Our Christian Ethos

Through God’s love, we are the rich soil where seeds flourish and roots grow. (Luke 8: 4-15)

Our vision is to empower every child to approach life with optimism, creativity and compassion. We believe that through God, we can make a difference. Through God’s love, we are the rich soil where seeds flourish and roots grow. (Luke 8: 4-15)

This is our Christian foundation which enables us to encourage and inspire one another. Our mission, as a Church of England School, is to provide an education that gives all pupils the opportunity to develop within a happy, caring and safe environment grounded upon the values of the Christian faith.

For more detail, our school vision and values are explored elsewhere on the website: https://holytrinityeightashgreen.co.uk/core-values/

Information on The Church of England’s vision for education and the work of Church of England Schools, can be found here.

Our school vision underpins the Christian distinctiveness of Holy Trinity and is intertwined in all we do – through our Collective Worship, celebrating learning and personal achievements, embracing world faiths and views and welcoming visitors into our happy school.

We warmly welcome pupils from all faith backgrounds and none, and firmly believe that every child is unique and amazing.

Motto: To flourish and grow.

Worship

What is collective worship?

Collective Worship is a creative, reflective and spiritual experience.

1. A candle is sometimes lit as a focus and reminder that Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” John 8v12
2. A child leads the worship with a phrase such as, “The Lord is here – His Spirit is with us.”
3. Children enjoy a wide range of worship songs often linked to our Christian values.
4. A Bible story may be told, chosen to be related to the Christian value as well as the relational needs of the children.
5. There is opportunity for children to read a few well known verses from the Bible or a Psalm such as Psalm 23 or Psalm 100.
6. Often there is a challenge to practical action – encouraging children to decide / choose to put God’s love into practice. For example children may be encouraged to support the Colchester Food Bank charity or Operation Christmas Child shoe box appeal.
7. Children have an opportunity to respond in prayer. We use the school prayer or the Lord’s Prayer and also encourage spontaneous prayers which may be led by the children.
8. In a busy school day we make “Time for reflection.” Maybe a quiet time or using music as children take time to consider what they have heard.
9. Finally we often share the peace – Enabling pupils to demonstrate their love and care for one another. “May the peace of the Lord be with you – and also with you. 

Worship Planning

Each term we explore one of our core values: Courageous Optimism, Heartfelt Compassion or Boundless Creativity. Additional gospel values are interwoven which we deliver as branches from our key values. They include:  Forgiveness, Respect, Trust, Service, Courage, Justice, Perseverance, Truthfulness, Generosity, Friendship, Compassion and Thankfulness.

Worship Newsletters

At the start of every term, we share with our children and their families, a Worship Newsletter which focusses on the terms’ Christian Values we will explore. Each term we also focus on a famous Christian and the impact their lives have had on others.

SIAMS

The Purpose of SIAMS

The Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) focuses on the impact of the Church school’s Christian vision on pupils and adults. This involves looking at the school’s Christian vision, the provision the school makes because of this vision and how effective this provision is in enabling all pupils to flourish. Church schools will employ a variety of strategies and styles appropriate to, and reflective of, their particular context in order to be distinctively and effectively Christian in their character and ethos.

SIAMS inspectors therefore do not look for a set template of what a Church school should be like, but rather take the particular context of the school into account and base their evaluation on the outcomes rather than the process.

The Evaluation Schedule has one inspection question: how effective is the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, in enabling pupils and adults to flourish? This is explored through seven strands:

• Vision and Leadership
• Wisdom, Knowledge and Skills
• Character Development: Hope, Aspiration and Courageous Advocacy
• Community and Living Well Together
• Dignity and Respect
• The impact of collective worship
• The effectiveness of religious education

One overall grade is awarded reflecting the contribution of these strands to the flourishing of pupils and adults in a Church school. In addition, a standalone grade is awarded in all schools for collective worship.

We are delighted that  Holy Trinity Primary School has been judged GOOD in its most recent Inspection:

As a Voluntary Controlled Church of England School, we follow the Essex Agreed Syllabus for the teaching of RE.

In Church of England schools, where pupils and staff come from all faiths and none, Religious Education (RE) is a highly valued academic subject that enables understanding of how religion and belief affect our lives.

The Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Education (CBDE) believes that RE enables pupils to develop religious literacy – the ability to hold informed and balanced conversations about religion and beliefs.

RE teaching takes place through a balance between the disciplines of Theology, Philosophy and Human and Social Sciences.

Theology

This is about believing. It looks at where beliefs come from, how they have changed over time, how they are applied differently in different contexts and how they relate to each other.

Philosophy

This is about thinking. It is about finding out how and whether things make sense. It deals with questions of morality and ethics. It takes seriously the nature of reality, knowledge and existence.

Human/Social sciences

This is about living. It explores the diverse ways in which people practice their beliefs. It engages with the impact of beliefs on individuals, communities and societies.

Religious Education Planning

The LIFE Primary Religious Education Curriculum is of great importance within our Church of England schools. As stated in the Church of England Statement of Entitlement, religious education in a Church school should enable every child to flourish and to live “life in all its fullness” (John 10:10). It will help educate for dignity and respect encouraging all to live well together.

In line with Section 2 79 (1) School Standards and Framework Act, our RE Curriculum ‘promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and of society, and prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life’. The curriculum is based on at least 50% Christianity and covers this with the knowledge that Christianity is a global faith.

The curriculum offers our pupils broad and rich topic coverage, spanning over several of the main world religions whilst also allowing them the opportunity to learn that there are those who do not hold religious beliefs. Alongside religion, children learn about the importance of spirituality and its links across both the curriculum, and their own lives. (See separate spirituality document.)

The LIFE Primary RE Curriculum aims to support pupils to become religiously literate; it provides opportunities for pupils to develop positive attitudes and values and to reflect and relate their learning in RE to their own experience. Through each unit, children will learn about and understand a range of religions and world views (including non-faith world views). They will learn through creative, enquiry-based, theological, philosophical and human and social science approaches.

The children will study religions via in-depth studies and encounters, regularly applying their knowledge to current affairs and real-world issues. Overall, our curriculum aims to enable our children to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and worldviews.

The Church of England Statement of Entitlement for Religious Education 2019 document outlines the expectations of the Church of England Education Office in relation to Religious Education.

Church Links

We are very lucky to have strong links with All Saints Fordham and Eight Ash Green Churches and aim to ensure our pupils get to know the church well, both as part of their studies and through whole school services throughout the year.

We are fortunate to have a schools worker from All Saints Church, deliver Collective Worship on a Weekly basis in school. They alongside Reverend Francis Blight, actively support the school and work with staff on delivering meaningful and inspiring services for key Christian events including Harvest and Easter.

To find out more about our local Church please visit their website: https://fordhamchurch.org.uk/

Information on spirituality can be found on our dedicated spirituality page under ‘about us’.