Christian Distinctiveness, Vision and Values
Christian Distinctiveness
DEEPLY CHRISTIAN, SERVING THE COMMON GOOD
How do we fulfil the Church of England’s vision for education?
At Milldown, we are deeply Christian in character by living out our School Christian Values daily. Collective Worship is the ‘heartbeat’ of our school day, setting the tone for the behaviour and ethos of our school family. We have strong links with our local vicar, Reverend Chris Beaumont and the Church of St. Peter and St Paul, which we use on many occasions, R.E lessons, Collective Worship and to mark key dates in the Christian calendar.
We embrace the Church of England’s vision which is deeply Christian and proclaims Jesus’ promise of “Life in all its fullness” (John 10:10) through the four elements of community, dignity, wisdom and hope.
Our Christian values of joy, kindness, peace, patience, love & self-control underpin and enhance everything we ALL do within the community and fellowship of our school.
Milldown CE Academy Vision
At Milldown CE Academy our vision is to foster a thriving community built around our common desire to INSPIRE, BELIEVE & ACHIEVE. Our vision is rooted in the foundations of our Christian faith expressed in the words of Jesus, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” John 14. 6
I am the Way: INSPIRE - We will create an environment in which our children develop a love of learning, fostering curiosity and a ‘can do’ approach. We will support children to become resilient and resourceful, inquisitive and reflective, confident and motivated, empowered and skilled. We will motivate and inspire all within our school community to aim high in all areas of schooling, to grasp creatively and courageously the opportunities offered to them as members of the community of Milldown CE Academy and as part of the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust (DSAT).
I am the Truth: BELIEVE - Underpinning our love of learning is our belief that each child irrespective of ability, gender, race, and sexuality is loved, valued and uniquely made in God’s image. With a relentless focus on our Christian values of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience Kindness, and Self-Control (Galatians 5: 22-23.) We will build a community in which children feel safe and supported are loved and valued. We recognise that we live in a challenging and complex world and therefore, we aim to encourage each child to understand their role in the world, to be confident in their identity to understand their purpose whilst respecting the rights, beliefs and values of children, families, communities and cultures that differ from their own. As a result, we believe that all our children will become pillars of the community.
I am the Life: ACHIEVE - Together, we will continually strive to remove the fear of failure and overcome the barriers to success. We will create a culture of aspiration and ambition and will take pride in leading the children of Milldown on their journey, both educational and for life; enabling them to drive their own futures to greater success, to achieve beyond their own expectations and to shape the life of our community for the better.
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life: INSPIRE, BELIEVE, ACHIEVE
Values
Our school values are taken from Galatians 5: 22-23; "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
The children have adapted these values to the following to aid their understanding and internalisation: love, patience, peace, joy, self-control and kindness. These values are instrumental to our school ethos and our interactions. Children are given praise when these values are demonstrated in their interactions. Along with this verbal or written praise, the children are given tokens, representative of the value demonstrated, which are collected centrally in the school.