 14.27)

‘Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.’ (Psalm 34:14)

‘The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.’ (Isaiah 32:17)

‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.’ (Galatians 5:22-23)

How do we see this in school? 

We value all our children as we are all created in the image of God. The caring ethos nurtures all in our community adults and children. Relationships are very strong built on trust. Where individuals or the school as a whole is at peace we see good moral choices and a calm, purposeful learning community. We value each other as people and offer strong pastoral care. We ensure that Collective Worship is invitational and everyone finds the time and space supports them to reflect, be still, be inspired and at peace. Peace is referred to in a variety of ways including within ourselves, the community and the wider world.

Respect

Respect is about valuing everyone and everything and celebrating our differences. We are all God’s people and we all matter as we are all wonderfully made by God. As such, self-respect is important. Respect also encompasses the notion of stewardship and our responsibility to look after God’s creation.  In the Bible, the concept of respect is expressed through a variety of Hebrew and Greek words. In Peter 2:17, the apostle commands us to “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” Here, the word translated respect is timao.

‘Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.’   (Peter 2:17)

“Treat others as you would want them to treat you.” (Matthew 7:12)

How do we see this in school? 

The Bible teaches us to respect differences in our world through stories like The Good Samaritan and Zacchaeus the Tax Collector. We use these stories to think carefully about how we treat others. At Sigglesthorne, we encourage everyone, “to treat others as you would want them to treat you.” (Matthew 7:12) Respect can mean simply treating each other with politeness and courtesy, and recognising that everyone’s contribution is important and that everyone’s feelings should be considered. We regularly discuss how respecting someone does not mean that we always agree with the other person but that we are prepared to listen and share our views without rudeness or impatience.

Community

This Christian Value comes from a Greek word ‘Koinonia’ which means ‘that which is in common. Other translations might include ‘union’,  ‘partnership’, or  ‘being yoked together’.  A yoke is a shaped piece of wood that goes across the shoulders, often linking two animals.  By combining their strength, it helps work to be done and eases the burdens to be carried.  So, in our school and classrooms, by working together we can make things easier, work better and achieve greater results!

As a small village school we are at the heart of our community therefore it is vital that community is central to our values and how we flourish together.

“All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”  Acts 4:32

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body …” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

How do we see this value in school? 

 Koinonia is based on fellowship with Jesus.  Through him, Christians share the relationship that Jesus has with God.  In John 17, Jesus prays that all his followers may be ‘perfectly one’ as he and the Father are one. Through him, Christians become sons and daughters of God and therefore brothers and sisters of each other.  They are all members of the same family. We think of our school community as a family. We spend lots of time together; we have fun; we play games; we share experiences; just like a real family does.
A central element of being a family is interdependence: all are needed and valued and each person is important to the whole.The same message is found in Paul’s image of the Christian community as the body of Christ.  Each member of the body shares the joys and sufferings of the others and each depends upon every else.

At the end of each week we celebrate together as a whole school community in our Celebration Worship, families join us and are welcomed.  As a school we support local charities such as The East Yorkshire Food Bank.  Older children support younger children and children learn how to ‘look out’ for each other, celebrating success together and helping each other when they are struggling.

Ebor Values 

Please follow the link to the Ebor values Page.