At Witherley CE Primary School, we strive to provide a happy, supportive and inclusive environment founded on the principles of the Christian faith.  We aim to nurture the individuality of each child, develop their spiritual growth and foster their moral understanding. All members of our school community are valued and respected.

Our vision is to:

• enable all children to fulfil their unique potential: emotionally, academically, physically, socially and spiritually.
• provide our pupils with memorable learning experiences that inspire curiosity about the world around us and foster a lifelong love of learning.
• grow together as a community, embracing difference and diversity.

Our school has a distinctively Christian character and ethos which is central to our school vision.  We have a set of values which are rooted within our Vision Statement and chosen Biblical verse 'Let Your Light Shine' (Matthew 5:16).  This inspires all members of the school community to live out our Christian values and to strive for excellence in all they do. The Vision Statement was decided upon after joint work by the pupils, staff and governors.

Our Christian values therefore underpin all that we do at Witherley and how we treat each other.  Friendship is our core value because we believe friendship underpins all of our six key values: Kindness, Respect, Trust, Truthfulness, Responsibility and Perseverance. Our Christian distinctiveness permeates throughout school life, the curriculum and links with our wider community.

More information about the underpinning of our vision and values can be found in the following document:

Links with St Peter's Church, Witherley

We are lucky to be located right next door to our village church, St Peter's.  This means we are able to visit on a regular basis and we love spending time in the church building for celebrations marking key moments in the school year.  We can also pop in as part of an RE lesson, display some of our wonderful work and we entertain visitors during coffee mornings.  We also enjoy numerous visits to school from members of the church such as the Open the Book team.  We are now building even stronger links with the church through our growing Forest School, with the children helping to look after the churchyard and the surrounding area.  The church family is a hugely important part of our school community and we feel very fortunate to have such close links with them. 

Religious Education

Religious Education is a core subject at our school and is taught weekly in every class.  It is a hugely important part of the curriculum and is taught through the use of Understanding Christianity and the Leicestershire Agreed RE Syllabus.  Roughly two thirds of our curriculum focuses on Christianity and the other third looks at Islam, Judaism or Hinduism.  In Upper Key Stage 2, we also consider other religions and non-religious world views, for example Humanism.  Our children are taught to respect and appreciate every individual regardless of faith.  This in turn helps them to gain a greater insight into the world in which they are growing up.

Collective Worship

The understanding and exploration of our Christian Values is strengthened and reflected upon through our Collective Worship.  As a Church of England School, our daily act of Collective Worship is a special time that brings us all together.  It is led by teachers, children and visitors.

At the beginning of an act of worship, one of the Collective Worship Monitors opens the worship and lights a candle as we make reference to the holy trinity.  They close the worship at the end by sharing some sending words that we all take part in. 

 We really enjoy welcoming people from the wider school community to join in our worship as this helps to enhance Collective Worship for both children and staff alike. This includes visits from Reverend Patty, who comes to lead our worship every half term, and monthly visits from the Open the Book team who share Bible stories with us in a fun, interactive and memorable way.  We also worship at St Peter's Church to mark those special events and occasions in the Christian calendar. 

The children are encouraged to prepare and lead worship based on one of our themes.  These opportunities allow them to gain valuable experience and extend their ability to think and reflect on a wide range of local, national and global issues.  Each year, every class prepares and shares an act of worship with the rest of the school and we invite parents along to take part and get involved. 

Regardless of how each form of Collective Worship is conducted, the children are encouraged to think, ask questions and share their views about the world around them.

Spirituality

As a school, we value the importance of the emotional and spiritual well-being of our school community and encourage spiritual development through all areas of school life. Children have opportunities to reflect and have peaceful times through the school day. There are quiet areas in all classrooms (Reflection Corners) for children to personally think, question and explore all thoughts.

Please refer to our Spirituality policy for more information: