Our school has close links with our church, St John's. Our children visit the church throughout the year for services and learning opportunities.

There currently is not Priest in Charge at St John's. Father Dennis and other local clergy visit us in school to lead worship. We are grateful for their on going support and encouragement including Jan Fletcher from New Life Church.

Our school values are lived out in all that we do, in our school and in our community.

Our Young Worship Leaders are instumental in planning and leading worship sessions, evaluating and monitoring our worship times both in the hall and in the classroom.

We have chosen the Bible story of Jesus washing his disciples feet to support our vision.

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

John 13 – Living Bible translation

13 ^1-3 Jesus knew on the evening of Passover Day that it would be his last night on earth before returning to his Father. During supper the devil had already suggested to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that this was the night to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. And how he loved his disciples! ⁴ So he got up from the supper table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his loins,^[a] 5 poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.

⁶ When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Master, you shouldn’t be washing our feet like this!”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; some day you will.”

⁸ “No,” Peter protested, “you shall never wash my feet!”

“But if I don’t, you can’t be my partner,” Jesus replied.

⁹ Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well—not just my feet!”

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “One who has bathed all over needs only to have his feet washed to be entirely clean. Now you are clean—but that isn’t true of everyone here.” ¹¹ For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² After washing their feet he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? ¹³ You call me ‘Master’ and ‘Lord,’ and you do well to say it, for it is true. ¹⁴ And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵ I have given you an example to follow: do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ How true it is that a servant is not greater than his master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends him. ¹⁷ You know these things—now do them! That is the path of blessing.

Our Vision and Values are reflected in the distinctive Christian ethos of our school. This is seen explicitly in our daily collective worship and reflection. Collective Worship is at the centre of our school community and helps us at the start of each day. We have strong links with Christian organisations in the local community and their representatives are frequent leaders of our daily worship. Our pupil's spiritual, social and moral development is grounded in Christian teaching where we learn to respect, forgive and care for each other and our world.

As we are a church school RE forms part of our weekly curriculum and the statement of entitlement for this can be seen on our website and is alongside our yearly overview for each year group. We follow the Kent Syllabus for RE and the principle aim is:

“To engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and world views address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own”.

SCHOOL PRAYER

Father God,

thank you for our school,

Please help us to work 

and play together

that this may be a happy place.

Keep us together, 

so that we may be

a strong community,

caring for and helping each other,

in Jesus' name.

Amen