Our Vision
‘Let love and kindness be the motivation behind all that you do’ (1Corinthians 16:14).
As an outworking of our Christian vision of love and kindness we:
- value and respect every member of our school community as a unique child of God;
- nurture, support and challenge all members of our school community to reach their full potential;
- underpin our inclusive curriculum with our values of kindness, perseverance and trust, giving opportunity for each individual to flourish.
At St Andrew’s, our vision is to consistently follow Jesus’ example of conducting our whole life and work with love and kindness. We asked ourselves, ‘what is this love of which Jesus speaks?’ In the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 tells us that, ‘Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails’. Therefore, our school vision is deeply grounded in the Christian values of Kindness, perseverance and trust.
An important element of our context is that we are a joint Church of England and Methodist church school. Fundamentally, we are a Christian school serving everyone in our community with love and kindness. Everyone is welcomed and accepted here.
Whilst we do not get hung up on which aspects of our inclusive practise are Anglican or Methodist, our vision is deeply and theologically rooted in both the Church of England vision for education and in John Wesley’s (Methodist) rule.
Church of England Vision for Education:
“Our vision for education is deeply Christian, with Jesus' promise of 'life in all its fullness' at its heart.
Educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills: enabling discipline, confidence and delight in seeking wisdom and knowledge, and developing talents in all areas of life.
Educating for hope and aspiration: enabling healing, repair and renewal, coping wisely when things go wrong, opening horizons and guiding people into ways of fulfilling them.
Educating for community and living well together: a core focus on relationships, participation in communities and the qualities of character that enable people to flourish together.
Educating for dignity and respect: the basic principle of respect for the value and preciousness of each person, treating each person as a unique individual of inherent worth.” (Church of England vision for Education 2016)
John Wesley’s Rule:
John Wesley told the first Methodist teachers to always remember that ‘an ounce of love was worth a pound of knowledge’ and his challenge to teacher and pupil alike was this:
‘Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
At all the times you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can.’
