Our Vision
As the Good Shepherd tends his sheep, so we nurture our children in a safe, secure environment to ensure they thrive and fulfil their potential as good shepherds of the future.
The value of LOVE is visible in every area of school life. Our inclusive community is bound together with this golden thread and is further strengthened by the Christian values of COURAGE, RESPECT and TRUTH.
Our Values
Love
We embrace love as a guiding principle that underpins all interactions within our school community. Love manifests in acts of kindness, compassion, and empathy towards one another. By nurturing a culture of love, we create a warm and supportive environment where individuals feel cared for, valued, and respected. Love inspires us to build meaningful relationships, foster a sense of belonging, and extend grace and understanding to all members of our school community, reflecting that all have worth and the unconditional love as exemplified in the parable. Through love, we strive to create a nurturing and inclusive atmosphere where every individual is embraced for who they are, encouraging personal growth, and fostering a sense of unity and harmony among us all.
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. [John 13:34-35]
Courage
Courage is reflected in how we enable children to cope with the challenge of new learning, how we support them to develop a growth mindset and how we encourage them to express their opinions confidently. We foster a spirit of perseverance, strength, and determination in the face of challenges and adversity. Just as the shepherd in the parable tirelessly sought the lost sheep, we encourage our school community to demonstrate resilience and courage in overcoming obstacles and setbacks. This will help to prepare them for success in both their academic and personal lives.
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. [Corinthians 16:13-14]
Truth
We define Truth as openness, integrity and honesty, and we work with our children and staff to develop these values. Truth sits at the heart of what we believe, and is reflected in our use of Restorative Practice to develop and manage our relationships. Truth is also a key component of scholarship. We encourage children to become independent, questioning and critical learners, who understand that seeking the truth, no matter how difficult or challenging that truth might be, is a vital component in becoming an informed, aware and active citizen. If we discover and understand what is true, we are sometimes led to act courageously and morally for the good of others. To us, truth also means being truthful with oneself. We help students to develop their self-awareness and resilience so that they can grow in truth, and seek to make a difference to the lives of those around them.
Therefore, putting away lying, let every man speak truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. [Ephesians 4:25]
Respect
We believe in honouring the inherent worth and dignity of every individual within our school community, mirroring the shepherd’s unwavering respect for each and every sheep in the parable. Through respect, we cultivate a culture of inclusivity, empathy, and understanding, where differences are celebrated and all voices are heard. By upholding respect as a core value, we aim to create a harmonious and supportive environment where every member feels valued, accepted, and empowered to flourish.
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. [Matthew 7:12]
The Year 5 and 6 children created knowledge organisers for both Key Stage One and Key StageTwo to explain our values in their own words.
Please click on the link below to see their work.
‘The Good Shepherd’ – our special stories
As a church school, our school vision is rooted in a Christian narrative, the story of the Good Shepherd (John 10) and The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15). These verses encapsulate perfectly what we think is special about our school — just as the Shepherd gives his all to secure the safety of every last sheep and help them thrive, so our staff give their all to create a safe, loving environment for every pupil, so they can fulfil their potential.
In the same way as the shepherd tirelessly seeks out the lost sheep, we are committed to providing individualised support and guidance to ensure that no one is left behind. We celebrate diversity and provide an environment where everyone’s unique talents are recognised, valued and developed.
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. [John 10:14]
We teach the children to identify with the sheep, and feel safe and unconditionally loved; but also to identify with the Shepherd, and appreciate how far each of us can be expected to go for the good of all.
Our vision emphasises the importance of valuing of every individual, focussing on caring for one another, ourselves and the world around us through the values of ‘Love’, ‘Courage’, ‘Truth’ and ‘Respect’.
Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep. [Luke 15:4-6]
The qualities of a ‘Good Shepherd’
Our curriculum has been carefully designed and is effectively delivered to ensure that our children are equipped to become good shepherds in all areas of their life. We see each child as unique with the potential to achieve in all areas of learning. We help them to fulfil this by nurturing them in a secure and positive environment where they feel confident to take risks and explore knowing they are safe. At Rollright, children take a knowledge-rich learning journey through a school which has Christian values at its heart. We regularly re-visit our special bible stories about ‘The Good Shepherd’ to ensure that everyone in our community understands their important place at the heart of our school. Our weekly ‘Gold Book’ awards also reflect the different aspects of the stories and the qualities which we aim to foster in our children.
Good shepherd as a learner
We believe that a Good Shepherd will have a deep understanding of the subjects of the National Curriculum; this knowledge will equip them with the necessary firm foundations to continue their life-long education. Our exciting and broad curriculum – developed with our learner’s needs and interests at the centre – alongside our strong provision for co-curricular activities and experiences, ensures this intention is successful.
Good shepherd as a friend
We believe that a Good Shepherd will love and take care of others; they will build a strong sense of shared identity and belonging with respect for every individual. This will be nurtured in an inclusive environment which promotes and celebrates diversity. As a valued member of our school community, each child is enabled to build strong and lasting relationships in a loving, trusting atmosphere.
Good shepherd as a guide
We believe that a Good Shepherd, guided by a strong moral compass, will be a role model for others both in and beyond the school community. Our spiral curriculum is designed to allow children to develop as academic guides through shared learning experiences. High expectations of behaviour support children in becoming exemplars for each other as they become successful, resilient young people.
Good shepherd as a protector
We believe that a Good Shepherd must tend to the land with a keen awareness of our impact on the environment, a respect for the world in all its glory and a vision for a sustainable future for all. Our curriculum and our eco-work in school, promotes an appreciation of the planet, guiding children to recognise and embrace their responsibility.
Good shepherd as a cultivator
We believe that a Good Shepherd will acknowledge the importance of well-being. Our curriculum will equip them with the courage to persevere and a growth mindset to succeed. Through our varied teaching styles, collective worship opportunities and wide-ranging extra-curricular experiences, we give pupils the space to reflect on their values, behaviours and motivations, building their social confidence, self-regulation and intrinsic motivation to go out and achieve their best in the world.
‘The Good Shepherd’ Award
When children consistently demonstrate these special qualities, they are presented with our ‘golden shepherd’ or ‘golden lamb’ award in assembly. This is a very high honour indeed. Each child’s photograph is displayed in the school entrance hall. We know that these children act as role models across the whole school and we are very proud of them.
Rollright is special in many ways. Central to the heart of our school is the abiding Christian belief that every child should be loved and valued as an individual. Inclusion and acceptance are key principles which enable all children in our school to thrive and reach their potential. We are passionate about developing the ‘whole’ person and work hard with our children to develop skills of perseverance and commitment to both their learning and to their place in our close-knit community. To achieve this, we work hard to enable our children, who come from a variety of backgrounds and from a very wide catchment area, to see themselves as one body through our acts of Collective Worship, our House Team activities and through special days such as Maths Days and special weeks such as Book Week. Our children are actively encouraged to serve others and take on responsibilities within our school community.
Ours is a peaceful, though happy, lively and busy school. Enthusiasm is evident but conflict is rarely seen. Our Christian ethos, which has the repair of relationships and an understanding of forgiveness at its heart, contributes to this. We manage any upsets using Restorative Justice principles; all of our children are taught about their feelings so there is a high level of emotional literacy, and we educate our older children in conflict management so they can support others should the need arise. Forgiveness is key as we value repairing and maintaining relationships and we do not seek to allocate blame. Adults model Christian Values and our children are witnesses of this on a daily basis. The older children, having grown up within this nurturing environment, naturally care for the younger children. Ours is also a very friendly school. Children and staff joining us always comment on how quickly they feel at home. Relationships between staff and children, and staff and parents or carers are very strong. Visitors frequently comment on the warm atmosphere. The close relationships, continually nurtured, result in trust between members of our school community.
Our ‘Values Stars’ offer children opportunities to value each other and those receiving them are always proud to do so. Our pupil feedback demonstrates that our children are happy. The culture of respect and feeling included is strong, so insensitive acts are rare. We manage any behaviour issues using Restorative Justice which allows us to have meaningful open conversations or circle times to resolve difficult situations. All children want to be in a situation where everything is fair and there is a strong culture of fairness in school. We support this and extend it to a social concern for the wider world demonstrated through our Eco Club who put on assemblies for us, our charity work throughout the year led by the School Council, and whole school responses to natural disasters, often prompted by individual children.
We enable each child to develop their spiritual growth and moral understanding. We aim to foster an appreciation of the richness and diversity of God’s creation through lots of practical opportunities to get out and about. Forest Fridays are a weekly opportunity for the FS and KS1 to consider the natural awe and wonder of outdoors. We have a variety of visits for all of our children including visits to museums, the opera and more! We aim to support our children in understanding that the good things in life are a blessing and not a right. We do this through enabling them to appreciate the differences between their experiences and that of other less advantaged children particularly when we are responding to natural disasters or a charity campaign. In society today where there are such rapid changes and developments, we believe it’s challenging to ensure our children appreciate what has enduring value. Giving the children rich and varied experiences, with time to reflect, helps with this.