Vision, Ethos and Values

Our school logo of an oak tree is a visual representation of how we flourish: the roots are our school values – they provide stability and give life together with the light of Christ to help us flourish and blossom, the trunk is the main life of a tree (our school ethos), and the leaves are our school vision, which slightly change in different seasons, and represent how we blossom and flourish by living our values.

Copthorne CE Junior School ‘School Vision’

Our Vision:

“Creating confident, curious learners with God's love”

We, at Copthorne C.E Junior School, believe that every child and adult is unique. With God's love, we grow and learn together, encouraging everyone in our school family to "let their light shine" (Matthew 5:16).  We strive to be the best that we can be, knowing that "what will be has not yet been revealed" (1 John 3:2).  Through our Christian values, we flourish as one inclusive community. Our children move on to the next phase of their education with a lifelong love of learning and a compassionate and considerate approach to life.

Our Ethos:

The ethos of Copthorne Junior School is to work together to extend Jesus’ model of the Kingdom of God on earth, by living out a lifestyle through the Christian values and according to His teaching. We are inspired by His message, His life and example through which God’s unconditional love for all people is expressed. Recognising our historic foundation, we seek to preserve and develop the religious character of our school in accordance with the principles of the Church of England and in partnership with the local parish church and Chichester Diocese.

The school aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of our Christian beliefs and practices. Inspired by these values we aim to provide an exciting, fun and stimulating environment, where all children feel happy, safe, and motivated to achieve greater things. We celebrate academic achievement as well as success in sport and the arts and encourage our children to do the very best they can, to be unafraid to question and challenge, and to learn to solve problems creatively.

Our Values:

At Copthorne Junior School we believe that our Christian values can be both the driver and the vehicle for our school improvement. Our values are rooted in the biblical message of God’s love for us and how we in turn grow in our own expression of our own love for Him and for each other. “We love because He loves us first” (1 John 4:19).  In working out the message of God’s love, our school values are:

COURAGE, CREATIVITY, CONFIDENCE, COMPASSION and CURIOSITY                                                   

What our School Values mean to us:

Our Collective Worship Leaders and School Council members worked together to ask pupils of Copthorne what meaning they took from our School Values.

Our parents have said:

"A Christian input in education is important to us.  We believe in encouraging Christian values in caring for each other and in the emphasis put in the teaching at the school.  We enjoy the close links to the church and with the regular visits there by the school as well as worship led by the village vicar. 

We are very pleased to see an increase in Christian practices within the school and pray it will have an effect on all children and within their families."

Copthorne CE Junior School Collective Worship   

1. Foundation of the school and the place of worship

‘Copthorne Elementary School’ began its life in 1842 and initially was run by the National Society for Promoting Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church, under the auspices of the parish of St Nicholas’, Worth. Copthorne CE (Church of England) Junior School, as it now is, is a C of E Voluntary Controlled school, and part of the parish of St John’s Copthorne.

The daily life of our school promotes a Christian ethos, encouraging respect towards people, animals and the environment and the ability to relate to others with care and sensitivity.

2. Aims for Collective Worship

We aim to achieve high quality education supported by strong Christian principles, within a village community. We aim:

• to contribute to pupils’ spiritual development
• to introduce pupils to the worship of the Church of England
• to gain in knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith
• to explore and share the beliefs of others
• to contribute to pupils' moral development
• to contribute to the general development of pupils
• to celebrate and take note of the life of the school in the presence of God
• to look out to the wider world (see the expanded aims appended below*)
•  

3. Expectations of pupils

Children will take part in, and lead, a range of worship experiences - singing, praying, reading, hearing, acting… - that allow them to experience God and the teachings of Jesus in a stimulating, active and enjoyable way.

4. Organisation and delivery

As a Church school we are proud of our links with our local parish church. We aim to have a full school Collective Worship service in church and a celebration Worship in church with parents each half-term.

Worships are planned for 20 minutes each day. The pattern is as follows:
Monday - Whole School Worship led by Headteacher
Tuesday - Singing Worship led by class teachers
Wednesday - Whole School worship led by the Deputy Headteacher
Thursday - Whole School worship led by Father Wim or members of the church community (Open the Book)
Friday - Celebration Worship led by HT & class teachers which recognises both individual and collective achievements

5. Records

We keep a record of weekly themes and key events for Collective Worship, and we aim to keep simple records of worship activities.

We seek to involve children in the evaluation of our Collective Worship, through reflections and reviews; which are recorded by children each half-term

6. Relationship to the Diocesan Toolkit & national requirements

Our policy for collective acts of worship follows County and Diocesan guidelines for a Church of England Controlled School.

7. Parental rights of withdrawal

Parents may request that their child is withdrawn from religious education, according to the Education Act. The parents may discuss their reasons with the Head Teacher why they wish their child to be excluded from the School’s Collective Worship. Because of the need to assure their safety, pupils, when withdrawn, work in the classroom or library, as long as arrangements can be made at no additional cost to the school.

Expanded Aims from 2 above

To contribute to pupils’ spiritual development, e.g.

• Experience what worship is and what people do when they worship
• Develop ability to meditate and use silence creatively
• Reflect on and think more deeply about important issues
• Foster a sense of awe and wonder at creation
• Celebrate all that is of value in life - truth, love, goodness, beauty etc.
• Explore mystery and the important questions about life and creation, including the dark side of life, e.g. suffering, loss, death and evil
• Express their concerns, hopes, joys etc.
• Build on their relationship with God

To introduce pupils to the worship of the Church of England e.g.

• Learn to use the church prayers, liturgy, and service books
• Learn the important and famous prayers of Christianity and the Anglican Church
• Learn appropriate responses and forms of prayer
• Give pupils a repertoire of prayers to take into adult life
• Experience different forms of Christian worship and worship material

To gain in knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith, e.g.

• Explore Christian beliefs about God
• Learn about the place and significance of the Bible
• Learn about the significance of Jesus
• Explore the nature of God as revealed in Jesus
• Share in Church life and Christian practice
• Experience different forms of worship
• Celebrate the festivals and Saints days of the church year 
• Build sense of community of the school
• Develop and reflect on the values of the school
• Share achievements, joys and difficulties of all members of the school community

To explore and share the beliefs of others, e.g.

• Listen to stories from our own and other faiths and learn about their significance
• Observe special celebrations from other faiths
• Discover how believers from other faiths worship
• Celebrate values and attitudes shared with members of other faith communities

To contribute to pupils moral development, e.g.

• Develop ability to reflect on moral and social issues
• Appreciate the values and beliefs that people live by
• Acknowledge and become more aware of the needs of others

To contribute to the general development of pupils, e.g.

• Provide them with opportunities for leadership and developing presentation and performance skills
• Learn the skill of choral speaking
• Develop pupils singing ability
• Participate in group planning, preparation and presentation

To celebrate and take note of the life of the school in the presence of God, e.g.

• Celebrate work undertaken by pupils in all areas of the curriculum
• Build up sense of community of the school
• Develop and reflect on the values of the school
• Share achievements, joys and difficulties of all members of the school community

To look out to the wider world

• To take note of events in the world and express joy or sorrow as appropriate
• To celebrate and give thanks for God’s world