Christian Distinctiveness

CHRISTIAN DISTINCTIVENESS

CHRISTIAN VISION

Unlocking every child’s potential as a unique child of God.

THEOLOGICAL ROOTED

We seek to reflect aspects of God’s character and the fullness of life that He wishes for all human beings. 

Unlocking every child’s potential speaks of the school’s desire for all to flourish. “May the Lord give you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:14-15). We aim for excellence in learning – to enable and encourage pupils to pursue God-given “wisdom and instruction, understanding of words of insight and instruction in doing what is right and just and fair” (Proverbs 1:2-3).

Our hope is to unlock every person’s potential ( 'We are God’s children… what we will be has not yet been revealed' - 1 John 3.2). Our aim is to enable all children and adults in our community to achieve their full potential by providing experiences, opportunities and encounters to ensure they flourish.

As well as their intellectual development, the school is concerned for the children’s emotional and social development and want love and well-being for all in our school family and strive to create a loving environment where everyone belongs and everyone’s uniqueness is celebrated – “God’s special possession” (Peter 2:9). We recognise each person is unique - God has endowed each person individually as He desires (1 Cor. 12.11) so we celebrate the uniqueness of each child - “God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9) and foster their emotional and social development.

Our vision statement refers to being a ‘child of God’. This reflects Mountnessing’s ongoing commitment to our whole school family - “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, Our faith in Jesus Christ confirms our identity as a child of God.” (Galatians 3:26, 1 John 3.1). To this end we strive to create a loving environment where everyone belongs and everyone’s wellbeing is sacred.

In summary, our aim at Mountnessing Primary School is for all pupils, staff, governors and our wider community to achieve their full potential in all areas of school life. As Jesus promises ‘life... in all its fullness’ (John 10.10), we seek fullness of life for all.

This is underpinned by Ephesians 3.17 - 19 'May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, that being rooted and grounded in love, you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.'

Our Christian Vision allows the pupils and adults in our school to flourish. Every member of our school community is a child of God, and therefore the vision applies to us all. The Christian vision is the driver behind all decision making in school. Our curriculum is carefully considered with our vision in mind and pupils are given opportunities to extend their learning further, through curriculum enhancement to unlock their potential. We hope that our vision supports us to transform our pupils lives by giving them opportunities to try new things, engage with the local community, ensure a sense of belonging and inclusion in all areas of school.

We ensure well being is at the centre of all we do, because happy, regulated children and staff who feel safe and loved can thrive in school. 

Our Christian Values are the threads that weave our vision through the school; in collective worship, in lessons and in the playground.  Our pupils have an understanding of spiritual awareness, a sense of their own worth and an appreciation of the world around them. Our Christian Values feed into every area of school life and are used by all members of staff. These are based around the teaching of Jesus and are used as a model for our lives for how we should live and treat each other.

Mountnessing C of E Primary School is a has 6 main Christian Values that are at the heart of our school.

These are:

• Friendship
• Thankfulness
• Respect and Reverence 

• Creativity
• Responsibility
• Perseverance

We take ownership of a value each half term and we focus on it as a whole school. This approach means that the children are immersed in each Christian value through worship, assemblies, homework and lessons. Parents are encouraged to learn about each value with their children through the home to school value sheet that is sent home each half term as well as a small piece of family creative homework linked to our focus value. 

Our local church is St Giles. It is hard to get to and very very small so Mr Lee visits us every other week to lead worship and support our work in school. Mr Lee is the Lay Minister for St Giles and also a school governor. We enjoy our worship with Mr Lee. The photos below are some of our services we have held in school supported by Mr Lee and when classes visit the church.  

We are lucky to have a Chaplain called Joe who comes to school every Tuesday. Joe works for a company called Kick and when he visits our school he leads Worship, mentors children, supports lunchtimes and runs an after school club. He is a valuable member of our school team. 

We have a pupil worship committee called our Leading Lights in school made up of children from each year group. Our Leading Lights meet regularly to discuss worship, evaluate it, plan and lead worship and to undertake projects in school. They work with our Chaplain, Joe, in developing their roles.

We link with Chelmsford diocese and regularly invite our advisor into school to help with school improvement. Staff are given opportunities to take part in diocesan training which develops their understanding of our Christian Distinctiveness. 

Our prayer space in school gives pupils a quiet space to be thoughtful, reflective and to pray. 

Each half term it is themed and linked to the Christian calendar. Our prayer space has something for the children to engage with and to reflect on, but it can also be a spot to simply be quiet and calm. It is easily accessible for all pupils and develops their spirituality by giving them a designated space to enhance a sense of peace and purpose.